(לב) וְעַתָּ֖ה אִם־תִּשָּׂ֣א חַטָּאתָ֑ם וְאִם־אַ֕יִן מְחֵ֣נִי
נָ֔א מִֽסִּפְרְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּתָֽבְתָּ׃
(32) Now, if You will forgive their sin [well and good]; but if not, erase me from Your book which You have written!”
(לג) מספרך. מִכָּל הַתּוֹרָה כֻּלָּהּ, שֶׁלֹּא
יֹאמְרוּ עָלַי שֶׁלֹּא הָיִיתִי כְדַאי לְבַקֵּשׁ עֲלֵיהֶם רַחֲמִים:
(33) מספרך OF YOUR BOOK — of the
entire book of the Torah; that people should not say about me that I was not worthy enough to pray effectively for them.
(כז) כִּֽי־אַתָּ֣ה אֲשֶׁר־הִכִּ֣יתָ רָדָ֑פוּ וְאֶל־מַכְא֖וֹב חֲלָלֶ֣יךָ יְסַפֵּֽרוּ׃ (כח) תְּֽנָה־עָ֭וֺן עַל־עֲוֺנָ֑ם וְאַל־יָ֝בֹ֗אוּ בְּצִדְקָתֶֽךָ׃ (כט) יִ֭מָּחֽוּ מִסֵּ֣פֶר חַיִּ֑ים וְעִ֥ם צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים אַל־יִכָּתֵֽבוּ׃
(27) For they persecute those You have struck; they talk about the pain of those You have felled. (28) Add that to their guilt; let them have no share of Your beneficence; (29) may they be erased from the book of life, and not be inscribed with the righteous.
א"ר כרוספדאי א"ר יוחנן שלשה ספרים נפתחין בר"ה אחד של רשעים גמורין ואחד של צדיקים גמורין ואחד של בינוניים צדיקים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר לחיים רשעים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר למיתה בינוניים תלויין ועומדין מר"ה ועד יוה"כ זכו נכתבין לחיים לא זכו נכתבין למיתה
R' Kaspodai said in the name of R' Yochanan: Three books are opened on Rosh Hashana. One of absolute sinners, one of absolute tzadikim, and one of beinonim (in-betweeners). ... Absolute tzadikim--written and sealed immediately for life. Absolute sinners--written and sealed immediately for death. Beinonim are held in the balance and stand from Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur. ... If they succeed--written for life. If they do not succeed--written for death.
Bachya ibn Pakuda, Duties of the Heart
Days are scrolls. Write on them only what you want to be remembered.
Rabbi Maurice Davis
For us the Book of Life has been reduced to words of casual welcome, spoken or written on cards, l’shanah tovah tikateivu (May you be inscribed for a good year). The Book of Life. I wonder. Is that all it means today? When I hear those words, those words to me have meaning. I do not see a ledger in the skies wherein my fate is written, signed, and sealed. Nor do I see some greeting card, bedecked with gaily colored scenes, where on the bottom line — unvocalized — appear the words l’shanah tovah tikateivu. The Book of Life to me is a symbol. It says to me, “You are recorded! What you say is more than words whispered into the wind. What you are is something more than pebbles on a beach. What you do has an effect.”
Rabbi Laura Geller in Mishkan Hanefesh: Machzor for the Days of Awe
Your Book of Life doesn’t begin today, on Rosh Hashanah. It began when you were born. Some of the chapters were written by other people: your parents, siblings, and teachers. Parts of your book were crafted out of experiences you had because of other people’s decisions: where you lived, what schools you went to, what your homes were like. But the message of Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of the creation of the world, is that everything can be made new again, that much of your book is written every day — by the choices you make. The book is not written and sealed; you get to edit it, decide what parts you want to emphasize and remember, and maybe even which parts you want to leave behind. Shanah tovah means both a good year, and a good change. Today you can change the rest of your life. It is never too late.