Selihot are a special order of service consisting of non-statutory additional prayers which are recited on all fast days, on occasions of special intercession and during the Penitential season which begins before Rosh Ha-Shanah and concludes with the Day of Atonement. The word selihah means forgiveness, and in the singular is used to indicate a piyyut whose subject is a plea for forgiveness for sins.

Wolf Heidenheim (Benjamin Ze'ev; 1757–1832), Hebrew grammarian, masoretic scholar, exegete, and commentator on the liturgy. Born in Heidenheim, Germany, he studied with Rabbi Nathan Adler in Frankfort. In 1788 he established himself in Offenbach, where he subsequently published R. Abraham ibn Ezra's grammatical work Moznayim (1791), with commentary and notes and part of an edition of the Pentateuch (up to Gen. 43:16) with a carefully corrected text of the Targum and several commentaries, together with explanations and a detailed commentary on Rashi by Heidenheim (Torat Elohim Meforash). He was obliged to abandon the project for financial reasons.

Heidenheim devoted great care to typographical setup as well as to the restoration of the correct text of the prayers. With this objective, he drew on manuscripts and occasionally on old printed texts. The prominent rabbis of his time approved of Heidenheim's work and also contributed notes and comments to many piyyutim. Despite the haskamot of these rabbis prohibiting the reprinting of Heidenheim's works, many pirated editions appeared in the 19th century.