"אבינו מלכנו, כתבנו בספר זכיות"
“Our Father, our King, inscribe us in the book of merits.”
QUESTION: If we have done meritorious acts we are already inscribed, and if we have not performed meritorious acts, how can we ask that the books be kept inaccurately?
ANSWER: The Gemara (Yoma 86b) asks that Reish Lakish seems to be contradicting himself. At one time he said that “Great is teshuvah — repentance — for because of it “zedonot” — “willful transgressions” — are accounted for the penitent as “shegagot” — “inadvertent errors.” (When one becomes aware of the negative consequences of sin and regrets his behavior, Heaven treats his offenses as inadvertent transgressions which do not merit punishment.) And at another time Reish Lakish said that “Great is repentance, for because of it zedonot — willful transgressions — are accounted for the penitent as zechuyot — merits?
The Gemara resolves the contradiction, concluding that Reish Lakish’s second statement refers to repentance motivated by ahavah — love of Hashem — the sin is completely erased and converted into sources of merit. In the first statement, he refers to repentance motivated by yir’ah — fear — and a trace of the sin still remains, similar to that of a shegagah — inadvertent sin.
Thus, we are beseeching our Heavenly Father that we be inspired to a level teshuvah motivated by love of Hashem, which in turn will cause us to be inscribed — besefer zechuyot — in the book of merits — thanks to the fact that all our previously committed willful transgressions will become zechuyot — merits.
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Some have a custom on Rosh Hashanah to eat pomegranates and say “may we increase merits like a pomegranate” (see Shulchan Aruch Harav 583:4). According to the above, this too can be explained as a plea that we be inspired to do teshuvah out of love for Hashem and thus we will increase in merits since all our zedonot — willful transgressions — will be converted to zechuyot — merits.
(ברכת חיים על מועדים בשם תורת חיים)
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