Yom Kippur greeting

A greeting of a good, sweet year

Starting from Elul and on all ten days of Teshuvah, it is customary to wish people a good, sweet year.

Ktiva / Chatima Tova greeting

In the month of Elul, up until the first night of Rosh Hashana, we wish people “Ktiva ve Chatima Tova”, the greeting wishes one a good writing and signing in the book of life.

Starting from Rosh Hashana and on all following day until Yom Kippur, it is customary to only wish “Chatima Tova” since the writing was already done on Rosh Hashana, as we will explain below:

What is the signing?

In the Talmud, in the Rosh Hashana tractate, page 16: 

Three books are opened on Rosh Hashana, one for those who are completely evil, one for those who are completely pious, and one for those in between.

Those who are completely pious – written and signed to life immediately.

Those who are completely evil – written and signed to death immediately.

Those in between – are in an indeterminate state between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. If they are acquitted – they are written to life, and if they aren’t – they are written to death”.

Rosh Hashana is the day of judgment of all mankind, on this day, God writes the sentence for the coming year, so while it is true that one who is surely pious is signed for the better immediately, and one who is evil is signed for worse immediately, for many people, the sentence written for them on Rosh Hashana is contingent and non-final, until Yom Kippur, when God signs the sentence for good.

It is exactly for those people that we have the ten days of teshuvah, the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, in which we can add good deeds and tip the scales for good, and thus be granted a good signing.

And so, until Rosh Hashana, we wish people a good writing and signing, and only after that, on the days before Yom Kippur, do we only wish a good signing.