A Fundamental Chakirah in the Meaning of Inuy

One of the central mitzvos of Yom Kippur is the obligation of “ועניתם את נפשותיכם” — “You shall afflict your souls.” The Torah commands us to experience inuy, affliction, on the holiest day of the year. Chazal identify five forms of inuy: refraining from eating and drinking, washing, anointing oneself, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations.

But what exactly is the halachic nature of these inuyim?

Are we dealing with a positive mitzvah, in which the Torah commands a person to afflict himself on Yom Kippur? Or are the inuyim fundamentally prohibitions, in which the Torah forbids activities that negate the state of inuy?

This question leads to several fascinating halachic ramifications.

I heard this fundamental approach discussed by my Mori U’Rabi, Rav Yochanan Zweig, in a shiur on Yom Kippur. His discussion highlights how a seemingly simple question about the nature of inuy opens the door to a much broader understanding of the laws of Yom Kippur.

The Mishnah in Yoma teaches that on Yom Kippur a person is prohibited from five forms of pleasure:

אכילה ושתייה — Eating and drinking

סיכה — Anointing oneself

נעילת הסנדל — Wearing leather footwear

תשמיש המיטה — Marital relations

The source for these restrictions is the Torah’s command:

“ועניתם את נפשותיכם” “And you shall afflict your souls.”

“ועניתם את נפשותיכם” “And you shall afflict your souls.”

At first glance, the simplest understanding would appear to be that the Torah has given us a mitzvah to afflict ourselves. In other words, Yom Kippur is a day in which a Jew is commanded to refrain from physical pleasures and thereby fulfill the mitzvah of inuy.

But perhaps the Torah is teaching something different.

Perhaps the Torah is establishing a halachic prohibition against removing the state of inuy. The Torah does not merely tell us to accomplish something; it tells us that certain activities are forbidden because they are incompatible with inuy.

This distinction is not merely philosophical. It can have significant practical consequences.

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