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4 Adar II, Beginning of Chapter 35

Before beginning ch. 35, let's remind ourselves that Tanya is based on the verse, “For the matter (of observing Torah and mitzvot) is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” This verse asserts that the Torah is easily fulfilled through all of one’s three forms of expression (also called the “garments of the soul”): thought (“in your heart”), speech (“in your mouth”) and action (“that you may do it”). In a deeper sense, the phrase “in your heart” refers also to the emotions of love and fear of G‑d; they, too, are “very near to you,” i.e., easily attainable. Concerning this latter statement, the Alter Rebbe points out (in ch. 17) that this claim appears contrary to our experience; in fact, it is by no means an easy matter for us to acquire the love and fear of G‑d. In answer, he explains that the phrase “that you may do it” describes the emotions intended in the words “in your heart.” What sort of love and fear of G‑d is “very near to you... in your heart?” — The love and fear that serve to motivate one’s practical observance of the mitzvot (even though such love and fear are not experienced in the heart as fiery spiritual emotions). Intellectual contemplation of G‑d’s greatness will lead one to an intellectual appreciation (“love”) of G‑d, and an awe (“fear”) of Him, which will in turn affect the heart (since, by nature, the mind rules the heart). The heart will then be motivated and will resolve to observe all the mitzvot in the spirit of this “love” or “fear”. The Alter Rebbe then went on to say that even one who is not suited to such intellectual contemplation may also attain a love and fear of G‑d by revealing the natural love hidden in the heart of every Jew. This love also contains an element of fear, the fear of separation from G‑dliness. Thus, it is indeed “very near” and easy to serve G‑d “in one’s heart,” i.e., out of both the love and fear of G‑d. Yet, from the wording of the verse (“It is very near to you... in your mouth, and... heart, that you may do it”) it is evident that however necessary the love and fear of G‑d may be, the actual, practical observance of the mitzvot is paramount. In the following chapters the Alter Rebbe explains the superiority of the practical aspect of mitzvot over this seemingly more “spiritual” aspect. [From Lessons in Tanya] The Alter Rebbe writes: since most Beinonim will never become Tzaddikim (i.e. will never actually transform their yetzer hara and animal soul from negative to positive), what is the purpose of their spiritual service? Why do their souls even incarnate in the first place? The Alter Rebbe will begin to answer this question in tomorrow's Tanya, introducing his answer with the following words of joy and comfort: "Let this forthcoming explanation be their solace, to comfort them in a double measure of aid, and to gladden their hearts in G‑d Who dwells amongst them in their Torah and [divine] service. I.e., the explanation will show them how to find comfort and joy in the G‑dly light that abides within them when they study the Torah and when they engage in the service of G‑d." Make It Real Sometimes we feel that despite all our efforts to grow, we aren't really getting anywhere. If we have evaluated our efforts with the help of a mentor and seen that we truly are trying our best, and using the most effective methods to grow and change, then it's our job to keep on striving for growth! Ask G-d to help you see the fruits of your work in a real and tangible way, and have complete faith that your efforts to grow bring G-d much joy and pleasure above.

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3 Adar II, End of Ch. 34

From the end of Ch. 30 up to this point, the Alter Rebbe discussed various forms of joy which one ought to strive to attain when saddened over his spiritual shortcomings: the joy of one’s soul on its being released from exile within one’s body and animal soul; the joy of being close to G‑d through awareness of His unity; the joy occasioned by contemplating G‑d’s joy in the crushing of the sitra achra; and so on. The Alter Rebbe goes on to state that all these forms of joy do not conflict with the bitter remorse and sadness that one experiences over one’s spiritual failings. For, although joy and sadness are opposites, they can nonetheless coexist when each has its own, distinct cause. [From Lessons in Tanya]. Make It Real The drive to grow and become better is fueled by the two seemingly conflicting feelings described above: discomfort over your current, unsatisfactory state, and joy in the knowledge that you can and will change! You need both feelings in order to successfully transform yourself. Think about a character trait or area of your life that you are currently working on. Maybe you are working on becoming more patient. The motivation to change starts with feeling sad over your current lack of patience and its negative effects in your life and relationships. You know that ultimately you are better than this. The next step is to allow yourself feel joy as you envision your more patient self, and know that not only is it possible to achieve this vision, but you were CREATED to achieve this vision! The sense of sadness keeps you from backsliding too much as you work to change, and the sense of joy propels you forward! Both feelings work in tandem to get you to your goal.

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2 Adar II, Middle of Chapter 34

By giving tzedaka, we elevate all the time and energy we spend making a living, thereby becoming a Temple for G-d even when we are involved in mundane work!

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1 Adar II, Middle of Ch. 34

The Alter Rebbe writes: when the Temple was destroyed, Torah became the only "dwelling place" for G-d in this world -- i.e. the only open revelation of G-d's Oneness in the world. Torah, mitzvos, and halacha are the manifestation of G-d's Will and Wisdom, which are One with G-d Himself. So in our Torah study, G-d's Oneness is revealed. The Alter Rebbe says that after we meditate on the levels of self-nullification achieved by the Avos and Prophets (as discussed yesterday), we should say to ourselves: "I don't have the capacity to achieve the same level of complete and total self-nullification as the Avos and Prophets; my mind does not work at the same level that theirs did, to understand and experience G-d's Oneness in its purest sense. So I will build G-d a Temple -- a place where His Oneness can be revealed -- in my own life, to the best of my own ability, by making set times to learn Torah each day, because in Torah study, G-d's Oneness is revealed. (Remember, the purpose of the Temple was to serve as a place of open revelation and experience of G-d's Oneness). As our Sages say, ‘Even one chapter in the morning and one at night...’ suffice for a person who does not have the time or ability to study more than that. So by fulfilling this minimum quota of Torah study, I will become a Temple for G-dliness!” Make It Real Even if you already learn Torah throughout the day and evening, set aside one specific time period each day to specifically learn a Torah subject that REALLY inspires you -- even if it's just for two or three minutes. In this period of time, contemplate and connect with the fact that your learning is making you -- yes, YOU! -- into a literal dwelling place for G-d, a vehicle for the revelation of His Oneness. The inspiration that you feel from the subject matter that you are learning will make it easier to connect with this amazing reality, that as you study, you are literally a miniature Holy Temple!

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30 Adar I, Beginning of Ch. 34

The Alter Rebbe writes: our Avos -- Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov -- "did not cease even momentarily from binding their mind and soul to the Master of the universe," spending every moment in total awareness of, and self-surrender to, G-d's Oneness. Their constant awareness of G‑d’s Oneness led them to be continuously in a state of self-nullification before G‑d. This self-nullification is what we are talking about we say that the Avos were a Divine “chariot”; a chariot has no will of its own, it only has the will of its driver. The Prophets who came after them also experienced this self-nullification according to their individual levels, where G-d's Will became their will. Moshe Rabbeinu achieved the most complete level of surrender to G-d, such that the very words he spoke were G-d's speech; the relation of Moshe's throat to G-d's speech was that of one’s throat to his own speech. At Har Sinai, the Jews experienced a glimmer of this level of self-surrender, but they were not at a level where they could sustain this level of surrender and still remain in their bodies. Because they could not live with this feeling of self-surrender, G-d commanded them immediately to build the Mishkan, in which would be the Holy of Holies, wherein His presence would dwell (i.e. His unity would be completely revealed in the Holy of Holies). The Alter Rebbe will point out later in this chapter that when one specific place is singled out as a "dwelling place" for G‑d’s presence, despite the fact that “His glory fills the entire earth,” the uniqueness of the dwelling place is because of the revelation of G‑dliness that occurs there. In contrast to the rest of the world, where G‑d’s Oneness as the only existing being is concealed, in the "dwelling place of G‑d’s presence” it is completely clear that “there is nothing besides Him.” So it was that the revelation of G‑d’s Oneness that the Jewish people experienced at Har Sinai, but that they could not sustain, was continued by means of the Mishkan. Make It Real How can each of us, at our individual level, work toward achieving a higher consciousness and awareness of G-d's Oneness? It starts by creating a tangible awareness of G-d's presence in literally every area of our lives. How can we create this foundational awareness of G-d's presence everywhere in our lives? By talking to G-d about literally everything. Going to buy a new pair of shoes? Ask G-d (out loud!) to help you find the perfect pair. Feeling frustrated at a friend, spouse, or child? Tell G-d, "I am soooo frustrated right now!" It can take some practice to feel comfortable talking to G-d like a best friend, but this is how we begin to consciously involve G-d in every area of our lives, which will lead us to higher and higher levels of awareness of His presence and Oneness.

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The Alter Rebbe leads us in a meditation on G-d's Oneness, which can bring a person to the intellectual and emotional experience of G-d's closeness to them. This experience produces an all-illuminating, soul-lifting, limitation-breaking joy within them! Because through a person's awareness of and faith in G‑d’s Oneness ("Oneness" meaning that literally everything in all the worlds is part of G-d and within G-d), a person truly uncovers and comes near G-d in this world -- and this is the ultimate purpose of Creation, that G-d should be revealed in this world! When a person is pervaded with an awareness of G‑d’s Oneness, revealing G-d in this world and fulfilling the purpose of creation, G-d Himself experiences great joy. It follows, too, that the more lowly one’s spiritual position, the greater is G-d's joy when this person acquires an awareness of G‑d’s Oneness and a closeness to Him -- because G-d's deepest desire is to be revealed even and especially in the lowest places of this world. In the Alter Rebbe's words: "There is no greater joy for G‑d than the light and joy caused by transforming darkness into light, when the light has the superior quality acquired by coming out of the very darkness." It is for this ability to experience G-d's Oneness, even those of us who are at a low spiritual level, that we say, "Ashreinu, mah tov chelkainu!" (How fortunate we are, how beautiful is our spiritual heritage!) in our morning prayers. Make It Real I highly, highly recommend taking the time to read through at least the first half of today's Tanya inside the text, and following the Alter Rebbe's meditation! See where it takes you in terms of joy.

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28 Adar א, Middle of Chapter 32

The Alter Rebbe writes: even a person who you are directed to "hate" (a person on the exact same spiritual level as you, who continues to transgress even after you've repeatedly discussed with them what they are doing wrong), you are still obligated to love them! How can we be told to feel two seemingly conflicting emotions at once about a person? Our hatred must be directed only toward the negative within such a person -- "hate the sin, not the sinner," as the saying goes -- while our love is directed toward the good within them, the spark of G-d within them. On a practical level, what attitude should we take toward the person who possesses both these aspects of good and evil? For example, if such a person requests a favor of us, should the hatred or the love direct our response? The Alter Rebbe writes: one’s relationship with the person as a whole should be guided by love. By arousing our compassion for them, we restrict the feeling of hate so that it is directed solely at the evil within the person, not at the person themselves. Make It Real The next time someone asks you for a favor and your first instinct is to say, "No," ask yourself where this "No" is coming from. If it's coming from a place of, "Because I don't like this person," a place of 'hatred', reconsider your answer. The key to changing negative thoughts and feelings is by acting in defiance of them.

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27 Adar א, Middle of Chapter 32

The Alter Rebbe writes: a person certainly may not "hate" another person on account of their transgressions if the other is on a lower spiritual level than them. On the contrary, a person must make efforts to befriend those seemingly lower than themselves in spiritual progression, in order to both attempt to lift them up, and to fulfill the mitzvah of neighborly love. Make It Real Next time you catch yourself judging somebody for their transgressions or mistakes, flip that feeling on its head and specifically do something loving for that person. Even if it's a stranger in the grocery store -- give them a warm smile and say hello!

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26 Adar א, Middle of Chapter 3

The Alter Rebbe begins to address the Talmudic statement that if a person sees their friend transgressing, they should hate them. In light of what we have learned about how crucial it is to love your fellow as yourself, how could the Talmud say this? There must be a less apparent meaning to this statement. The Alter Rebbe begins to qualify this statement: this "hate" can only be directed toward a person who is your exact equal in spiritual status and Torah knowledge, and you must have first sincerely attempted to explain multiple times to the person what they are doing wrong, and also the gravity of their transgression. Make It Real The Rebbe teaches that we can only offer criticism to another person after we have first done some soul-searching of our own. We have to first make sure that we are motivated to criticize not by our own emotions, but out of true concern for our fellow, so we are not lashing out in annoyance or anger. We also have to be sure that the person will recieve the criticism and take it to heart, not take it as an attack. If the above conditions are not met, it is not the right time to offer criticism.

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25 Adar I, Middle of Chapter 32

The Alter Rebbe writes: the mitzvah of loving your fellow as yourself, is in truth the basis for *all* the mitzvot. The root purpose of the entire Torah is to grow from a body-centric existence to a soul-centric existence, and to draw the light of the Infinite down -- but light of the Infinite will only dwell amongst us when we are united as one. We are able to truly unite as one and love our fellow as ourself only when we are in a soul-centric mindset. Make It Real Think of someone with whom you have a true, essential soul connection. If you ask yourself, "Why do I love them?" you won't be able to come up with an answer. The love just IS, and due to the depth of your connection, that inherent bond between your souls is revealed. Now think of someone with whom you have a more superficial connection. If you ask yourself, "Why do I love them?" you will be able to list qualities that make you love them. Even if they are very good qualities, they are still external qualities relative to the person's soul. Chassidus teaches that the goal in our relationships with other people is to reveal that inherent bond between souls, to move from loving people for their qualities, to loving them because at our core, we are all one.

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24 Adar I, Middle of Chapter 32

The Alter Rebbe writes: our bodies are what separate us from one another. Our souls are what unite us, since our souls all stem from the same single Source -- and in their Source, our souls are all literally one. The more importance a person places on their body, the more separate they feel from others, and the more aware they are of the differences between themselves and others. This leads to a person having work to create a feeling of love for their fellow, based on an external quality of their fellow. A created love can never equal the love for another that is natural and inborn in the soul. This externally motivated love is 1) limited to the importance of the motivating factor, and 2) will last only as long as that external factor does. Make It Real Think of someone with whom you have a true, essential soul connection. If you ask yourself, "Why do I love them?" you won't be able to come up with an answer. The love just IS, and due to the depth of your connection, that inherent bond between your souls is revealed. Now think of someone with whom you have a more superficial connection. If you ask yourself, "Why do I love them?" you will be able to list qualities that make you love them. Even if they are very good qualities, they are still external qualities relative to the person's soul. Chassidus teaches that the goal in our relationships with other people is to reveal that inherent bond between souls, to move from loving people for their qualities, to loving them because at our core, we are all one.

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23 Adar I, Beginning of Chapter 32

In Chapter 31, the Alter Rebbe wrote that after a person arouses feelings of bitterness over their spiritual shortcomings and failures, they must then strive for joy by contemplating the following: yes, a person's body and animal soul often serve as a barrier to G‑dliness. Yet this person also has within them a Divine soul, a literal part of G‑d. This Divine soul is in exile within the body and the animal soul. A person can arouse a feeling of compassion for their Divine soul, motivating them to strive constantly to release it from its exile and return it to its Divine source, through engaging in Torah, mitzvos, and self-refinement. Such a return will open a person to feeling the joy of their G-dly soul as it is elevated. The knowledge that the body and the animal soul have not yet been transformed to G-dliness should not disturb one’s joy on account of their Divine soul, for the soul should be infinitely more precious in one’s eyes. In today's Tanya, the Alter Rebbe writes that acting on this advice brings a person to fulfill the commandment, "You shall love your fellow like yourself." Make It Real Choose one mitzvah to do today with extra preparation and intention. Think about what a mitzvah is: the creation of a revealed connection between your soul here below in your body, and the Infinite above. Imagine a beam of light connecting you where you stand to your Source Above as you do your mitzvah or recite words of Torah. Focus on tuning into the joy of the G-dly soul as you unite with G-d via the channel of your mitzvah!

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22 Adar I, Chapter 31

In Chapters 29 and 30, the Alter Rebbe described different ways that a person can crush feelings of arrogance and self-importance within them. These feelings cause timtum halev, an insensitive heart, and block their G-dly soul from shining through. The methods the Alter Rebbe described involve contemplating one’s failures and shortcomings. This leaves us with a big question: how can a person contemplate these things and not become depressed? Aren’t we commanded to live and serve G-d with joy?

The Alter Rebbe defines two types of sadness: atzvus – a constricting or paralyzing depression – and merirus – bitterness, a feeling of sadness that is nevertheless full of vitality and the motivation to change. Atzvus is the feeling that makes you want to stay in bed and sulk all day, while merirus says, “I have to do something about this!”

The Alter Rebbe writes that all negativity/unholiness has its spiritual source in the sefirah of Gevurah, which is the power of restraint or severity. When our negative inclination, with its source in Gevurah, becomes too strong, we have to temper it with positive/holy Gevurah, fighting fire with fire. This holy Gevurah takes the form of merirus, which is why it is so effective in crushing the feelings of arrogance that come from the negative inclination.

To comfort oneself after arousing these feelings of bitterness, the Alter Rebbe says a person should remind themselves: “It may be true that my body and my animal soul are ‘distant’ from G-d, but at my deepest core is a literal piece of G-d! And even though my body and animal soul have difficulty serving G-d at times, this spark of G-d within me is always present and pure – it is just in exile when I allow my animal soul to take over.” A person thus arouses a sense of compassion for their G-dly soul, and an enthusiasm for freeing it from ‘exile’ within their body and animal soul through Torah, mitzvos, and service of G-d. They can then open themselves up to feeling the joy and delight of their G-dly soul in reconnecting to its Source.

A person can strengthen their comfort and joy even more by reminding themselves: “I didn’t create MYSELF this way! I‘m not the one who ‘exiled’ my Divine soul in an animal soul and physical body with all its earthly desires. I didn’t give MYSELF a yetzer hara! G-d did! Why?! For what purpose?! So that I would be able to overcome this negativity, and transform my animal soul and its garments – its powers of thought, speech, and action – into G-dliness!” [This will be discussed further in Chapters 35-37, where it is explained that this transformation is actually the entire reason G-d created the universe!] By immersing ourselves in G-dly pursuits, we raise up our animal soul and its garments to G-d, fulfilling the very purpose of creation.

This should bring us unparalleled joy!

​Make It Real

Too often, we feel like that fact that we struggle in life, in our service of G-d, means we are failing. G-d forbid! Today’s Tanya reminds us: G-d is the One who created our shortcomings and challenges. In fact, our shortcomings and challenges are the PURPOSE OF CREATION – because by overcoming them, we elevate the lowest parts of G-d’s creation back to their ultimate source in G-dliness. For example, every time you hold yourself back from speaking negatively or gossiping, G-d forbid, you are elevating your animal soul and its power of speech to G-dliness. And for this all the worlds were created!

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21 Adar I, End of Chapter 30

Chapter 30 started with the Alter Rebbe prescribing another way in which a Beinoni can crush a spirit of arrogance within themselves, which blocks the soul from influencing their emotions and body: by truly considering themselves to be on a lower level spiritually even than the 'kal shebekalim', the 'lowest of the low'. We asked: how can a Beinoni, who never actually sins in thought, speech, or action, consider themselves truly lower than the kal shebekalim, who actively and actually transgresses G-d's Will? The Alter Rebbe gives one final answer today: the 'kal shebekalim' is not truly aware of the spiritual damage caused by their transgressions (G-d forbid), and so their transgressions are counted to a lesser degree. The Beinoni ostensibly has a great deal of Torah knowledge and spiritual sensitivity, so they are judged according to a much higher standard. This makes the Beinoni's comparably tiny shortcomings much more severe than the kal shebakalim's. With this knowledge, the Beinoni can arouse a feeling of great sadness that they are not living up to their potential, thereby crushing the arrogance in their hearts, and letting the light of their soul through, which will bring them immediately from a feeling of bitterness to one of great joy. Make It Real Two fundamental principles of the Chabad way of life are, "Action is the main thing," and, "Serve G-d with joy at all times!" There is absolutely no virtue in walking around feeling bad about yourself -- sadness is ONLY useful as a tool! And even then, as the Alter Rebbe writes earlier in Tanya, it's only useful in small, controlled doses. The holy purpose of sadness is to break down our superficial selves so our Divine souls -- our REAL selves -- can shine through. When we see something in ourselves that we don't like, we need to immediately make and implement a plan to fix it, not to become heavy-hearted and beat ourselves up over it. Action is the main thing, and transforming ourselves is the highest service to G-d -- do it with joy!

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20 Adar I, Middle of Chapter 30

The Alter Rebbe writes that a Beinoni will find that they do not necessarily exert themselves enough in the category of negative commandments/"turn away from evil", either. For example, a Beinoni may not summon the strength to stop in the middle of a pleasant but frivolous conversation, or may unintentionally say something unflattering about another person which comes too close to actual lashon hara (G-d forbid). They may not hold themselves back enough from over-indulging in other permissible things (i.e. over-eating kosher food). Make It Real Each of us has infinite potential for growth and refinement -- a fact both empowering and overwhelming! To achieve real and lasting growth, we need to set focused, tangible, and realistic goals for ourselves. Maybe one of your goals is to eliminate negative speech from your life. Goal #1 in this area may be to learn the halachas pertaining to negative speech. Goal #2 may be to set aside a half hour every day where you are especially careful to only speak positively. And so on. If you need help deciding what area to work on first, and how to start, ask a mashpia (mentor)!

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19 Adar I, Middle of Chapter 30

The Alter Rebbe writes that a Beinoni must constantly push themselves far beyond their natural inclination toward good and holiness in order to exert themselves to the same degree that the 'kal shebekalim' must. For example: if a Beinoni's natural habit is to learn Torah four hours per day, it's not enough to push themselves to learn for four hours and fifteen minutes instead. They are expected to push themselves far beyond their natural good habits to achieve higher and higher levels. A Beinoni may ask, "How can I truly compare my shortcomings to those of the 'kal shebekalim'? I am lacking only in the quality of the good that I do, and the 'kal shebakalim' actually and actively transgresses G-d's Will." The Alter Rebbe answers: in truth, both categories of mitzvot ("do good"/positive commandments, and "turn away from evil"/negative commandments) are equal expressions of G-d’s Will. The Beinoni's failure to exert themselves in the realm of "do good" is therefore comparable to the 'kal shebekalim's' failures in the realm of "turn away from evil". Make It Real We are all blessed with certain natural gifts. Some of us are naturally patient, some of us are naturally optimistic, some of us are naturally good writers or speakers. In order to truly make these gifts our own, though, we have to work to become even BETTER in these areas, and push ourselves to use them in service of G-d. The Rebbe often said that our generation's mission is to focus mainly on making our good qualities even better, and that by doing this we will help to strengthen our personal weaknesses!

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18 Adar I, Middle of Chapter 30

The Alter Rebbe writes that a Beinoni should ask themselves: "Do I battle my yetzer hara as fiercely as the 'kal shebekalim' has to?" The 'kal shebekalim' has to fiercely battle their negative inclination in order to avoid actually transgressing. The Beinoni is expected to exert themselves to the same degree in order to reach their fullest potential in prayer, going beyond their natural limits and exerting themselves mentally, emotionally, and physically to reach higher and higher levels in their spiritual service. Make It Real When feel an urge to judge someone, we should turn that feeling on ourselves in order to make it productive. We should say to ourselves, "I have no idea what this person's inner battles are, or what circumstances led to their choices and behavior. Since the Baal Shem Tov tells us that we are only bothered by another's flaw because it exists in some form within us, let me take this opportunity to evaluate how I'm doing with *my own* personal struggles and challenges. Am I engaging in them to the best of my potential?"