Get ready for the last Shabbat of the year 5773! (see lead article) This is a chance to make up for and fix anything lacking from the previous 50 or so.
The date of Shabbat on the Hebrew calendar is 25th Elul, the exact anniversary of the first day of Creation when the Creator said, "Let there be...."
(Rosh Hashanah, five days later, is the anniversary of the sixth day of Creation, when G‑d said, "Let us make Man.") Learn all about it in the second article.
On Saturday night Askenazic Jews start the distinctive pre-Rosh Hashanah Selichot prayers (see third and last articles); Sephardim have been reciting them for three weeks already.

Next week will be a special Rosh Hashanah issue.