Does anyone know if these selichos with musical accompaniment and singing are increasing every year?
From anecdotal evidence, it appear that the number of events and crowds for the first night of Ashkenazi Selichos have been growing. It might be that this type of First Night of Selichois, talks to a lot of peoples neshamos and motivates them to do Teshuva M’Ahava which is bigger than Teshuva M’Yirah.
I would like to point out that the sign encourages everyone to realize that the purpose of coming to selichos daily is not to simply “say selichois” but the following:
“They tremble and quake at the day of Your coming [to judge them,] they are panic-struck— as a woman giving birth the first time, from the burning wrath You carry; O’ please, wipe away their filth that they may praise Your wonders, [and] hear our cry and our prayer!”