Book of Life

In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Book of Life (Hebrew: ספר החיים, transliterated Sefer HaChaim; Greek: βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς Biblíon tēs Zōēs; Arabic: Kitab al-Amal) is the book in which God records, or will record, the names of every person who is destined for Heaven and the world to come. According to the Talmud, it is opened on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, as is its analog for the wicked, the Book of the Dead. For this reason, extra mention is made for the Book of Life during amidah recitations during the High Holy Days, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement (the two High Holidays, particularly in the prayer Unetanneh Tokef).