Solitary Selichos
Question
Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. For someone who davens without a minyan, is it obligatory for him to say Selichos, given that the Rema in o.c. 565:5 rules that he is not allowed to say selichos without a minyan, to which the Mishnah Beruah disagrees and only says it is “permissible,” implying that it is only permissible but not an obligation. Does anyone hold that one is obligated? Thank you.
Answers
An individual should recite Selichos. However, there are certain parts that someone reciting Selichos without a Minyan cannot say.
A person reciting Selichos without a minyan should not say the Thirteen Attributes as a Tefillah, but they can read the Yud Gimmel Middos with the trop as if they are reading the verses from the Torah. According to some Poskim, when doing so it is permissible to end with the word “venakeh” despite the fact that it is in the middle of the verse. Others Poskim are of the opinion that it should be omitted entirely. As well as that, an individual cannot recite the paragraphs that are in Aramaic. Some Poskim rule that an individual can say the paragraph “Kel Melech” even though it says “Zechor Lanu Hayom” in the plural. Other Poskim recommend leaving it out all together.
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