Five Afflictions On Yom Kippur

Not only eating and drinking, but all bodily pleasures, are prohibited on Yom Kippur. The Sages have listed five such afflictions: We are to abstain from eating, drinking, washing or anointing the body, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations.

These five afflictions correspond to the Five Books of the Torah which we accept without allowing our physical needs to intervene. They also correspond to the five senses with which man performs mitzvot and commits transgressions; to the five times the term nefesh [soul] is mentioned in the Yom Kippur Torah reading; to the five immersions of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur when the Sanctuary stood; and to the five prayer services prescribed for the day: Ma'ariv, Shacharit, Musaf, Minchah, and Ne'ilah.