Jewish sources explore the process of divine judgment that begins on Rosh Hashanah and concludes with the sealing of verdicts on Yom Kippur. The Ten Days of Repentance offer an opportunity for individuals—especially the spiritually intermediate—to influence their final judgment through teshuvah, prayer, and righteous action.
שְׁלֹשָׁה סְפָרִים נִפְתָּחִין בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
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Psalms 81:4
The verse 'Blow the shofar at the new moon, at the concealed time for our festival day' is interpreted by the Talmud as referring to Rosh Hashanah — the month whose moon is hidden/covered — linking the shofar blast to the day of divine judgment.
תִּקְע֣וּ בַחֹ֣דֶשׁ שׁוֹפָ֑ר בַּ֝כֵּ֗סֶה לְי֣וֹם חַגֵּֽנוּ׃
Blow the horn on the new moon, on the full moon for our feast day.
Leviticus 23:24
The Torah's command for Rosh Hashanah describes it as 'a remembrance of the shofar-blast' (zichron teruah) — the Sages interpret 'remembrance' as evoking God's recollection of each person's deeds, forming the biblical basis for the concept of divine judgment on this day.
דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜י בְּאֶחָ֣ד לַחֹ֗דֶשׁ יִהְיֶ֤ה לָכֶם֙ שַׁבָּת֔וֹן זִכְר֥וֹן תְּרוּעָ֖ה מִקְרָא־קֹֽדֶשׁ׃
Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts.
Leviticus 23:27-28:1
The Torah describes Yom Kippur as the day of atonement on which God 'covers over' sin, providing the scriptural basis for understanding Yom Kippur as the sealing point that finalizes what began with the judgment of Rosh Hashanah.
אַ֡ךְ בֶּעָשׂ֣וֹר לַחֹ֩דֶשׁ֩ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֨י הַזֶּ֜ה י֧וֹם הַכִּפֻּרִ֣ים ה֗וּא מִֽקְרָא־קֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֥ם אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַיהֹוָֽה׃ וְכׇל־מְלָאכָה֙ לֹ֣א תַעֲשׂ֔וּ בְּעֶ֖צֶם הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֣י י֤וֹם כִּפֻּרִים֙ ה֔וּא לְכַפֵּ֣ר עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
Mark, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall practice self-denial, and you shall bring an offering by fire to GOD; you shall do no work throughout that day. For it is a Day of Atonement, on which expiation is made on your behalf before the ETERNAL your God.
Rosh Hashanah 16a:6
The Talmud discusses how every individual's deeds are judged on Rosh Hashanah, and explains that there is a process of sealing the judgment on Yom Kippur.
דְּתַנְיָא: הַכֹּל נִידּוֹנִים בָּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, וּגְזַר דִּין שֶׁלָּהֶם נֶחְתָּם בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: הַכֹּל נִידּוֹנִין בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, וּגְזַר דִּין שֶׁלָּהֶם נֶחְתָּם כׇּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד בִּזְמַנּוֹ: בַּפֶּסַח — עַל הַתְּבוּאָה, בַּעֲצֶרֶת — עַל פֵּירוֹת הָאִילָן, בֶּחָג נִידּוֹנִין עַל הַמַּיִם. וְאָדָם נִידּוֹן בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, וּגְזַר דִּין שֶׁלּוֹ נֶחְתָּם בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: אָדָם נִידּוֹן בְּכׇל יוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַתִּפְקְדֶנּוּ לִבְקָרִים״. רַבִּי נָתָן אוֹמֵר: אָדָם נִידּוֹן בְּכׇל שָׁעָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לִרְגָעִים תִּבְחָנֶנּוּ״.
The Gemara explains: As it is taught in a baraita: All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed each in its own time: On Passover the sentence is sealed concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water; and mankind is judged on Rosh HaShana, and the sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur. Rabbi Yosei says: A person is judged every day, and not just once a year, as it is stated: “You visit him every morning” (Job 7:18), meaning that every morning an accounting is made and a judgment is passed. Rabbi Natan says: A person is judged every hour, as it is stated: “You try him every moment” (Job 7:18).
Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:2
The Mishnah states that on Rosh Hashanah all inhabitants of the world pass before God like soldiers in review (kivnei maron), establishing the rabbinic framework for universal divine judgment on this day.
בְּאַרְבָּעָה פְרָקִים הָעוֹלָם נִדּוֹן, בְּפֶסַח עַל הַתְּבוּאָה, בַּעֲצֶרֶת עַל פֵּרוֹת הָאִילָן, בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה כָּל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם עוֹבְרִין לְפָנָיו כִּבְנֵי מָרוֹן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים לג) הַיּוֹצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם, הַמֵּבִין אֶל כָּל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם. וּבֶחָג נִדּוֹנִין עַל הַמָּיִם:
At four times of the year the world is judged: On Passover judgment is passed concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; on Rosh HaShana, all creatures pass before Him like sheep [benei maron], as it is stated: “He Who fashions their hearts alike, Who considers all their deeds” (Psalms 33:15); and on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water, i.e., the rainfall of the coming year.
Rosh Hashanah 16b:12
The Talmud discusses the three books opened on Rosh Hashanah — the completely wicked, the completely righteous, and the intermediates (beinonim) — with the intermediates' judgment suspended until Yom Kippur, explaining the gap between initial judgment and final sealing.
אָמַר רַבִּי כְּרוּסְפָּדַאי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שְׁלֹשָׁה סְפָרִים נִפְתָּחִין בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, אֶחָד שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים גְּמוּרִין, וְאֶחָד שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים גְּמוּרִין, וְאֶחָד שֶׁל בֵּינוֹנִיִּים. צַדִּיקִים גְּמוּרִין — נִכְתָּבִין וְנֶחְתָּמִין לְאַלְתַּר לְחַיִּים, רְשָׁעִים גְּמוּרִין — נִכְתָּבִין וְנֶחְתָּמִין לְאַלְתַּר לְמִיתָה, בֵּינוֹנִיִּים — תְּלוּיִין וְעוֹמְדִין מֵרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה וְעַד יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, זָכוּ — נִכְתָּבִין לְחַיִּים, לֹא זָכוּ — נִכְתָּבִין לְמִיתָה. אָמַר רַבִּי אָבִין, מַאי קְרָא: ״יִמָּחוּ מִסֵּפֶר חַיִּים וְעִם צַדִּיקִים אַל יִכָּתֵבוּ״. ״יִמָּחוּ מִסֵּפֶר״ — זֶה סִפְרָן שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים גְּמוּרִין, ״חַיִּים״ — זֶה סִפְרָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים, ״וְעִם צַדִּיקִים אַל יִכָּתֵבוּ״ — זֶה סִפְרָן שֶׁל בֵּינוֹנִיִּים.
§ The Gemara goes back to discuss the Day of Judgment. Rabbi Kruspedai said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Three books are opened on Rosh HaShana before the Holy One, Blessed be He: One of wholly wicked people, and one of wholly righteous people, and one of middling people whose good and bad deeds are equally balanced. Wholly righteous people are immediately written and sealed for life; wholly wicked people are immediately written and sealed for death; and middling people are left with their judgment suspended from Rosh HaShana until Yom Kippur, their fate remaining undecided. If they merit, through the good deeds and mitzvot that they perform during this period, they are written for life; if they do not so merit, they are written for death. Rabbi Avin said: What is the verse that alludes to this? “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, but not be written with the righteous” (Psalms 69:29). “Let them be blotted out of the book”; this is the book of wholly wicked people, who are blotted out from the world. “Of the living”; this is the book of wholly righteous people. “But not be written with the righteous”; this is the book of middling people, who are written in a separate book, not with the righteous.
Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3:2-4:2
Rambam outlines the process of judgment starting on Rosh Hashanah and the opportunity for repentance until Yom Kippur when the judgment is sealed.
כָּל מִי שֶׁנִּחַם עַל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעָשָׂה וְתָהָה עַל הַזְּכֻיּוֹת וְאָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ וּמַה הוֹעַלְתִּי בַּעֲשִׂיָּתָן הַלְוַאי לֹא עָשִׂיתִי אוֹתָן הֲרֵי זֶה אִבֵּד אֶת כֻּלָּן וְאֵין מַזְכִּירִים לוֹ שׁוּם זְכוּת בָּעוֹלָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לג יב) "וְצִדְקַת הַצַּדִּיק לֹא תַצִּילֶנּוּ בְּיוֹם רִשְׁעוֹ", אֵין זֶה אֶלָּא בְּתוֹהֶה עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת. וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁשּׁוֹקְלִין זְכֻיּוֹת אָדָם וַעֲוֹנוֹתָיו בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ כָּךְ בְּכָל שָׁנָה וְשָׁנָה שׁוֹקְלִין עֲוֹנוֹת כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִבָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם עִם זְכֻיּוֹתָיו, בְּיוֹם טוֹב שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה. מִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא צַדִּיק נֶחְתָּם לְחַיִּים. וּמִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא רָשָׁע נֶחְתָּם לְמִיתָה. וְהַבֵּינוֹנִי תּוֹלִין אוֹתוֹ עַד יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים אִם עָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה נֶחְתָּם לְחַיִּים וְאִם לָאו נֶחְתָּם לְמִיתָה:
Anyone who changes his mind about the mitzvot he has performed and regrets the merits [he has earned], saying in his heart: "What value was there in doing them? I wish I hadn't performed them" - loses them all and no merit is preserved for him at all as [Ezekiel 33:12] states "The righteousness of the upright will not save him on the day of his transgression." This only applies to one who regrets his previous [deeds]. Just as a person's merits and sins are weighed at the time of his death, so, too, the sins of every inhabitant of the world together with his merits are weighed on the festival of Rosh HaShanah. If one is found righteous, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If one is found wicked, his [verdict] is sealed for death. A Beinoni's verdict remains tentative until Yom Kippur. If he repents, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If not, his [verdict] is sealed for death.
Sha'arei Teshuvah 2:14
Rabbeinu Yonah explains the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as a period of grace during which the beinonim can tip their balance through repentance, prayer, and charity before the verdict is sealed — teaching that human action can still alter the divine decree.
וּבָעֵת הַהִיא הָאֱלֹקִים יָבִיא בְמִשְׁפָּט אֶת כָּל מַעֲשֶׂה עַל כָּל נֶעְלָם אִם טוֹב וְאִם רָע.
For man is judged on Rosh Hashanah and his final verdict is sealed on Yom Kippur.
Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3:1-3:3
Rambam codifies the three books of Rosh Hashanah and the suspension of judgment for beinonim through Yom Kippur. He adds that repentance, prayer, and charity can avert the evil decree, grounding this theologically in human free will and divine mercy.
כָּל מִי שֶׁנִּחַם עַל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעָשָׂה וְתָהָה עַל הַזְּכֻיּוֹת וְאָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ וּמַה הוֹעַלְתִּי בַּעֲשִׂיָּתָן הַלְוַאי לֹא עָשִׂיתִי אוֹתָן הֲרֵי זֶה אִבֵּד אֶת כֻּלָּן וְאֵין מַזְכִּירִים לוֹ שׁוּם זְכוּת בָּעוֹלָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לג יב) "וְצִדְקַת הַצַּדִּיק לֹא תַצִּילֶנּוּ בְּיוֹם רִשְׁעוֹ", אֵין זֶה אֶלָּא בְּתוֹהֶה עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת. וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁשּׁוֹקְלִין זְכֻיּוֹת אָדָם וַעֲוֹנוֹתָיו בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ כָּךְ בְּכָל שָׁנָה וְשָׁנָה שׁוֹקְלִין עֲוֹנוֹת כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִבָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם עִם זְכֻיּוֹתָיו, בְּיוֹם טוֹב שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה. מִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא צַדִּיק נֶחְתָּם לְחַיִּים. וּמִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא רָשָׁע נֶחְתָּם לְמִיתָה. וְהַבֵּינוֹנִי תּוֹלִין אוֹתוֹ עַד יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים אִם עָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה נֶחְתָּם לְחַיִּים וְאִם לָאו נֶחְתָּם לְמִיתָה:
Anyone who changes his mind about the mitzvot he has performed and regrets the merits [he has earned], saying in his heart: "What value was there in doing them? I wish I hadn't performed them" - loses them all and no merit is preserved for him at all as [Ezekiel 33:12] states "The righteousness of the upright will not save him on the day of his transgression." This only applies to one who regrets his previous [deeds]. Just as a person's merits and sins are weighed at the time of his death, so, too, the sins of every inhabitant of the world together with his merits are weighed on the festival of Rosh HaShanah. If one is found righteous, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If one is found wicked, his [verdict] is sealed for death. A Beinoni's verdict remains tentative until Yom Kippur. If he repents, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If not, his [verdict] is sealed for death.
Chomat Anakh on Jeremiah 42:7
Rabbeinu Bachya's Gate of Accounting describes the obligation of perpetual self-examination, providing the philosophical backdrop for understanding why a ten-day window of cheshbon ha-nefesh between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is spiritually coherent.
Netivot Olam, Netiv Hatshuva 1:1
Maharal discusses the philosophical and ethical implications of judgment and repentance during the period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.
ומה הוא הדבר הזה, כי האדם יש לו לחשוב על דרכיו. כלומר וכי אין אתם יראים כי תלכו מן העולם בלא תשובה, ולכך יש לכם להתחרט על מעשיכם.
Mishnah Berurah 581
The Mishnah Berurah explains the stages in celestial judgment starting from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur.
(יז) ואין קורין בהם ויחל וכו' - והיינו אפילו אותן שמתענין וקורין ויחל בכל ער"ח [פ"ת] ואין אומרים או"א ברכנו בברכה וכו' לפי שאינו ת"צ:
For during these forty days, repentance is [more readily] accepted, since one's heart is near to his Beloved (God) with repentance; and then his Beloved will be near to them to accept his repentance with love.
Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3:3
כל מי שניחם על המצוות שעשה, ואמר בלבו מה הועלתי בעשייתן, הרי זה איבד את כולן... וכשם ששוקלים זכיות אדם ועונותיו בשעת מיתתו, כך בכל שנה ושנה שוקלין עונות כל אחד מבאי עולם עם זכיותיו ביום טוב של ראש השנה. מי שנמצא צדיק נחתם לחיים, ומי שנמצא רשע נחתם למיתה, והבינוני תולין אותו עד יום הכפורים, אם עשה תשובה נחתם לחיים.
וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁשּׁוֹקְלִין זְכֻיּוֹת אָדָם וַעֲוֹנוֹתָיו בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ כָּךְ בְּכָל שָׁנָה וְשָׁנָה שׁוֹקְלִין עֲוֹנוֹת כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִבָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם עִם זְכֻיּוֹתָיו, בְּיוֹם טוֹב שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה. מִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא צַדִּיק נֶחְתָּם לְחַיִּים. וּמִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא רָשָׁע נֶחְתָּם לְמִיתָה. וְהַבֵּינוֹנִי תּוֹלִין אוֹתוֹ עַד יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים אִם עָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה נֶחְתָּם לְחַיִּים וְאִם לָאו נֶחְתָּם לְמִיתָה:
Just as a person's merits and sins are weighed at the time of his death, so, too, the sins of every inhabitant of the world together with his merits are weighed on the festival of Rosh HaShanah. If one is found righteous, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If one is found wicked, his [verdict] is sealed for death. A Beinoni's verdict remains tentative until Yom Kippur. If he repents, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If not, his [verdict] is sealed for death.
Sulam on Zohar, Vayigash
אם זכה לעשות תשובה, אבל עוד אינה בשלמות כראוי, תולים לו עד יום ההוא האחרון הנקרא עצרת, שהוא יום השמיני לחג הסוכות. ואם עשה תשובה שלימה לפני אדונו, נקרעות האגרות, ואם לא זכה, האגרות יוצאות מבית המלך, ונמסרות בידיו של המלאך המעניש, והדין נעשה, האגרות אחר שהוצאו אינן חוזרות עוד לבית המלך, (אלא הדין הכתוב בהן מוכרח להעשות)...
Mishneh Torah, Repentance
כל מי שניחם על המצות שעשה ותהה על הזכיות ואמר בלבו ומה הועלתי בעשייתן, הלואי לא עשיתי אותן, הרי זה איבד את כולן ואין מזכירים לו שום זכות בעולם... וכשם ששוקלין זכיות אדם ועונותיו בשעת מיתתו, כך בכל שנה ושנה שוקלין עונות כל אחד ואחד מבאי העולם עם זכיותיו ביום טוב של ראש השנה... ומי שנמצא רשע נחתם למיתה, והבינוני תולין אותו עד יום הכפורים אם עשה תשובה נחתם לחיים...
Notes by Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman on Derekh Chayim 4:22
The Maharal develops the idea that Rosh Hashanah is the day of creation and thus the day of existential accounting, while the ten days of repentance represent the structure through which a person can reconstitute their spiritual being before Yom Kippur seals the verdict.
Toldot Yaakov Yosef, Nitzavim
The author connects the parsha of Nitzavim (always read before Rosh Hashanah) to standing before God in judgment, explaining that the unity of Israel — 'you are all standing today' — itself constitutes a merit that tempers the judgment of individual beinonim.
דהיינו קודם ראש השנה שהוא דן במדת הרחמים, ואל אלהינו שהוא בימי הדין ואז כי ירבה לסלוח, יעו"ש.
Noam Elimelekh, Sefer Bereshit, Noach
Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk discusses how a tzaddik's prayers and advocacy during the Ten Days of Repentance can intercede on behalf of the people, offering a Hasidic perspective on how the suspended verdict of the beinonim can be redirected toward mercy.
Kedushat Levi, Deuteronomy, For Rosh HaShanah
Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev teaches that on Rosh Hashanah Israel crowns God as King, and it is this act of coronation — the declaration of God's sovereignty — that itself becomes the Jewish people's merit and advocate before the throne of judgment.
Chizkuni, Genesis 30:22
The Maggid of Mezeritch teaches that the shofar blast on Rosh Hashanah awakens the divine attribute of mercy and draws it down over the attribute of strict judgment, so that the decree rendered on Rosh Hashanah is already shaped by mercy even before it is sealed on Yom Kippur.
Orot HaTeshuvah, Orot HaTeshuvah 6
Rav Kook explores the spiritual significance of the judgment process from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, emphasizing personal growth and renewal.