09 – The Other Deprivations

01. The Mitzva to Fast

There is a positive commandment to fast on Yom Kippur, as we read, “In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deprive (ve-initem) yourselves” (Vayikra 16:29). The primary expression of this deprivation (inui, which may also be translated “affliction” or “suffering”) is refraining from life-sustaining food and drink, and the punishment of karet (extirpation) in the case of a knowing transgression and a sin offering in the case of an unknowing transgression apply only to one who eats or drinks. Nevertheless, the mitzva of inui includes four additional prohibitions, all of which are forms of deprivation. Together with the prohibition on eating and drinking, there are a total of five prohibitions: a) eating and drinking; b) washing; c) anointing; d) wearing shoes; e) sexual relations (Yoma 73a).

The mitzva of inui does not require us to do things that inflict pain, like sitting in the midday sun. Rather, the mitzva is to desist from certain things whose deprivation causes suffering (Yoma 74b and 76b-77b). The basis for this understanding is the verse, “It shall be a Shabbat (Shabbat) of complete rest (Shabbaton) for you, and you shall deprive yourselves” (Vayikra 23:32). Our Sages expound: “Shabbat” – you should refrain (tishbetu) from eating and drinking; “Shabbaton” – you should refrain from other activities that would reduce inui (Yoma 74a). The Sages also infer from the fact that the Torah commands us to “deprive ourselves” five times that there are five activities from which one must desist.

The poskim disagree about how severe the additional four prohibitions are. Some say that since the Torah never explicitly states that eating and drinking are prohibited, but rather states, “You shall deprive yourselves,” it means that all five deprivations are included in the Torah’s commandment. According to most poskim, however, only eating and drinking are prohibited by the Torah, because the primary expression of inui is to be deprived of them. Still, the Torah did not explicitly state that the mitzva is to refrain from eating and drinking, but commanded us to deprive ourselves, to teach us that there must be additional expressions of our deprivation. Based on this, the Sages enacted the other four prohibitions.^[1]

02. Washing

All washing for pleasure is forbidden on Yom Kippur, whether in hot or cold water. No part of the body may be washed, not even the pinky. However, if one was muddied, sullied by excrement, or had a nosebleed, he may wash the affected areas, as his intention is to remove filth, not to derive pleasure. Similarly, after changing a diaper, one may wash one’s hands with soap and water to remove filth and dirt. Even though washing to remove filth involves a small amount of pleasure, since the primary intention is to remove filth, it is not considered washing for pleasure (SA OḤ 613:1).

When preparing food for a child, one may rinse the food or the dishes, as this is not washing for pleasure.

One who is so sweaty that it is really bothering him and causing him to suffer may rinse the sweaty areas, since he is not doing so for pleasure (MB 613:2; SHT ad loc. 4).

One who is very sensitive, and who will be agitated unless he rinses his face in the morning, may rinse his face, though if he is able to refrain, he should be commended. If rheum accumulated in the corner of one’s eyes overnight, and it cannot be removed without water, one may use a bit of water to remove it (Rema 613:4; MB ad loc. 9).

One may not rinse his mouth on Yom Kippur, both because of the prohibition on washing and lest he swallow a drop of water. Even one who knows he has bad breath and is bothered a lot by it may not to rinse his mouth. He may, however, brush his teeth with a dry toothbrush.^[2]

If a newlywed bride (within thirty days of marriage) is worried that if she does not wash her face her husband will find her unattractive, she may wash her face; she is not washing for pleasure, but rather to avoid repelling her husband.^[3]

One may use a barely damp towel (for example, a towel with which one dried his hands) to wipe his eyes and face, to clean them and refresh himself a bit. This is because the prohibition on washing does not apply something only barely damp. “Barely damp” means that it cannot make something wet enough to wet something else (“tofe’aḥ al menat lehatpi’aḥ”; SA 613:9). As a rule, moist towelettes and baby wipes are too damp and thus may not be used for enjoyment or to refresh. However, they may be used to remove dirt. If they dry out to the point that they are not tofe’aḥ al menat lehatpi’aḥ, one may even use them to refresh oneself.

03. Washing for a Mitzva

Hand-washing is permitted for a mitzva. Therefore, kohanim may wash their hands (up to the wrists) before Birkat Kohanim (Rema 613:3; SA 128:6). However, one who had a nocturnal emission on Yom Kippur should not immerse himself, even if he would normally do so, because the pious practice of immersing after a seminal emission does not override the prohibition on washing. Similarly, a nidda whose time to immerse coincides with Yom Kippur should postpone visiting the mikveh until the night after Yom Kippur (SA 613:11-12).^[4]

After waking up in the morning, one should use a cup to wash his hands three times to the base of the fingers (where the fingers meet the palm), because a ru’aḥ ra’a remains on the hands after a night’s sleep, and it can harm the body’s orifices. To remove it, the hands must be washed three times, alternating between left and right. After using the toilet, one washes the hands again and recites the berakha of “al netilat yadayim.” This washing is a mitzva, as the Sages ordained hand-washing before praying Shaḥarit (Peninei Halakha: Prayer 8:4 n. 2). Even though normally we enhance this mitzva by washing the entire hand, on Yom Kippur we wash only to the base of the fingers, because technically this is adequate for both cleanliness and the removal of ru’aḥ ra’a (SA 613:2). While it is true that when one tries to wash beyond the base of the fingers, the palm can get a little wet, this is not a concern, since it is not his intention.

If one touches an area of the body that is usually covered and sweaty, he is considered to have touched something dirty. If he wishes to recite sacred words afterward, he should wash his hands, as he is washing them for a mitzva and not for pleasure (MB 613:5-6; Kaf Ha-ḥayim ad loc. 6; Peninei Halakha: Prayer 5:2). There is uncertainty regarding the status of one who relieves himself without touching any part of the body that is usually covered, as perhaps he does not need to wash, since he did not touch any filth. In order to avoid this uncertainty, when one relieves oneself it is best to touch a part of the body that is usually covered. This way, all agree that one may wash his hands until the base of his fingers, including the knuckles, in order to recite the berakha of Asher Yatzar in a state of cleanliness (SA 613:3, MB ad loc. 4).^[5]

04. Applying Ointments and Using Perfume

On Yom Kippur, one may not apply oil or anything else meant to nourish the skin, to even a small area of the body (SA 614:1). Obviously, any makeup that may not be applied on Shabbat because of issues of dyeing (Tzove’a) or spreading (Memare’aḥ) may not be applied on Yom Kippur either, as everything prohibited on Shabbat is prohibited on Yom Kippur (Peninei Halakha: Shabbat 14:4).

To relieve itch, one may apply oil in liquid form to his skin (Yoma 77b), as long as he does not violate the prohibition of applying medicine; on Yom Kippur, as on Shabbat, it is rabbinically forbidden for one suffering from minor discomfort to use medicine, lest he grind herbal ingredients to prepare it. However, if healthy people occasionally use this oil, it is not considered medicinal, so one may use it to relieve itch. If the itch is painfully irritating, one may apply a factory-produced medicating oil (Peninei Halakha: Shabbat 28:5).

Perfumes or deodorants that make people smell good may not be used. Since they moisten the area to which they are applied enough that touching it would moisten one’s finger (tofe’aḥ al menat le-hatpi’aḥ), using them is considered a form of washing. However, they may be used to remove a bad odor, just as a person may wash to remove grime or get rid of a bad smell. In both cases, the intention is neither for pleasure nor to refresh (section 2 above). Insect repellent may also be used, since it is meant not for pleasure but to repel pests.^[6]

05. Wearing Shoes

Neither shoes nor sandals may be worn on Yom Kippur. In the past, these were generally made of leather, because people did not know how to craft strong, durable, and flexible shoes from other materials. Shoes made of cork, rubber, or wood were often used at home, as slippers, and poor people, who would normally go barefoot, would sometimes wear them outdoors. The question arises: May one wear non-leather footwear on Yom Kippur?

Some Rishonim forbid walking in wooden shoes, because one walking in them does not feel the roughness of the ground beneath his feet. However, they permit cork and rubber shoes, because one walking in them feels the roughness of the ground and suffers accordingly (Rashi; Rambam; Tosafot; Rabbeinu Yeruḥam).

Other Rishonim permit wearing all non-leather shoes. They maintain that, by definition, non-leather footwear cannot be shoes. Rather, such “shoes” are just items of clothing, and as such they may be worn on Yom Kippur (Ramban; Rosh; Rashba). Indeed, most Aḥaronim rule this way in practice (SA 614:2).

However, it seems clear that this view presumes a reality in which non-leather shoes were uncomfortable for walking, and thus it could be claimed that these were not considered proper shoes. Nowadays, however, when manufacturers commonly produce high-quality non-leather shoes, one may not wear shoes of any material on Yom Kippur if it is a kind of shoe that people would wear year-round to walk on rocky and rough terrain.

A generation ago, when it was still uncommon to find high-quality shoes made from other materials, some poskim permitted walking in comfortable shoes as long as they were not made from leather or synthetic leather. However, with the passage of time, excellent non-leather shoes are becoming more and more readily available, so the numbers of those who permit wearing such shoes on Yom Kippur are decreasing.

Therefore, one may not wear non-leather shoes on Yom Kippur if they are worn year-round on rocky or rough terrain, regardless of what material they are made from. Thus, footwear such as “Crocs,” “Keds,” and “All-stars” may not be worn on Yom Kippur. One may wear cloth slippers or basic rubber shoes, however, since they are not normally worn on rough terrain. Nevertheless, since some poskim are still permissive and permit non-leather shoes, one should not object if someone else relies on them.^[7]

06. When Wearing Shoes Is Permitted

Sick people and postpartum women who are liable to catch a cold if they walk barefoot on the ground may wear leather shoes (SA 614:3).

One who is walking in an area where there is concern for scorpions and the like may wear leather shoes. Likewise, one who is walking in a muddy place may wear his regular shoes to avoid soiling his feet. A soldier on active duty may wear army boots (SA 614:4). The reason for these leniencies is that wearing shoes is prohibited only if one wears them for the sake of comfortable walking. When there is different reason for wearing them, however, the prohibition does not apply.

One who needs orthotic shoe inserts and suffers greatly without them may insert them into slippers or thin rubber shoes and use them on Yom Kippur, because orthotics are not worn for pleasure, but to alleviate terrible pain (Ḥelkat Ya’akov 2:83).^[8]

07. Marital Relations

The fifth form of deprivation is abstaining from marital relations. To ensure that no one comes to sin, married couples should behave as they do during nidda times: They should not touch one another and should sleep in separate beds (SA 615:1; MB ad loc. 1).^[9]

Several Ashkenazic Rishonim write that on the day before Yom Kippur, men should avoid foods likely to cause a nocturnal seminal emission (Rema 608:4). Nowadays, doctors do not know which foods cause this, so it is not necessary to avoid any particular foods. Young men should avoid sleeping in positions which they know are likely to lead to a nocturnal emission. Many recite the first four chapters of Tehilim before they go to sleep, in the hope that the merit of this recitation will help prevent a nocturnal emission (MB 619:14).

08. Children

Once children reach the age of ḥinukh – the age when they can understand the mitzvot of Yom Kippur – we teach them not to wash, apply ointment, or wear shoes on Yom Kippur. Generally, children reach this stage at the age of five or six. Some go beyond this and make sure their children do not wear shoes from the age of three.

In addition to the mitzva to train children to keep the mitzvot of the day, it is also forbidden for adults to cause children (even day-old babies) to transgress. Just as adults may not feed children insects or blood, or cause a young kohen to become impure, so too, it is forbidden for adults to wash children, apply ointment to them, or put shoes on them (Peninei Halakha: Shabbat 24:2). However, if there is a certain degree of medical need, one may wash a child and apply ointment. These do not fall under the prohibition of taking medicine (which is a rabbinic prohibition on Shabbat and Yom Tov), because the Sages permitted undertaking these activities for a child who is sick or experiencing discomfort (ibid. 24:6). Similarly, if a child is likely to hurt himself going barefoot, an adult may put on his shoes for him.

In terms of fasting, we do not train children who are only five or six to do so, because they are not strong enough, and fasting may be harmful to them. Therefore, we wait until the age of nine. At that point, healthy children are encouraged to fast part of the day. For example, if they generally eat breakfast at eight in the morning, they should wait until the afternoon to eat. Weaker children should begin fasting at age ten rather than nine.

From the age of eleven, children should be encouraged to fast the whole day. If they are weak, they can be lenient and fast only half the day.

Girls from the age of twelve have a Torah obligation to fast, while boys have a rabbinic one. Even a twelve-year-old boy who is weak should make an effort to fast the whole day. If he is sick (even if not deathly ill), he is not obligated to fast, since he is not yet thirteen. Nevertheless, he should try to fast until the afternoon. From the age of thirteen, boys, too, have a Torah obligation to fast.^[10]

Many encourage younger children who have reached the age of ḥinukh to fast through the night. Even though some object to this stringency, many follow it in order to train the children to participate a little in the fast. However, if the children ask to eat or drink, they should be fed (Elef Ha-magen 616:5).

Many maintain that before the age of nine, children should not be allowed to fast at all during the day, lest they endanger themselves (Rema 616:2). However, most children want to fast for a few hours even before they turn nine. Since doctors do not feel that this is dangerous, most people let them fast during the morning. We are not required to try to stop this custom (Eshel Avraham [Buczacz], based on Rashi).