Slichot Feed: TikTok Rediscovers the Piyyutim of Judaism
During the month of Elul, content creators upload videos from Selichot services in synagogues and at the Western Wall to TikTok, which go viral. Four creators talk about the phenomenon, the embrace from the audience, and the sense of mission. Asi Tichtel films from a special angle simulating a drone, Nachman Cohen sees it as a mission to spread Judaism, and Nachman Yosef reports hundreds of thousands of views. The main motive, they say, is unity and drawing closer to tradition.
In the month of Elul, as synagogues awaken in the night hours and ancient piyyutim are heard again, some are documenting the Selichot services and uploading them to TikTok. The article presents four content creators who turned the documentation into a viral phenomenon, with tens of thousands and millions of views. Asi Tichtel films at the Western Wall using a 360-degree camera and a long selfie stick, simulating drone footage, and says he received inquiries from people who thought he was flying a drone in a forbidden area. He says his main motive is the desire to talk about unity, and that he is tired of the division among the people. Nachman Cohen describes the feeling as a mission to spread faith and Judaism, and said he released a song for Selichot called 'Ma Lecha Nirdam'. Nachman Yosef says it is important to him to raise awareness of the month of Elul and Selichot, and reports that his latest video received about 100,000 views and 7,000 likes, and a video his brother uploaded three years ago received a million views and 24,000 likes. The creators emphasize the embrace from the audience and the sense of mission in connecting to tradition.