This week, if you see a Jewish man with a spring in his step, odds are he isn't saying slichos at the traditional time -- either around 1 AM, or just before dawn.
The new custom is to say Slichos at 10:30 PM. Traditionalists, of course, despise this new custom. And leading the charge against the new custom are the Hasidim. It's the rare shteeble (led by the weak Rabbi) that permits a 10:30 slichos, and their books are full of spooky, scary ghost stories mystical reasons for prohibiting the early slichos.
A little strange when you remember how flexible Hasidim usually are about prayer times.
