Save Our Soles

A guest post by JS:

I'm often puzzled when people wish their fellow Jews, "Have an easy fast." After all, it would seem the whole point is to NOT have an easy fast.

God commands us in reference to Yom Kippur, "V'Ani'tem et naf'sho'tei'chem" - "You shall afflict your soul." This goes to the whole idea of Yom Kippur. "Kippur" does not merely mean "atonement" it actually means "ransom" as in the phrase "Then every man shall give a ransom to God for his soul" (Shemot 30:12). The implication for Yom Kippur is that our suffering is in exchange for forgiveness. Of course this is not enough in and of itself as is taught to us in the HafTorah.

The rabbis expounded on "V'Ani'tem et naf'sho'tei'chem" and taught it means 5 things:
1) No eating or drinking
2) No bathing
3) No anointing
4) No wearing leather shoes
5) No marital relations

I can't speak for the rest of you, but I always wondered about #5. Is anyone really up for that given #1, #2, and #3? Maybe as compared to our radically increased standards of hygiene people back then didn't mind #2 or #3 that much, which might have cleared the way for #5. But nowadays, if you even look at your spouse for #5 and you haven't showered, you haven't brushed your teeth, and you haven't put on deodorant...well, good luck.

And what about #4? It used to be that without leather shoes you were in for some mighty uncomfortable times. Your shoes probably had to be made of wood or other plant products. But now, with the proliferation of man-made materials, you can buy shoes that are completely leather-free and are cheaper and more comfortable than any leather shoe. In fact, it often takes some serious searching nowadays to find a shoe with a leather sole.

I feel that the afflictions as experienced today are radically different than they were experienced when codified by the rabbis so many years ago. I think we suffer equally on #1, but I think we suffer much more on #2 and #3 and probably not at all on #4 and #5 as compared with our ancestors. So, I wonder if, although traditional, the afflictions are no longer serving the intended purpose.

Which brings me to my main point: How do you think rabbis today would expound on what it means to "afflict your soul"?

---------
Buy DB's book. (Like this blog, it's quite good)