Rashi explains this enigmatic verse by telling us that if one does good, then he will be granted life; but if one chooses to do evil, he will be not live.
Several verses later, we find a similar statement with slight, but notable differences:
I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. You shall choose life, so that you and your offspring will live (30:19)
The words of this command are striking. Firstly, why does Moshe repeat the message he delivered only a few verses beforehand? There must be a new lesson to be learned from these words. Moreover, according to Rashi’s interpretation of the first verse, it should read choose good and Hashem will give you long life. Of it is God that determines who lives, what does the Torah mean when it tells man to not simply to choose good, but to choose life? Is it God or is it man that chooses life?
Interestingly, a similar question arises when reading the Rosh Hashanah liturgy. In one of the most poignant prayers of the Rosh Hashanah service, U’netaneh Tokef, we recite the following words:
It is true that You alone are the One Who judges, proves, knows, and bears witness…You will open the Book of Chronicles - it will read itself, and everyone's signature is in it…On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth…who will live and who will die
With these words we are reminded that God who opens the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah and judges who will live and who will die. And yet, at the very same time, we say that the book will read itself, that man signs his own name into the book that Hashem opens for us on this day. The question still stands: Is it God or is it man who signs our names into the book of life?
In answering this question, we can gain a better understanding of our goals and our mindset on Rosh Hashanah and the days leading up to the New Year. As Rav Kirzner noted, man often makes the mistake of thinking that the pen of judgment rests in God’s hand alone on Rosh Hashanah, rather than realizing that Hashem opens the book and puts the pen in our hand. On Rosh Hashanah, we become responsible for writing ourselves in the book of life; we become partners with Hashem in determining what lies in our future.
Indeed in our parshiot we see the model of what it is to become a partner with the Divine - and the long and complete life that is granted to such a person. In his closing speech to the people, Moshe announces that he has lived, and will die at 120 years. The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 11a) tells us that Moshe died on the same day he was born as a sign of his righteousness. Moshe was a model of someone who lived a complete life of not one day less than 120 years - because Moshe dedicated each moment of his life to the service of God and the fulfillment of the role Hashem determined for him in this world.
The Arizal explains that on Rosh Hashanah - the commemoration of the final step of creation – Hashem decides whether the world should be created anew again each year. The decision is made by Hashem’s determination of man’s ability to accomplish the goals for which the world was first created.
On this day, Hashem judges us not for actions that have taken place already in the past - but for something that lies beyond the past and beyond our actions - and that is our desire to dedicate our future to being better and to becoming a partner in fulfilling God’s mission in this world. As the well-known verse in this week’s Torah portion tell us:
The hidden things belong to the Lord, our God, but the revealed things apply to us (Devarim 19:28)
On the day that we are judged for what is hidden, internal and known only to God, it is up to each of us to truly feel that we are ready and able to dedicate ourselves to working towards achieving the greater task and purpose for which Hashem placed us in His world. If we are ready and willing to be His partner, then certainly He will grant us life and opportunity to fulfill these goals. If we are able to reach a point on Rosh Hashanah that we can are in touch with our internal drive to fulfill our potential and our purpose in this world, then we have essentially written ourselves in the book of life. And so our first step in this partnership is writing our names in the book of life - by declaring our readiness to follow in God's ways and to do His will for the year to come, even better and with more passion than in years past.
The importance of who we are and what we feel on the day of Rosh Hashanah is highlighted in the opening of our double-parsha:
You are all standing this day before the Lord, your God the leaders of your tribes, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel (Devarim 29:9)
Rashi, among others, explains that the word hayom – this day – is included in order to show the Jewish people that although they have caused Hashem to be angry time and again throughout their travels and travails in the desert, Hashem still gives us the opportunity to stand before Him. The Zohar explains that the word today refers to Rosh Hashanah – not a day of fear, regret, and distance - but a day of closeness and embrace with Hashem.
On Rosh Hashanah Hashem does not simply judge us for who we were, but instead He asks of us on this day who we want to be. Once we have determined that we are ready for such dedication, then we are ready to focus the next 10 days culminating with Yom Kippur - it is then that we will be able to do teshuva no simply to rid ourselves of our past mistakes, but to use them as a springboard for growth in the future that we have chosen for ourselves. May we all sign ourselves in the book of life and may God ultimately seal our names each year in the book of life each year ad meah ve'esrim (until 120)! Chativa Vechatima Tova and as always, Shabbat Shalom, Taly
