1. It is a positive commandment¹Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 165) and Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 317) both include this as one of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. to refrain from all work on the tenth [day] of the seventh month²I.e., Tishrei, which is the seventh month when reckoning from Nisan., as [Leviticus 23:32] states: "It shall be a Sabbath of Sabbaths³Shabbat 24b states that the word shabbaton, literally, "a day of rest," implies a positive mitzvah. for you." Anyone who performs a [forbidden] labor negates the observance of [this] positive commandment and violates a negative commandment⁴This is also considered to be one of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah [Sefer HaMitzvot (Negative Commandment 329) and Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 315)]., as [Numbers 29:7] states, "You shall not perform any labor."

What liability does a person incur for performing a [forbidden] labor on this day? If he performs [the forbidden labor] willfully, as a conscious act of defiance,⁵The Radbaz (Vol. V, Responsum 1510) notes that the Rambam uses the expression "willingly, as a conscious act of defiance" with regard to the transgressions of idolatry (Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 3:1), the Sabbath laws (Hilchot Shabbat 1:1), and the laws of Yom Kippur. With regard to all other transgressions punishable by כרת, the Rambam merely states "as a conscious act of defiance."

The Radbaz explains that it is possible that the Rambam mentioned the concept of "willingly" with regard to these three transgressions because they are the first cases of כרת mentioned in the Mishneh Torah. After mentioning the concept on these three occasions, he does not consider that further repetition is necessary. he is liable for karet.⁶כרת means "cut off." Mo'ed Katan 28a relates that a person liable for כרת would die prematurely, before reaching the age of fifty. The Rambam (Hilchot Teshuvah 8:1) emphasizes that being "cut off in this world" is not the sum total of Divine retribution for such a transgression. In addition, the person's soul is also cut off and prevented from reaching the world to come.If he performs [the forbidden labor] inadvertently, he is liable to bring a sin offering whose nature is fixed.⁷The Rambam uses this term to differentiate the sin offering required here from a קרבן עולה ויורד - a guilt offering - which differs depending on the financial status of the person bringing it. (See Hilchot Shegagot 1:4.)

2. All the [forbidden] labors⁸The 39 labors forbidden on the Sabbath are listed in Hilchot Shabbat 7:1 and explained in the subsequent chapters there. Unlike the holidays, on which the forbidden labors involved in the preparation of food are permitted, on Yom Kippur these activities are forbidden. for which one is liable to be executed by stoning for performing on the Sabbath cause one to be liable for karet if performed on the tenth [of Tishrei].⁹The Or Sameach notes that in contrast to the remainder of the halachah, in this instance the Rambam does not refer to the day with the name Yom Kippur. He explains that the name Yom Kippur, meaning "the day of atonement," is not relevant to a person who performs a forbidden labor on this day. Since the person acts in contrast to the holy nature of the day, he is not granted atonement. Any activity that incurs the obligation of a sin offering on the Sabbath incurs the obligation of a sin offering on Yom Kippur.

Any activity that is forbidden to be performed on the Sabbath¹⁰The commentaries explain that this refers to the activities defined as sh'vut, which are forbidden by the Torah. The specification of which activities should be included in this category was, however, made subject to our Sages' definitions. (See Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 21-23.)- although it is not a forbidden labor - is forbidden to be performed on Yom Kippur. If one performs such an act, one is punished by stripes for rebellion, as one is punished [for performing the same act] on the Sabbath.¹¹See Hilchot Shabbat 1:3. (See Hilchot Edut 18:6 for a definition of this punishment.)

Whatever is forbidden to be carried on the Sabbath is forbidden to be carried on Yom Kippur.¹²This refers to the laws of muktzeh mentioned in Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 25-26. Whatever is forbidden to be said or done at the outset on the Sabbath is likewise forbidden on Yom Kippur.¹³This refers to the prohibitions mentioned in Hilchot Shabbat, Chapter 24, which are not associated with forbidden labors, but are prohibited in order to make the Sabbath distinct from the other days of the week. The general principle is that there is no difference between the Sabbath and Yom Kippur¹⁴On a theoretical basis, there are commentaries that take issue with the Rambam's statements, explaining that there is another difference. On the Sabbath, we follow the principle of chiluk melachot, that one can incur liability for every forbidden labor as a separate entity. Therefore, if a person inadvertently performed two different types of forbidden labor, he would have to bring two sin offerings.

These authorities maintain that on Yom Kippur (as on the holidays) this principle does not apply, and one is liable for only a single sin offering even when one inadvertently performs several types of forbidden labor. (See Sha'agat Aryeh, Responsum 70.) in this regard, except that a person who willfully performs a forbidden labor on the Sabbath is liable for execution by being stoned to death, and on Yom Kippur [such an act warrants merely] karet.

3. It is permitted to trim a vegetable on the day of Yom Kippur from mid-afternoon¹⁵Mid-afternoon refers to minchah katanah, 3:30 PM (according to seasonal hours). onward.¹⁶Earlier it is forbidden, lest one eat from the vegetable. Nevertheless, by this late hour one is conscious that the evening is approaching and will refrain from breaking the fast (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 611:7). What is meant by trimming a vegetable? To remove the wilted leaves, and to cut the others to prepare them for consumption. Similarly, it is permitted to crack open nuts and to open pomegranates on Yom Kippur from mid-afternoon onward. [These leniencies were granted] so that one will not endure hardship.¹⁷The Maggid Mishneh explains that the intent is the hardship a person would suffer if he had to labor to prepare food at night after fasting the entire day.

When Yom Kippur falls on the Sabbath, it is forbidden to trim vegetables and open nuts and pomegranates the entire day.¹⁸So as not to distinguish between this and the other Sabbaths of the year, and thereby to emphasize that the leniency was granted only because of the fast (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 611:6). It has already become the universally accepted custom in Babylon and in North Africa not to perform these activities during the fast.¹⁹Shabbat 115a relates that even in the time of the Talmud, this restriction was observed.Instead, [Yom Kippur is observed] as the Sabbath is with regard to all its particulars.

4. There is another positive commandment on Yom Kippur, to refrain from eating and drinking, as [Leviticus 16:29] states: "You shall afflict your souls." According to the Oral Tradition, it has been taught: What is meant by afflicting one's soul? Fasting.²⁰In his Commentary on the Mishnah (Yoma 8:1), the Rambam explains that since the connection between the body and the soul is established through nourishment, withholding such nourishment is considered an affliction to the soul. See Yoma 74b.

Whoever fasts on this day fulfills a positive commandment.²¹Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 164) and Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 313) both include this as one of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. Whoever eats or drinks on this day negates the observance of [this] positive commandment and violates a negative commandment²²This is also considered one of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah [Sefer HaMitzvot (Negative Commandment 196) and Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 316)]., as [ibid. 23:29] states, "Any soul that does not afflict itself will be cut off." Since the Torah punishes a person who does not fast with karet, we can derive from this that we are forbidden to eat and drink on this day.²³It is an established tradition that there are only two positive commandments - circumcision and offering a Pesach sacrifice - whose lack of observance are punishable by karet. Therefore, the fact that eating on Yom Kippur is punishable by karet indicates that it violates a negative commandment [Sefer HaMitzvot (Negative Commandment 196)].

A person who eats or drinks inadvertently on this day is liable to bring a sin offering of a fixed nature.

5. Similarly, according to the Oral Tradition, it has been taught that it is forbidden to wash, anoint oneself, wear shoes, or engage in sexual relations on this day.²⁴In his Commentary on the Mishnah (Yoma 8:1), the Rambam explains that the Torah mentions the concept of afflicting oneself on Yom Kippur five times. As such, the Oral Tradition (Yoma 76a) explains that there are five different activities forbidden on that day and cites (ibid. 76a-77a) various allusions to these five prohibitions. The terms he uses for allusions, asmachta'ot, indicates that he does not view the four prohibitions other than eating and drinking as having the status of a Torah commandment.

Similarly, the punishment that he states should be given for these activities, "stripes for rebellion," is the punishment received for transgressing a Rabbinic commandment.

[It must be noted that this matter was a question on which the Rambam deliberated. For an early edition of his Commentary on the Mishnah states that one should receive lashes for performing these activities, indicating that, at that time, he saw them as forbidden by the Torah itself. Similarly, the Rambam's wording in Sefer HaMitzvot (loc. cit.) appears to indicate that these prohibitions are forbidden by the Torah itself. This view is advanced by several authorities including Rabbenu Nissin, the Magen Avraham 611, and the Shulchan Aruch HaRav 611:2.]

Based on the explanations above, it would appear that the term "according to the Oral Tradition" as used in this halachah has a different meaning from that in the previous halachah. In the previous halachah, the term denoted an interpretation of a verse in the Torah. Therefore, the prohibition was given the status of a Torah commandment. In this halachah, the term refers to a concept that has been transmitted through a chain of tradition extending back to Moses. Nevertheless, it is a decree that does not stem from a Biblical verse and is therefore considered to be Rabbinic in origin.

Other Rabbinic authorities (Rabbenu Asher and the Ashkenazic authorities) clearly state that the prohibitions against these other activities are Rabbinic in nature. Therefore, certain leniencies are granted in their regard, as reflected in Chapter 3, Halachah 1 (Kessef Mishneh). It is a mitzvah to refrain from these activities in the same way one refrains from eating and drinking.

This is derived from [the exegesis of the expression,] "A Sabbath of Sabbaths." "A Sabbath" implies refraining from eating; "of Sabbaths," refraining from these activities.²⁵The reference to the phrase "a Sabbath of Sabbaths" is taken from Yoma 74a. The interpretation is, however, the Rambam's.

Based on the concepts explained above - that the prohibition against the remaining four types of afflictions is Rabbinic in origin and is not based on the explanation of a verse in the Torah - the Ma'aseh Rokeach suggests amending the text to read, "'A Sabbath' from work; 'of Sabbaths' from these other matters." He supports this view by noting that in Halachah 1, the Rambam had cited this expression as a proof-text for the commandment to refrain from work on Yom Kippur.

One is liable, however, for karet or a sin offering only for eating and drinking. If one washes, anoints oneself, wears shoes, or engages in sexual relations, one receives stripes for rebelliousness.

6. Just as [the obligation to] refrain from work applies both during the day and at night, so too, [the obligation to] refrain from [these activities and thus to] afflict oneself applies both during the day and at night.

It is obligatory to add [time]²⁶The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 608:1) states that there is no limit to the amount of time one must add to the fast. This addition must, however, be made before (and after) beyn hash'mashot. from the mundane to the sacred at both the entrance and departure of the holiday, as [implied by ibid. 23:32]: "And you shall afflict your souls on the ninth of the month in the evening."²⁷From the Rambam's citation of a proof-text, it is clear that the obligation to add time to the fast of Yom Kippur stems from the Torah itself. The Maggid Mishneh adds that the Rambam's wording indicates that the obligation to add "from the mundane to the sacred" - i.e., to include some of the previous day in the fast - applies only with regard to the prohibition against eating and drinking, but not to the prohibition against performing labor.

He mentions that other authorities do not share this opinion and maintain that this obligation applies also to the prohibition against work, and that it applies also on the Sabbath and on other holidays aside from Yom Kippur.

The Radbaz (Vol. V, Responsum 1486) differs with the Maggid Mishneh. Although he agrees that the fact that, in his discussion of the prohibition of labor on the Sabbath, the Rambam does not mention the need to add "from the mundane to the sacred" supports the Maggid Mishneh's view, he is reluctant to state that the Rambam differs with all the other authorities on this issue.

(See Likkutei Sichot, Vol. XV, which explains the difference between the two perspectives. If we derive the concept of adding "from the mundane to the sacred" from Yom Kippur, the obligation revolves around the person, a chiyuv gavra in yeshivah terminology. If, by contrast, the obligation is derived from the prohibition against working on the Sabbath, it is a function of the cheftza, a result of the atmosphere of Sabbath holiness that prevents labor from being performed.) [Since the date of the fast is the tenth,] the intent is [obviously] that one begin fasting and afflicting oneself in the afternoon of the ninth, which directly precedes the tenth.

Similarly, at the departure [of the holiday], one should prolong the affliction slightly, [entering] the night of the eleventh, which follows the tenth, as [implied by ibid.]: "From evening to evening, you shall keep this day of refraining."

7. When women eat and drink until nightfall, without knowing that we are obligated to add [time] from the weekday to the holiday, they should not be rebuked,²⁸Shulchan Aruch HaRav 608:4 and the Mishnah Berurah 608:3 explain that this applies only when one is absolutely sure that the women will not accept the admonishment. If there is the possibility that they will accept the admonishment and modify their conduct, they should be admonished. lest they perform [the transgression] willfully. It is impossible for there to be a policeman in every person's house to warn his wives. Thus, it is preferable to let [the situation] remain [as it is], so that they will transgress unintentionally, instead of intentionally. The same [principle] applies in other similar instances.²⁹The Maggid Mishneh and the Ramah (Orach Chayim 608:2) explain that this refers to any prohibition that is not explicitly stated in the Torah, even if it has its source in the interpretation of one of the Torah's verses.

If, however, a prohibition is explicitly mentioned in the Torah, rebuke should be given even when one is certain that the person committing the transgression will not accept the reproof. Further laws governing the situations when and how rebuke should be given are mentioned in Hilchot De'ot 6:7-8.