The Five Afflictions

Although this translation understands "ve'initem" as "you shall practice self-denial," it can also be translated as "you shall afflict yourselves."

ויקרא ט״ז:כ״ט-ל״א

(כט) וְהָיְתָ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם לְחֻקַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַ֠שְּׁבִיעִי בֶּֽעָשׂ֨וֹר לַחֹ֜דֶשׁ תְּעַנּ֣וּ אֶת־נַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶ֗ם וְכָל־מְלָאכָה֙ לֹ֣א תַעֲשׂ֔וּ הָֽאֶזְרָ֔ח וְהַגֵּ֖ר הַגָּ֥ר בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם׃ (ל) כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה תִּטְהָֽרוּ׃ (לא) שַׁבַּ֨ת שַׁבָּת֥וֹן הִיא֙ לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם חֻקַּ֖ת עוֹלָֽם׃

Leviticus 16:29-31

(29) And this shall be to you a law for all time: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall practice self-denial; and you shall do no manner of work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you. (30) For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the LORD. (31) It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice self-denial; it is a law for all time.

Question: Based on these verses, how would you think we should afflict ourselves on Yom Kippur?

In the following source we read about the prohibitions of Yom Kippur. Because eating and drinking are combined, they are therefore known as the five afflictions.

משנה יומא ח׳:א׳

(א) יום הכפורים אסור באכילה. ובשתיה. וברחיצה. ובסיכה. ובנעילת הסנדל. ובתשמיש המטה.

Mishnah Yoma 8:1

(1) On Yom Kippur, it is forbidden to eat, to drink, to wash, to anoint, and to wear leather shoes and to have sexual relations.

Questions:

1. How are these afflictions different from what you would have thought they should be from the biblical verses?

2. Can you think of anything these five afflictions have in common?

יומא ע״ד ב:ב׳

ת"ר (ויקרא טז, כט) תענו את נפשותיכם יכול ישב בחמה או בצנה כדי שיצטער תלמוד לומר (ויקרא טז, כט) וכל מלאכה לא תעשו מה מלאכה שב ואל תעשה אף ענוי נפש שב ואל תעשה

Yoma 74b:2

§ After clarifying the wording of the mishna, the Gemara brings a halakhic midrash to analyze the mishna’s laws. The Sages taught: The verse states: “And this shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month on the tenth day of the month you shall afflict your souls” (Leviticus 16:29). I might have thought that one should sit in the sun or in the cold to suffer and afflict his soul; therefore the continuation of the verse states: “And you shall not do any labor, the home-born, or the stranger that lives among you” (Leviticus 16:29). This teaches that just as prohibited labor is a mitzva that requires one to sit and do nothing, as one is commanded to refrain from action, so too, affliction of one’s soul is also a mitzva requiring one to sit and do nothing. One is not commanded to be proactive in order to afflict his soul. Rather, one must refrain from specified actions such as eating and drinking.

יומא ע״ו ב:ח׳

רחיצה וסיכה מנא לן דאיקרי עינוי דכתיב (דניאל י, ג) לחם חמודות לא אכלתי ובשר ויין לא בא אל פי וסוך לא סכתי מאי לחם חמודות לא אכלתי אמר רב יהודה בריה דרב שמואל בר שילת אפילו נהמא דחיטי דכייתא לא אכל

Yoma 76b:8

§ The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that abstaining from bathing and smearing oil on oneself is called affliction? The Gemara answers: As it is written “I ate no pleasant bread, neither did meat nor wine enter my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all” (Daniel 10:3). The Gemara explains the verse: What is the meaning of “I ate no pleasant bread”? Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat, said: He did not eat even bread made from refined wheat; he ate only wheat mixed with bran.

יומא ע״ו ב:י׳

אשכחן סיכה רחיצה מנא לן אמר רב זוטרא ברבי טוביה אמר קרא (תהלים קט, יח) ותבא כמים בקרבו וכשמן בעצמותיו ואימא כשתיה דומיא דשמן מה שמן מאבראי אף מים מאבראי

Yoma 76b:10

We have found proof that abstaining from smearing oil on oneself is considered affliction; from where do we derive that abstaining from bathing is also called affliction? Rav Zutra, son of Rabbi Toviya, said: The verse states: “And it came into his innards like water, and like oil into his bones” (Psalms 109:18). This means that the water with which one bathes and the oil with which one smears himself are absorbed into the body. Just as abstaining from smearing oil is considered an affliction, so too, abstaining from bathing is considered an affliction. The Gemara objects: But say that “came into his innards like water” is referring to drinking rather than smearing oil. The Gemara rejects this: It is similar to oil. Just as the oil described in the verse is smeared from outside the body and not drunk, so too, the water mentioned in the verse is used for bathing from the outside. It is not drunk.

יומא ע״ז א:י״ג

אלא אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק מהכא (ירמיהו ב, כה) מנעי רגלך מיחף וגרונך מצמאה מנעי עצמך מן החטא כדי שלא יבא רגלך לידי יחוף מנעי לשונך מדברים בטלים כדי שלא יבא גרונך לידי צמאה

Yoma 77a:13

Rather, a different source must be found. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said that we derive it from here: It states: “Withhold your foot from being barefoot, and your throat from thirst” (Jeremiah 2:25), meaning: Keep yourself from sin, so that your feet will not come to be barefoot; keep your tongue from idle talk, so that your throat will not come to be thirsty. Consequently, we learn that being barefoot is considered an affliction.

יומא ע״ז א:י״ד

תשמיש המטה דאיקרי ענוי מנא לן דכתיב (בראשית לא, נ) אם תענה את בנותי ואם תקח נשים

Yoma 77a:14

§ The Gemara continues to clarify another of the afflictions of Yom Kippur: From where do we derive the halakha that refraining from conjugal relations is called affliction? As it is written, Laban said to Jacob: “If you shall afflict my daughters, and if you shall take other wives beside my daughters” (Genesis 31:50).

מחזור ליום כפור ספרד, קודם כל נדרי י״ח

וְעַל יְדֵי עִנּוּי מֵאֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּה תְּכַפֶּר לָנוּ מַה שֶּׁחָטָאנוּ בַּאֲכִילוֹת וּשְׁתִיּוֹת אֲסוּרוֹת. וְעַל יְדֵי עִנּוּי מֵרְחִיצָה וְסִיכָה תְּכַפֶּר לָנוּ מַה שֶּׁחָטָאנוּ בְּתַעֲנוּגֵי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר הִתְעַנַּגְנוּ בִּימֵי הַחֹל וּבִפְרָט בַּתַּעֲנוּגִים הָאֲסוּרִים. וְעַל יְדֵי עִנּוּי מִנְּעִילַת הַסַּנְדָּל תְּכַפֶּר לָנוּ מַה שֶּׁחָטָאנוּ בְּרַגְלַיִם מְמַהֲרוֹת לָרוּץ לְרָעָה, וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ עַל עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה דְּבָרִים שֶׁבֵּית דִּין מְנַדִּין עֲלֵיהֶם וְנִתְחַיַּבְנוּ לִהְיוֹת יְחֵפֵי רַגְלַיִם כִּמְנֻדִּים. וְעַל יְדֵי עִנּוּי מִתַּשְׁמִישׁ הַמִּטָּה תְּכַפֶּר לָנוּ מַה שֶּׁחָטָאנוּ וּפָגַמְנוּ בִּבְרִית קֹדֶשׁ בְּטֻמְאַת קְרִי וּבְהוֹצָאַת זֶרַע לְבַטָּלָה (וּמַה שֶּׁבָּעַלְתִּי בְּעִילוֹת אֲסוּרוֹת).

Machzor Yom Kippur Sefard, Before Kol Nidrei 18

Through the affliction from eating and drinking, atone for us regarding our sins of eating and drinking forbidden things. Through the affliction of bathing and anointing, atone for us our sins of pleasure in this world...Through the affliction of putting on leather shoes, atone for us the sins we committed with our feet in running after evil...