There is a book, it is called the Book of Life. On Rosh Hashana, our liturgy tells us, we are written down for life - we hope. The evildoers are written for death. On Yom Kippur, it is sealed. How do we merit to be written for life? What does the writing-sealing process mean? And who is actually reading this "book"? Why not just say that God decides who shall live and who shall die, and leave the publishing industry out if it?
Further, why is the phrase "they shall be written" used? Why not use the active tense together with the subject and state that "God will write?" This is clearly hinted at by the strange phrase in the prayer Unetaneh Tokef: "And the signature of every hand is in it (the Book)." In other words, WE are the ones doing the writing. If this is so, why would anyone be written down for death? Who would do that to themselves? What does this mean?
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