Ten Days of Repentance

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The Ten Days of Repentance (Hebrew: עשרת ימי תשובה, Aseret Yemei Teshuva) are the first ten days of the Jewish month of Tishrei, beginning on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah and ending on Yom Kippur.

During this time it is "exceedingly appropriate" for Jews to practice Teshuvah (literally. returning or repentance) which is, examining one's ways, and engaging in Repentance and the improvement of their ways in anticipation of Yom Kippur.

This repentance can take the form of early morning prayers, known as selichot , which capture the penitential spirit appropriate to the occasion, fasting, or self-reflection.

In contemporary Judaism, many congregations offer a Selichot Service near midnight on the weekend preceding the Ten Days of Repentance. This, often short, prayer service serves as a preamble to the High Holy Days (Yom Kippur in particular). The service itself is comprised of prayers of atonement, the liturgy of which may be found in many machzorim (prayer books for the High Holy Days).