ויקרא, פרק כ״ג, פסוק ל׳

The Day of Atonement presents a strict, twofold requirement: physical deprivation and a complete abstention from all work. Violating the prohibition against work is treated with the exact same severity as failing to fast, and both carry an equally harsh punishment [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, this severe penalty is strictly limited in its timing. It applies exclusively to work performed during the actual holy day itself, rather than during the extra time added just before the day begins or right after it concludes [תורה תמימה, אדרת אליהו].

When describing the penalty for working on this day, a term denoting destruction is used instead of the standard legal term for being "cut off." The primary approach among commentators is that this specific instance serves as the key to understanding the punishment of being cut off everywhere else in the Torah, revealing that it fundamentally means destruction. This unusually harsh language appears specifically regarding work because laboring on the Day of Atonement is viewed as an act of provocation or a deliberate denial of the day's holiness. In contrast, failing to fast might simply be driven by a natural human appetite [העמק דבר].

Commentators explore why the standard term for being cut off was insufficient. If the text had only mentioned being cut off, one might mistakenly assume the punishment involves a literal physical amputation [משכיל לדוד]. Alternatively, it could be misunderstood as a mere separation, similar to a legal divorce where two parties part ways but remain entirely whole [תורה תמימה]. The concept of destruction clarifies that the punishment involves the actual loss and shortening of a person's days in this world.

Yet, this raises a profound question: does this destruction imply the total annihilation of the soul in the World to Come, like a severed branch that completely withers? A prominent approach interprets this destruction in a far more hopeful light, comparing it to an everyday lost object. Just as something misplaced can eventually be found, the soul is indeed distanced and punished, but because God is merciful and gracious, it will eventually be restored once its penalty is complete. Ultimately, the individual does not lose their eternal portion in the World to Come [ביאור יש״ר, הכתב והקבלה, משכיל לדוד].