Yom Kippur affliction changes the way a person experiences himself. For one day, eating, drinking, bathing for pleasure, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations are removed. The person is not destroyed by this. He is simplified.

During the year, the body speaks loudly. It wants comfort, movement, control, and satisfaction. On Yom Kippur, the Torah asks the body to become quiet. That quiet allows a person to hear the soul more clearly.

This mitzvah creates humility. A person feels hunger and weakness, and remembers that he is not self-sufficient. Life is a gift from Hashem. Strength is a gift from Hashem. Forgiveness is also a gift from Hashem.

The affliction also gives truth to vidui — confession. A person does not only say words of teshuvah — repentance. He enters a full day that supports those words. The body, mouth, and heart all join one movement of return.

Rambam

• Source: Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, Positive Mitzvah 164; Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Shevisas Asor 1:4–5.
• Rambam defines this mitzvah as the command to fast on Yom Kippur, based on “וְעִנִּיתֶם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם” — “You shall afflict your souls.” He explains that the inui — affliction is expressed through refraining from eating, drinking, washing, anointing, wearing shoes, and marital relations. Rambam shows that Yom Kippur is not only a day of prayer. It is a day when the body itself is placed into a form of teshuvah — repentance.

Sefer HaChinuch

• Source: Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 313.
• Sefer HaChinuch explains that the mitzvah is to fast on the tenth of Tishrei, the day called Yom Kippur. The root of the mitzvah is that lowering physical desire helps the intelligent soul become stronger and clearer. When the body is less occupied with pleasure, the person can become more open to teshuvah — repentance, humility, and kapparah — atonement.

Gemara

• Source: Gemara Yoma 73b–74b.
• The Mishnah and Gemara list the inuyim — afflictions of Yom Kippur: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, wearing shoes, and marital relations. This teaches that the mitzvah is not only private sadness or emotional regret. It is a defined Torah structure that changes the body’s relationship to the day.

Gemara

• Source: Gemara Yoma 76a–77b.
• The Gemara develops the source and meaning of the five inuyim — afflictions. Together, they remove the normal forms of physical pleasure and dignity. This creates a full-day posture of humility before Hashem, so the person can enter Yom Kippur with body and soul aligned.

Gemara

• Source: Gemara Yoma 85b.
• The Gemara teaches that Yom Kippur brings kapparah — atonement for those who return through teshuvah — repentance. The inui — affliction of the day supports this return. By weakening the hold of physical comfort, the mitzvah helps the person face Hashem with honesty.

Gemara

• Source: Gemara Rosh Hashanah 9a.
• The Gemara derives תוספת יום הכיפורים — adding from the weekday onto Yom Kippur. This means that the affliction begins before the exact start of night. The person does not enter the day suddenly. He prepares for holiness by stepping away from physical comfort early.

Sifra

• Source: Sifra, Acharei Mos, Parashah 5.
• Sifra expounds the command “וְעִנִּיתֶם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם” — “You shall afflict your souls” as part of the Torah’s Yom Kippur avodah — service. The affliction is not separate from the day’s kapparah — atonement. It is part of the sacred structure through which Israel stands cleansed before Hashem.

Rashi

• Source: Rashi on Vayikra 16:29.
• Rashi explains “וְעִנִּיתֶם” — “you shall afflict” as fasting. His pshat anchors the mitzvah in its most basic expression: refraining from eating and drinking. Yom Kippur begins by removing the most regular form of bodily dependence, so the person can turn toward Hashem.

Rashi

• Source: Rashi on Vayikra 23:32.
• Rashi explains “מֵעֶרֶב עַד עֶרֶב” — “from evening to evening” as the source for adding from the weekday onto the holy day. This shows that the inui — affliction of Yom Kippur is guarded at its edges. The Jew enters the day with care, not casual timing.

Ramban

• Source: Ramban on Vayikra 16:29.
• Ramban explains that the Torah commands inui — affliction because Yom Kippur is a day of kapparah — atonement before Hashem. The body must be restrained so the soul can become focused. His reading shows that fasting is not a separate hardship. It serves the day’s central movement of return.

Ibn Ezra

• Source: Ibn Ezra on Vayikra 16:29.
• Ibn Ezra explains the command as affliction through fasting. His reading highlights the directness of the mitzvah. On the day of atonement, a person does not build spiritual focus through comfort. He steps back from bodily pleasure and becomes more serious before Hashem.

Sforno

• Source: Sforno on Vayikra 16:29.
• Sforno explains that Yom Kippur requires affliction because the day is set for teshuvah — repentance and purification. Physical restraint helps the person turn inward and upward. The mitzvah clears the soul from distraction so it can stand before Hashem with sincerity.

Rabbeinu Bachya

• Source: Rabbeinu Bachya on Vayikra 16:29.
• Rabbeinu Bachya connects inui — affliction with the soul’s elevation above the body. Yom Kippur gives the Jew a taste of life less ruled by physical needs. Through this restraint, the person becomes more able to seek purity, forgiveness, and closeness to Hashem.

Kuzari

• Source: Kuzari 3:5.
• The Kuzari explains that sacred times repair the soul by shaping the rhythm of life. Yom Kippur affliction fits this system because it interrupts ordinary physical living and returns the person to spiritual center. The day heals by creating a full structure of restraint, prayer, and return.

Maharal

• Source: Maharal, Tiferes Yisrael, Chapter 25.
• Maharal teaches that Yom Kippur lifts a person above the ordinary material order. The inui — affliction of the body reveals that the Jew is not only a physical being. On this day, the soul becomes more exposed, and the person stands before Hashem beyond ordinary bodily life.

Ran

• Source: Ran, Derashos HaRan, Derush 6.
• Ran explains that mitzvos of sacred time shape the spiritual life of the whole nation. Yom Kippur affliction is not only private self-denial. All of Israel enters one shared posture of humility before Hashem. The body of the nation becomes quiet so its soul can return.

Rashba

• Source: Rashba, Teshuvos 1:611.
• Rashba treats Yom Kippur as a sanctity of time with defined halachic obligations. This helps frame the inuyim — afflictions as part of the day’s legal identity. A person does not invent his own path of humility. He enters the Torah’s fixed form of Yom Kippur.

Shulchan Aruch

• Source: Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 611:1.
• Shulchan Aruch rules that Yom Kippur is forbidden in eating, drinking, washing, anointing, wearing shoes, and marital relations. These are the five inuyim — afflictions that define the practical observance of this mitzvah. The day is kept through a complete restraint of ordinary bodily pleasure.

Shulchan Aruch

• Source: Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 612:1–10.
• Shulchan Aruch gives the halachos of eating and drinking on Yom Kippur, including the measures that define liability. This shows that fasting is the central expression of the mitzvah. At the same time, halacha treats danger to life with great seriousness, because the Torah’s path is life.

Rema

• Source: Rema, Orach Chaim 618:1.
• Rema discusses cases where a sick person may need to eat on Yom Kippur. The mitzvah of inui — affliction is powerful, but it does not override pikuach nefesh — saving life. This balance shows that Yom Kippur affliction is avodas Hashem — service of Hashem, not harm for its own sake.

Mishnah Berurah

• Source: Mishnah Berurah 611:1–3.
• Mishnah Berurah explains that the inuyim — afflictions include more than fasting, while eating and drinking carry the most severe halachic weight. His explanation helps preserve both sides of the mitzvah: the full Yom Kippur atmosphere of restraint and the special centrality of the fast.

Chasam Sofer

• Source: Chasam Sofer, Derashos, Shabbos Shuvah.
• Chasam Sofer presents Yom Kippur as a day when the Jew stands before Hashem with the seriousness of judgment and the hope of mercy. The inui — affliction removes the comfort that often hides a person from himself. Hunger and restraint awaken the heart to teshuvah — repentance.

Netziv

• Source: Netziv, HaEmek Davar on Vayikra 16:29.
• Netziv emphasizes that the Torah commands inui — affliction in the context of kapparah — atonement. The body is restrained because the day demands a different kind of presence. A person must not enter Yom Kippur like an ordinary festival of physical joy. Its joy is the dignity of purification.

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch

• Source: Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch on Vayikra 16:29.
• Rav Hirsch explains that affliction on Yom Kippur teaches mastery over the physical self. The person does not deny the body’s importance. He places it under the command of Hashem. This turns restraint into moral freedom, because the soul is no longer ruled by appetite.

Malbim

• Source: Malbim on Vayikra 16:29.
• Malbim highlights the Torah’s careful language of “וְעִנִּיתֶם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם” — “you shall afflict your souls.” The affliction reaches the nefesh — living self, not only the body. Yom Kippur restraint changes the person’s whole experience of life for that day.

Meshech Chochmah

• Source: Meshech Chochmah on Vayikra 16:29.
• Meshech Chochmah understands Yom Kippur as a day when holiness of time carries Israel toward kapparah — atonement. The inui — affliction allows a person to stop clinging to physical ease and become more open to the holiness Hashem placed in the day.

Rav Kook

• Source: Rav Avraham Yitzchok HaCohen Kook, Orot HaTeshuvah 5:6.
• Rav Kook teaches that teshuvah — repentance returns life to its pure source. Yom Kippur affliction helps that return by quieting the outer layers of life. When the body’s demands become softer, the soul’s longing for Hashem can become clearer.

Tanya

• Source: Tanya, Iggeres HaTeshuvah, Chapter 2.
• Tanya explains that fasting can serve as part of teshuvah — repentance when it humbles the body and awakens the soul. Yom Kippur gathers this idea into a mitzvah for all Israel. The fast is not despair. It is a way for the person to become more open to Hashem.

Sfas Emes

• Source: Sfas Emes, Yom Kippur 5634.
• Sfas Emes teaches that Yom Kippur reveals the inner purity of the Jewish soul. The inui — affliction removes the coverings that usually hide that purity. When physical desire becomes quiet, the hidden point of attachment to Hashem can shine.

Kedushas Levi

• Source: Kedushas Levi, Derushim L’Yom Kippur.
• Kedushas Levi presents Yom Kippur as a day of deep Divine compassion. The affliction is not rejection of life. It is Hashem drawing the Jew into a higher life for one day, where the soul is less trapped by physical need and more able to receive forgiveness.

Shem MiShmuel

• Source: Shem MiShmuel, Yom Kippur 5673.
• Shem MiShmuel explains that Yom Kippur raises a person above the ordinary pull of the body. The inuyim — afflictions create that elevation in lived form. The body steps back, and the soul rises into clearer closeness with Hashem.

Ramchal

• Source: Ramchal, Mesillas Yesharim, Chapter 13.
• Ramchal explains that perishus — separation from excess physical pleasure helps a person become less ruled by desire. Yom Kippur affliction is a holy and commanded form of this. It does not reject the body always. It teaches the body that the soul must lead.

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of Tishrei, the day set aside for kapparah — atonement and teshuvah — repentance. The Torah commands both rest from melachah — prohibited labor and inui — affliction. Mitzvah 94 focuses on the positive command to afflict oneself.

This mitzvah belongs to the Yom Kippur cluster. Mitzvah 92 commands rest from prohibited labor. Mitzvah 93 prohibits doing prohibited labor. Mitzvah 94 commands affliction. Mitzvah 95 prohibits eating or drinking. Together, they form the day’s structure: stopping work, restraining the body, confessing sin, and returning to Hashem.

The five inuyim — afflictions do not make Yom Kippur a day of sadness alone. They make it a day of truth. The body becomes quieter. The soul becomes more exposed. The person stands before Hashem with fewer coverings and a greater readiness to return.