Rabbi Dunner addresses Beverly Hills Synagogue before the Selichot service, Motzei Shabbat, September 1, 2018.

After puzzling over the Rambam‘s confounding Hilchot Teshuva reference to Selichot, Rabbi Dunner shared the incredible story of the groundbreaking ceremony for Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, 1942, and the story of his grandparents’ wedding in Rotterdam, in 1940, just after the Nazis had overrun Holland.

Understanding these two stories puts Selichot into perspetive, as well as the other extra mitzvot we take on during the period of Yamim Noraim, as instructed by the Rambam.