This article is an excerpt from "Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit". This book masterfully blends wisdom, humor and down-to-earth spirituality. It's like having a knowledgeable friend sitting right next to you in the synagogue.

Amidah—The Standing Prayer
The Amidah is commonly referred to as the silent prayer. This, however, is a misnomer, for the Amidah is to be said softly, not silently, to yourself. The words should be audible to your ears and your ears alone. To your heart and your heart alone. Far too often the Jewish people have been faced with despair. But rather than wither we have responded with hope, with courage and even with joy and optimism. Much of the Amidah is an expression of our longing for a better, more humane world.

Hashem Sefatai Tiftach / G-d Open My Lips
A toddler thinks that she cannot walk, but she can. A child fears he will never swim, but he will. Each of us is aware of our abilities and potential, and we all experience fear, doubt and hesitation. Many of our limitations in life are more perceived than real. Often, it is only phantoms that are holding us back. In Hebrew the word for lips is the same as the word for banks, as in river banks. The banks of a river define its limits. When we say "G-d, open my lips," we are also saying, "G-d, help me to see beyond my perceived limitations. Help me to see all the way to the horizon of my potential."

I will create time in my life to nurture my soul. Life is a gift I received; I will find a way to "give something back." - Man: Microcosm of the Universe

G-d created two worlds: One of immense proportions and another equally vast, though not manifestly so. In Hebrew the word for world, or universe, is olam. The universe is referred to as olam hagadol, the macro-universe. Man is known to our sages as olam hakatan, the micro-universe. The word olam also has another connotation: it means concealment. The fullness of what is contained in an olam, a universe, is not always apparent. Man, microcosm of the universe that he is, is the keeper of a potential that borders on the infinite. On one level this thought defies our comprehension, while in the same instance it is clearly understood. We all wonder if there is anything that lies beyond the reach of human beings. Each and every one of us is a unique olam, a universe of potential. One minute you see it and the next it seems to vanish. Our potential stretches as far as the eye can see.

Zachreynu L'Chaim / Remember Us for Life
The voice was that of one who survived the unfathomable hell of Auschwitz. A silent terror still lines his face—even when he smiles. "If I had a choice," he said, "of having to relive every torturous moment again or to be a German guard in the camps, I'd go through it all again rather than serve for even one hour as a guard."

The German guards lived and breathed. They went home to wives and children, they enjoyed the finest classical music and they laughed: All in a day's work. But they were dead.

The life that we ask for and strive for on Rosh Hashanah is more than just survival. It's a life of value and meaning. You can be alive and dead or you can be alive and live. Choose life!

Magen Avraham / Shield of Abraham
There is, they say, a spark of Abraham in all of us. Abraham, the founder of the Jewish nation, was one man in a very foreign world. No one—literally no one—thought the way he did. No one shared his values, his vision, his dedication to meaningful actions.

Each of us is the fusion of body and soul, physical and spiritual. At times it seems the soul is so alone, forever lost in the fatty recesses of the body, in the murky world of materialism.

In Yiddish there is a particular term for the special spark in every Jewish soul, it's known as the pintele yid (the Jewish essence). This pintele yid, this essence, is a deep part of every Jew, a longing that can never be extinguished. A bit of light, no matter how dim, forever shines. The miracle of the exodus of Russian Jews to Israel is not so much that they are finally free, not so much that there even exists an Israel to receive them, but that by the thousands and hundreds of thousands they still care very much about being Jewish. Seventy years of relentless physical and psychological oppression was unable to extinguish the Abraham—that spark in the Jewish soul.

An Israeli newspaper reported that tens of thousands of recent Russian immigrants, children and adults, have received a bris mila (circumcision) upon their arrival in Israel. Many of these take place in almost assembly line fashion with the mohel performing one after another. A newspaper reporter was questioning the immigrants waiting in line about the motivation for their actions. When asked if he believed in G-d, one middle-aged Russian who was raised on a steady diet of Communist propaganda declared, "No, I don't believe in G-d, I'm an atheist." The curious reporter, a bit taken aback, went on, "Then why are you having a bris?" There in the land of Israel, the land of King David and the Maccabees, of the Western Wall and Ethiopian Jews, the Russian answered proudly, "Without a bris, it is impossible to be a Jew!"

Only a Jewish atheist could utter such words, and only the spark of Abraham could yield such an atheist.

U'Vchayn Tayn Pach'dcha / Instill Awe and Fear
"There aren't many injuries in BASE jumping. You either live or you die." - Frank Gambalie, expert BASE jumper
"I expect to lose three to four friends a year." - Nancy Prichard, prominent ice climber

Did you ever notice how people will pay good money to be frightened? Millions of people visit amusement parks each year. And where do you find the longest lines? At the roller coaster: a ride that tries to convince you that your next moment will be your last.

A brush with death is exhilarating. In an article about extreme sports, U.S. News & World Report observed that, "many athletes go to the extreme because they feel most vibrantly alive when straddling the line between safety and danger." If you've ever had a "close call" in a car then you know that you were far more alert and alive after the narrow escape than you were the entire day before.

In Hebrew the word for fear is Yira, which also means to see or to perceive. If you choose to see life for what it is, an enormous opportunity and a serious responsibility, rather than look the other way, well, that can be frightening—or exhilarating.

U'Vchayn Tzadikim / The Righteous Will See and Be Glad
Far too often the Jewish people have come face to face with utter despair. Surely history would pardon us if we succumbed to despondency and lethargy in the face of this relentless confrontation.

Yet we have chosen to do otherwise. We have responded with optimism and hope, even where there seemed to be none, with quiet courage and with joy. You read the newspapers, day in and day out, and you long for a more humane world. We believe that it is possible—despite the headlines.

Avinu Malkeinu / Our Father Our King
A father has a very special love for each and every one of his children but not necessarily the means to give them everything he wants to give. An omnipotent king looks out from his palace and sees a nation—faceless individuals he will never know.

There are moments in Jewish history when we sense both Avinu, our Father and Malkeinu, our King.

A high-tech war in the Persian Gulf brought down a shower of missiles on a largely undefended Israel. In such a scenario, Israeli military experts predicted, hundreds if not thousands would be lost.

Avinu Malkeinu, hundreds of residential buildings were reduced to rubble and yet there was scarcely a casualty.

The love I feel for my (sister, husband, daughter, father etc.) is transcendent; I will cherish it forever and seek ways to express it.
It is a privilege to be a part of the Jewish people; I will search for ways to deepen that connection.

Our 2014 Scholar-in-residence Rabbi Sultan has shared these thoughts from Rabbi Eli Mansour

During the month of elul we are to prepare ourselves for the period of the High Holidays, which begins with Rosh Hashana, continues with Yom Kippur, and reaches its culmination on Hoshana Rabba, when the final judgment is rendered. It was on Rosh Chodesh elul when Moshe ascended Mount Sinai to beseech the Almighty to forgive Benei Yisrael for the grave sin of the golden calf. Forty days later, on Yom Kippur, God announced His forgiveness. Thus, this forty-day period has traditionally been a time of forgiveness, when God is – if we are allowed to say such a thing – in a "forgiving mood." It behooves us to take advantage of this unique period and do what we can to earn atonement for the wrongs we committed during the year.

It is proper to read works of Musar during the month of elul. One recommended book is "Sha'arei Teshuva," the classic work by Rabbenu Yona (Spain, 1180-1263) describing the process of Teshuva. Other recommended works include Rabbenu Yona's famous letter about repentance known as "Iggeret Ha-Teshuva," and the Rambam's Hilchot Teshuva, which presents the various requirements of Teshuva. Another work, "Orchot Chayim," is divided into thirty sections, which many have the practice of studying on the thirty days of elul. Some also have the practice to read "Tikunei Ha-Zohar," a collection of inspirational passages from the Zohar (the basic text of Kabbala). The Kabbalists taught that the reading of this work has the capacity to cleanse and purify one's soul even if he does not understand the material he reads.

One must be particularly diligent during the month of elul to recite each night "Keri'at Shema Al Ha'mita" before he goes to sleep. He should include the "Ana" prayer, petitioning God for forgiveness for whatever wrongs he may have committed over the course of that day.

One of the Berachot in the Amida service is that of "Hashivenu," in which we ask God to help us perform Teshuva. During the month of elul, it is proper to insert in this blessing the names of people who have strayed from the proper path of observance, before the concluding blessing "Baruch Ata Hashem Ha'rotzeh Be'tshuva."

Many people have the custom to have their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked during the month of elul. According to strict Halacha, a person is required to have his Mezuzot checked only twice in seven years, and Tefillin worn every day do not require checking at all. Nevertheless, there are those who make a point of having their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked during elul.

Although one must ensure to recite Birkat Ha'levana (the blessing over the moon) every month, the Rabbis admonish us to be particularly diligent with regard to Birkat Ha'levana for the month of elul.

In general, one must raise his level of observance during the month of elul in preparation for the High Holidays, and in the merit of our efforts we should be deserving of a year of peace and happiness for ourselves, our families and our community, Amen.
1)It is proper during the month of elul to include in the heading of every personal letter a wish for a good year, such as “Le’shana Toba Tikateb” (“May you be inscribed for a good year”). Today, when people send dozens of emails every day, we might want to consider having such a greeting automatically appear at the top of our email correspondences during the month of elul, in accordance with this Halacha.

There is also a custom among especially righteous Jews to have their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked each year during elul. According to the strict Halacha, Mezuzot must be checked once every three-and-a-half years. Even though the Mezuzot were confirmed valid when they were purchased, and they remained untouched on the doorpost inside a case ever since, they still require checking once every three-and-a-half years. (An advisable way to remember to check the Mezuzot is to check them every leap year.) However, there is a laudable practice on the level of Midat Hasidut (an extra measure of piety) to have the Mezuzot checked each year during the month of elul.

As for Tefillin, one is not required, according to strict Halacha, to have his Tefillin checked at all. Tefillin have a presumed status (“Hazaka”) of validity once they were confirmed valid at the time of purchase, and thus do not require checking. The Tefillin produced today are written on “Gasot,” thick leather, which is far more durable than the thin “Dakot” parchment used long ago. We may therefore presume the validity of our Tefillin even without periodically checking them. The only time one must check his Tefillin according to Halacha is if he treated them negligently, such as if he wore them with wet hair, which could ruin the parchment, or if he left his Tefillin inside his car on a hot day. In such cases, one must have his Tefillin checked to ensure that they were not damaged. Otherwise, Tefillin do not require checking. Nevertheless, there is a custom on the level of Midat Hasidut to have one’s Tefillin checked each year during the month of elul as part of our spiritual preparations for Rosh Hashanah.

Summary: It is proper to include a wish for a good year in the heading of written correspondence (including email) during elul. Strictly speaking, Mezuzot must be checked only once every three-and-a-half years, and Tefillin do not require checking at all (unless they were treated negligently). Nevertheless, there is a laudable practice to have one’s Tefillin and Mezuzot checked each year during elul.

2)Rosh Hashana- Men Dipping In Mikveh On Erev Rosh Hashana
 
The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chayim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Nitzavim, discusses the widespread custom that men immerse in a Mikveh on Erev Rosh Hashanah in order to be Tahor (ritually pure) on the Day of Judgment.  Immersion before Rosh Hashanah is particularly important for men with Tum'at Keri (the status of ritual impurity that results from a semenal emission).  The Ben Ish Chai adds that before immersing in a Mikveh, a man must ensure to comb any knots in his hair and remove all traces of dirt from his entire body, including under the fingernails.  In order for the immersion to be effective in eliminating Tum'a, no substance may come in between the body and the water.  Just as a woman must untangle the knots in her hair and thoroughly cleanse herself before immersing to rid herself of her Nidda status, so must men undergo this process before immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
 
However, Chacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Halichot Olam, claims that the Ben Ish Chai's ruling is overly stringent.  Halacha follows the view that one may pray and study Torah in a state of ritual impurity, and it is only a "Midat Chasidut" – an additional level of piety – to immerse before prayer or study.  Therefore, since this immersion is altogether on the level of "Midat Chasidut," a man is not required to prepare his body for immersion on Erev Rosh Hashanah as a woman must upon completing her Nidda period.  Thus, one need not remove his contact lenses or untangle his knots before immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
 
What is the deeper meaning behind this practice of immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah?
A human being originates in the mother's womb, where he is surrounded on all sides by water.  (As we know, one of the stages of childbirth is the "breaking of the water," when the water surrounding the fetus exists the woman's body to allow for the child's delivery.)  Immersing in a Mikveh likely serves as a reenactment, of sorts, of man's initial emergence into the world.  As part of the process of Teshuva (repentance), a person returns to the water, to his origin and source, to the initial state of pristine purity in which he was first created, representing his efforts to spiritually cleanse himself and become pure like he had been at birth.
 
This symbolism takes on even greater significance on the festival of Rosh Hashanah, which we describe in our liturgy as "Harat Olam" – the day of the world's creation.  In truth, the world came into existence one week earlier, on the 25th day of elul.  Rosh Hashanah marks the day when man was created, and it is therefore appropriate as part of the commemoration of man's emergence to immerse in a Mikveh, symbolizing our efforts to return to our roots and our initial state of purity through the process of Teshuva.
 
Summary: It is proper for a man to immerse in a Mikveh on Erev Rosh Hashanah, which symbolizes the emergence of the human being from the womb in a state of pristine purity.  Before this immersion, a man is not required to undergo the thorough process of cleaning his body and removing foreign substances such as contact lenses, as is required of a woman who immerses to divest herself of her Nidda status.

3)Earning Atonement Through Repentance
 
In the opening chapter of his Hilchot Teshuva, the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204) establishes the Torah obligation of verbal confession.  He writes that anybody who commits a transgression, regardless of its severity and whether he transgressed willfully or unintentionally, must verbally confess his sin as part of the process of Teshuva (repentance).  It does not suffice to merely acknowledge in one's mind that he has acted wrongly; he must verbally declare that he has sinned, specify the precise sin he committed, and express his remorse, his feeling of shame, and his resolve never to repeat the given offense.
 
The Rambam adds that this obligation applies even in contexts where one is required to undertake other measures to rectify the wrong he has committed.  In the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, when sinners in certain situations were required to offer an atonement sacrifice, the sacrifice did not bring atonement in the absence of Teshuva.  Only if the individual repented and verbally confessed as he brought the sacrificial offering did the offering have the capacity to earn him atonement.  What more, even when the court would administer capital punishment, the sinner's death did not earn him atonement without repentance.  Likewise, if a person committed an offense against his fellow that requires monetary compensation, he does not achieve atonement unless he performs sincere Teshuva.
 
During the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, the Rambam adds, the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah – the goat sent into the wilderness as part of the annual Yom Kippur service – atoned for all of Benei Yisrael's sins.  Even if a sinner did not repent, he earns atonement through the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah for "minor" transgressions – namely, transgressions that are not punishable by capital punishment of Karet (eternal excision from the Jewish people).  For this reason, before the Kohen Gadol would send the goat away into the wilderness, he would place his hands upon it and declare confession on behalf of all of Israel's sins.  So significant was the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual that it atoned for certain transgressions even in the absence of Teshuva.
 
Nowadays, the Rambam adds, when we do not have a Mikdash and thus the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual is not performed, we rely solely on Teshuva for earning atonement, and repentance atones for all sins.  The Rambam emphasizes that even if a person lived his entire life in sin and then repented, nothing of his wrongdoing remains on his record.  This power of Teshuva should encourage and inspire us as we work towards performing Teshuva during the month of elul.  Regardless of what we have done and how grievously we have sinned, we are able to "delete" all our misdeeds by performing sincere and genuine Teshuva.
3)The Custom to Perform Hatarat Nedarim Before the Month of Elul
 
Many congregations in the Syrian community have the custom to perform a congregational Hatarat Nedarim (annulment of vows) in the synagogue on the Mosa’eh Shabbat after Tisha B’Ab, or the Mosa’eh Shabbat preceding Rosh Hodesh elul. It should be noted, however, that this is not the original custom that was observed in Halab (Aleppo, Syria). The work Derech Eretz, which documents the religious customs of the great community of Aleppo, writes (listen to audio recording for precise citation) that the original custom was to perform the communal Hatarat Nedarim on Ereb Rosh Hodesh elul, regardless of what day of the week it was. The entire community – men, women and children – would come to the synagogue on that day for the Hatarat Nedarim to absolve any vows that were taken in preparation for the holidays. Later, the custom changed, and the communities began performing the congregational Hatarat Nedarim earlier, on 19 Ab, in the morning. (The Hatarat Nedarim was made again on Ereb Rosh Hashanah and on Ereb Yom Kippur.) At some point the custom changed again, as it was difficult for families to come to the synagogue in the morning, and they began doing the Hatarat Nedarim on the night of 19 Ab, after the Arbit prayer.

The common practice here in the United States, where the Hatarat Nedarim is performed on Mosa’eh Shabbat, began on these shores as a matter of convenience, as people were anyway in the synagogue at the end of Shabbat. This is not how it was done back in Aleppo, and therefore in our synagogue we perform the congregational Hatarat Nedarim on 19 Ab, in accordance with the practice observed by our ancestors in Syria.
Rabbi Mansour 

By Rabbi Avraham  Sultan, our 2014 High Holiday Scholar in Residence.
The Halachot are shared by Midrash Sefardi Yeshiva Jerusalem.

29 of Ab, 5774 
Tomorrow morning we will begin our preparation for Yom Kippur.

The Sephardic custom is to recite the Selihot prayer from the second day of the month of Elul (tomorrow) until Yom Kippur.

Selihot is a special set of Tefilot that we say for forty days which lead us to reflect on our past actions and ask forgiveness from HaShem for our mistakes and wrongdoings. Selihot is traditionally said before dawn, prior to the morning prayer (Shaharit), although technically Selihot could be said also during nighttime (after midnight) or even during the day.

The Ashkenazi Minhag is to start Selihot services the last Sunday before Rosh haShana. However, when Rosh haShana falls on a Monday or Tuesday (it can never fall on a Sunday) Ashkenazi Jews will begin Selihot two Sundays before Rosh haShana.

Also, during the entire month of Elul Ashkenazim and many Sephardim (Moroccans, Persians, etc. but not Syrians) have the custom to blow the Shofar.

The goal of the Selihot is to inspire us to begin the process of Teshuba. Teshuba consists of introspection and repentance. But ultimately it means coming back or closer to God (depending on one's point of departure).  This high spiritual goal, which we aspire to reach in Yom Kippur, cannot be achieved overnight or just by making the decision to change. It demands a serious and patient course of actions in which we revisit our deeds and particularly our values, reexamine our existential goals and the material distractions that have driven us away from those goals. This intense spiritual and intellectual process begins tomorrow and culminates during Yom Kippur.  

To better understand the role of Selihot think of Yom Kippur as a spiritual marathon: a whole day consecrated exclusively to appealing to HaShem, begging His forgiveness and committing ourselves to major changes in our lives. No one will run a marathon without a previous intense training. Similarly, to be in good shape for Yom Kippur, we need a serious training in the field of introspection and in the area of priorities reevaluation.  Only then, we will have the mental clarity to make in Yom Kippur the best resolutions for the coming year.