24 Sep THE PROPER ROSH HASHANAH GREETING

I. Have a Good Year
Many people greet each
other on Rosh Hashanah
with blessings for a good
year, “Shanah tovah.”
Rav Ya’akov Ben Asher,

the 14th century German-
Spanish author of the

Tur, quotes an Ashkenazic custom to greet
people on Rosh Hashanah with the phrase
“Tikaseiv be-shanah tovah, may you be
written in a good year” (Tur, Orach Chaim
582). Rav Moshe Isserles (Rema, 16th cen.,
Poland; ad loc., 8) quotes this with a minor
variation, “Le-shanah tovah tikaseiv, may
you be written for a good year.” However,
the exact phrasing of this greeting generated
debate. While this may seem pedantic, and
really any well-intended greeting is fine, the
underlying debate is about the theological
meaning of Rosh Hashanah. What exactly
happens on this important day and how does
it affect our future’s ? Two forms of greeting
offer different visions of Rosh Hashanah but
there is a third, little-mentioned greeting that
serves as a compromise between the opinions.
Rav Avraham Gombiner (17th cen., Poland;
Magen Avraham, ad loc., 8) quotes a slightly
different greeting than that of the Tur and
Rema. He says the greeting is “Le-shanah
tovah tikaseiv ve-seichasem, may you be
written and sealed for a good year.” As he

points out, the greeting included in the 1547
Machzor Ma’agalei Tzedek is similar —
“Tikaseiv ve-seichasem le-shanah tovah.”
However, the Vilna Gaon (Commentary,
ad loc.) disputes the addition of the word
“techaseim, sealed” because it does not reflect
what actually happens on Rosh Hashanah.
There are two important Talmudic passages
that underlie this discussion.
II. Signed, Sealed, Not Delivered
The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 16a) quotes a
baraisa: “At four times of the year the world
is judged… Man is judged on Rosh HaShana
and his sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur.”
What does it mean for a judgment to be sealed?
Procedurally, it seems that changing the
judgment is easier before it is sealed. Before
it is sealed, you only have to tip the scales
by doing more good (particularly teshuvah).
After it is sealed, only an extraordinary effort
can change the judgment.
While the above passage places the sealing
of the judgment on Yom Kippur, the Gemara
says on the next page (16b): “R. Kruspedai
said, Rabbi Yochanan said: Three books
are opened on Rosh HaShana: One of the
completely wicked, one of the completely
righteous and one of those in between
(beinonim). The completely righteous are
immediately written and sealed for life; the
completely wicked are immediately written
and sealed for death; and those in between are

suspended and waiting from Rosh HaShana
until Yom Kippur. If they merit, they are
written for life; if they do not merit, they are
written for death.” According to this passage,
judgments for the righteous and the wicked
are written and sealed on Rosh Hashanah.
Yom Kippur is only necessary for those in
between. Yet, it seems from the prior passage
that Yom Kippur is for everybody.
There are two main approaches to
reconciling these passages. Ramban (13th
cen., Spain; Sha’ar Ha-Gemul), quoted by
R. Nissim of Gerona (14th cen., Spain;
Commentary to Rif, Rosh Hashanah 3b s.v.
tzadikim), explains that the first passage
is speaking about those in between. Those
who are judged as completely righteous or
completely wicked for the year are written
and sealed on Rosh Hashanah. In this case,
the judgment is for the upcoming year and
the terms “righteous” and “wicked” are used
as technical terms and not descriptive of the
individual’s overall merits. Righteous here
means someone who is judged for life, who
has prevailed in the judgment. Even if he
has done many bad things, if he is judged to
live and succeed in the upcoming year then
he falls into the category of “righteous.”
Similarly, “wicked” is used here to refer to
the outcome of the judgment, even if the
individual is a very good person. Everyone
has done good and bad things in their life.
Sometimes we are rewarded for the good and
sometimes punished for the bad. Righteous
and wicked here refer to what the upcoming
year will bring. In contrast to those who
are not judged righteous or wicked, those
whose judgments depend on additional
repentance and good deeds, are judged on
Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is only for those in the “in
between” category.
III. This World and the Next
In contrast, Tosafos (Rosh Hashanah 16b
s.v. ve-nechtamin) explain the second
passage as referring to the World-to-Come.
On Rosh Hashanah, we are judged whether
we will go straight to Heaven (Gan Eden) or
Hell (Gehinom). The completely righteous
are immediately written and inscribed for
Gan Eden (i.e. life) and the completely
wicked are immediately written and
inscribed for Gehinom (i.e. death). Meaning,
based on their actions over the past year,
should they receive Gan Eden or Gehinom?
Even though this can change in future years
through repentance and good deeds, this
is their judgment for the World-to-Come
as it stands at that point. Those in between
righteous and wicked have their judgments
written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on
Yom Kippur. According to Tosafos, every
Rosh Hashanah (and for some, Yom Kippur

also) is a spiritual checkup for the World-
to-Come, an annual performance review

that will yield results after your time in this
world is over.
The Vilna Ga’on (ibid.) explains that
according to Tosafos, the first passage —

everyone’s judgment is written on Rosh
Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur —
discusses our experiences in this world. The
second passage — only the judgment of
those in between are sealed on Yom Kippur

— discusses judgment for the World-to-
Come. According to Tosafos, when we say

in the U-Nesaneh Tokef prayer that we are
written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on
Yom Kippur, we are talking about everyone’s
judgment for the next year. According to
Ramban, this must be discussing only those
in between, not the righteous or wicked.
Bringing it all together, Magen Avraham
follows Ramban who believes that the
righteous and the wicked are judged, written
and sealed on Rosh Hashanah. Therefore,
on Rosh Hashanah we greet people with a
blessing that they be judged as righteous by
saying in our greeting that they should be
written and sealed for a good year. In contrast,
Tur and Rema follow Tosafos that when
it comes to this world, no one’s judgment
is sealed on Rosh Hashanah. Everyone is
judged and written on Rosh Hashanah but
their judgment is sealed only on Yom Kippur.
Therefore, you should only wish people to be
written — not sealed — for a good year on
Rosh Hashanah.
IV. Creative Greetings
Rav Avraham Danzig (19th cen., Lithuania;
Chayei Adam 139:5) says that the proper
greeting is “Tikaseiv ve-seichasem le-alter
le-chaim tovim, you should be written
and inscribed immediately for good life.”
He includes both writing and sealing but
excludes the upcoming year. The phrase
“le-shanah tovah, for a good year” in the
standard blessing refers to the upcoming
year, a judgment on this world. By omitting
that phrase, Rav Danzig makes the greeting
ambiguous so it can apply either to this world
or to the next world. You are wishing someone
a good judgment — written and sealed. If
the judgment is about the World-to-Come,
according to Tosafos that is appropriate
for Rosh Hashanah when the righteous
are written and sealed. If the judgment is
about this world, according to Ramban it is
appropriate for Rosh Hashanah.
Rav Danzig’s ambiguous phrasing satisfies
all opinions. It is common in yeshiva circles
to wish people a “kesivah va-chasimah tovah,
a good writing and sealing.” I believe that
this is a variant of Rav Danzig’s compromise
greeting that conforms to all views. With
that, I wish all readers a kesivah va-chasimah
tovah for this world and the next.