Rabbi Cruspedai said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: Three books are opened [in heaven] on New Year, one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for the intermediate. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of life; the thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of death; the doom of the intermediate is suspended from New Year till the Day of Atonement; if they deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of life; if they do not deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of death. (Rosh Hashana 16b).
 
 
Rabbi Kruspadai (Kruspedai) HaAmora is a third‑generation Eretz‑Yisrael Amora best known for a few powerful aggadic teachings—especially the image of the “three books” opened on Rosh Hashanah—and later kabbalistic tradition regards him as a soul on the level of a Tanna, with a kever visited for rachamim and teshuvah‑related yeshuot, though there is no single, fixed classical “segulah” formula tied to him.​
Who Rabbi Kruspadai Was
Rabbi Kruspadai (also spelled Kruspedai / כרוספדאי) appears in the Talmud as an Amora from Eretz Yisrael, usually quoting in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, which places him roughly in the third generation of Amoraim in the Land of Israel.​
He is mentioned mainly in aggadic contexts rather than as a major halachic disputant, which already hints at a role as an “aggadeta” transmitter of deep theological and mystical concepts.​
The Ari’s circle, as reported in later Safed traditions, states that Rav Kruspedai the Amora was “on the level of a Tanna,” indicating a very elevated soul‑root in kabbalistic terms.​
A Safed report notes that his kever lies together with “two other tzaddikim whose names were forgotten,” emphasizing both his spiritual stature and a certain hiddenness around his historical biography beyond what appears in the Talmud.​
His Famous Aggadah: The Three Books
Rabbi Kruspadai’s most famous statement appears in Rosh Hashanah 16b, where “Rabbi Kruspedai said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: Three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah before the Holy One, Blessed be He: one for the wholly righteous, one for the wholly wicked, and one for the intermediate.”​
In this teaching, the completely righteous are immediately inscribed and sealed for life, the completely wicked for death, while the beinonim remain pending until Yom Kippur, a framework that underlies much of the emotional and liturgical tone of the Yamim Nora’im.​
Later commentators read this aggadah on multiple levels: not only physical life and death, but spiritual vitality, inner connection, and whether one’s soul becomes a “book” that reveals Torah or, God forbid, is erased from that clarity.​
Kabbalistic and mussar literature often use Rabbi Kruspadai’s image to explain why Elul–Yom Kippur is a window for radical teshuvah: the beinoni’s “book” is literally still being written, inviting the person to rewrite their inner story.​
His Kever and Safed/Kabbalah Traditions
Safed lore, recorded in Ascent and related sources, describes how the Ari revealed the burial places of various Tannaim and Amoraim around Tzfat; among them is “Rav Kruspedai the Amora,” whose tomb is said to be within a cluster of righteous people.​
Ari’s disciple reports being told that Rav Kruspedai is on the level of a Tanna, and that together with him are two other hidden tzaddikim, though their names were forgotten, reinforcing his association with sod and nistar.​
Modern mapping tools list “Rabi Kruspadai Ha‑Amora” as a marked tomb in northern Israel, corroborating that there is a venerated kever associated with him that pilgrims can visit.​
Photographs identify the site as the “Kruspedai family tomb,” with signage noting “Kruspedai the Amora,” suggesting a multi‑generational burial complex centered around this sage.​
Kabbalistically, being “on the level of a Tanna” implies a very high root in the world of souls, closer to the generative source of Torah than typical Amoraim, which explains why his few known teachings, like the three books, carry disproportionate weight in the spiritual imagination.​
This also fits aggadic descriptions that present deep mystic teachings (about creation, light, and Divine judgment) as material that must be transmitted “in a whisper,” from select masters such as expert aggadists, rather than broadcast to the masses.​
Segulot, Themes, and Practical Avodah
There is no standardized classical segulah that is universally tied to Rabbi Kruspadai the way, for example, Parshat HaMan is tied to parnassa, but several thematic connections emerge from his persona and main teaching.​
Common ways people connect to his zechut include:
Teshuvah and “rewriting the book”: Since his signature teaching is about the three Heavenly books on Rosh Hashanah, some use his name and words as a focus for Elul and Ten Days of Teshuvah, learning that sugya and then davening that their personal “book” be rewritten among the tzaddikim.​
Fear/Awe and Rachamim in Judgment: Drashot on the Yamim Nora’im often quote Rabbi Kruspadai to inspire healthy yir’ah—awareness that life, death, and spiritual destiny are open before Hashem—together with trust that the beinoni can move into the sefer hachayim through sincere teshuvah, tzedakah, and tefillah.​
Visiting his kever for dinim/yeshuot: In the Safed–Galil context, some who are facing harsh judgments (legal cases, illness, crisis) visit tzaddikim’s kevarim associated with din and rachamim, including Rav Kruspedai, giving tzedakah, saying Tehillim, and asking that the “three books” of their life be shifted toward life and blessing.​
In practical avodah, using Rabbi Kruspadai’s legacy might look like: learning the Rosh Hashanah 16b sugya deeply, reflecting on which “book” one’s current lifestyle is writing, then crafting a personal tefillah that names specific changes and asks Hashem—b’zechut Rav Kruspadai—to inscribe one’s “inner book” for true life.​
This turns his brief but powerful aggadah into a living kabbalistic practice: seeing one’s soul, year, and choices as a sefer being opened and re‑written, with Rabbi Kruspadai’s words serving as a spiritual mirror and a doorway to compassion in judgment.