Selichot are prayers of Repentance. According to the Sephardic Minhag (custom), these prayers begin on the first of the month of Elul and continue until Rosh Hashanah. In the Ashkenazic Minhag these penitential prayers begin on the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah with a minimum of four days of Selichot. The first Selichot are said early Sunday morning after midnight.