Daily Tanya

Since the ultimate goal is the perfection of the vital soul and the body, thought alone, being the province of the divine soul, cannot satisfy the demands of the mitzvot of speech; they require verbal articulation. Speech alone, however, without thought, is sufficient, since the vital soul and the body are elevated thereby.

charity is superior to all other mitzvot, including Torah study.The thought that in Torah study, one “calls” G-d to himself, just as, for example, one calls his friend to come to him, will surely arouse in the student a feeling of intense awe of G-d.

Creation, and the soul’s descent into the body, were both intended for the purpose of elevating the body and vital soul and thereby the entire world; moreover, this objective is reached primarily through the mitzvot involving action inasmuch as these mitzvot are performed by the body and vital soul; these mitzvot are therefore of primary importance.

Why is it that suffusing the vital soul with Ein Sof-light and banishing the impure kelipot from the vital soul produces a parallel effect on the entire world?

The purpose of the Messianic era and of the resurrection, namely, the revelation of His glory and Divinity and the banishment of the spirit of impurity from the earth, is fulfilled by the act of the Mitzvah.

Since all that derives its vitality from the three wholly unclean kelipot cannot rise to holiness, only the observance of all the 365 prohibitions allows the entire vital soul to ascend without any part of it held back by the impurity of these kelipot. But whereas the revelation at Sinai lasted only a short time, the revelation in the future will be permanent. Kelipat nogah, containing both good and evil, is the medium through which these kelipot which are completely evil receive their vitality from G-dliness, which is completely good. When kelipat nogah ascends to G-dliness, the impure kelipot, no longer having any access to G-dly vitality, cease to exist.

The 248 positive commandments correspond to the body’s 248 limbs and, indeed, the function of these mitzvot resembles that of the limbs. Every organ of the body is a vehicle for a particular faculty of the soul and brings that faculty into active expression. Similarly, every (positive) mitzvah is a vehicle for the expression of a particular aspect of Divine will and brings about a G-dly revelation.

The divine soul is entirely spiritual, the body, physical. Therefore, the divine soul cannot activate the body to perform a mitzvah except through an intermediary. This intermediary is the animal soul, which, on one hand, is a soul, a spiritual life force, yet, on the other hand, is actually clothed in the blood and the bodily organs.

The Rebbe notes: Unlike, for example, the wages paid by the owner of a field to the laborer who plows and plants in it, where the laborer does not create the money he is paid, a mitzvah actually creates its own reward.

The revelation at Mount Sinai was that of the Messianic Era. We see that in the Messianic era, G-dliness will be revealed to all the nations of the world—and in this state lies the fulfillment of the purpose for which this world was created.

The Torah thus represents the “light of His Countenance,” i.e., the inner light of G-dliness. When this light was revealed through the uttering of the Ten Commandments, the entire world experienced a revelation of G-dliness.

The statement that “G-d desired an abode in the lower realms” shows the latter position to be the true one, and the “abode” is built by the revelation of His Presence in this lowest of worlds to a degree surpassing even that in the highest.

In man, the microcosm, the animal soul and the body, are “the lower realms.” Therefore, the practical mitzvot which draw the light of the Shechinah upon them constitute man’s ultimate purpose.Furthermore, through the practical mitzvot and through their elevating effect on the body and animal soul, the material world in its entirety becomes a “dwelling place” for G-d.

Those mitzvot performed in one’s thought and speech cause the light of the Shechinah to rest upon the divine soul alone. Drawing this light upon the body and upon the animal soul requires the performance of mitzvot which involve action, where one harnesses the power of the animal, life-giving soul.

Man must put their entire focus on feuling the Shechina which rests above them by fulfilling Mitzvot and focusing on Torah and connecting to G-d

Since the divine soul is clothed within the animal soul, the objective obviously lies in perfecting the animal soul itself. From this perspective, the battle of the beinoni does indeed seem futile, since all his efforts have no effect on the evil nature of the animal soul.

The previous discussed 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.

At Mount Sinai, Israel was privileged to experience a glimmer of a very high level of self-nullification, akin to the forefathers and Moses. However, this level of Bittul is not sustainable to the common folk.

It is known that “The Patriarchs are truly the Divine Chariot.” I.e., their constant awareness of G-d’s unity led them to be continuously in a state of self-nullification before G-d, as was that of the prophets, including Moses. His was such a total surrender to G-dliness that the very words he uttered were Divine speech; the relation of Moses’ throat to Divine speech was that of one’s throat to his own speech.

When G-d’s unity is revealed in the mind and heart of men, this world becomes an abode for G-d; He is revealed there just as one reveals himself completely in his own home. Being thus imbued with the awareness of G-d’s true unity, he will be able to overcome any obstacle hindering him from carrying out the mitzvot. For how can anything stand in the path of G-d’s will—the mitzvot—when there is nothing in the world apart from G-d?

The Alter Rebbe goes on to say that one’s relationship with the sinner as a whole should be guided by love. By arousing one’s compassion for him, one restricts one’s own hatred so that it is directed solely at the evil within the sinner, not at the person himself.

To hate such a sinner is surely unjustifiable since no sin that he commits is considered deliberate. There is also no reason to keep one’s distance from him out of fear that he will learn from his evil ways since he is not on close personal terms with him in any case.

Since every Jew has a divine soul, and since the commandment to love one’s fellow is based on the essential unity of the souls, it follows that this commandment applies to every Jew without exception. In fact, however, we find the Talmud exhorting us to hate certain fellow Jews. How do we reconcile these apparently contradictory requirements? The Alter Rebbe proceeds to clarify.

In the previous chapter, the Alter Rebbe taught that when one is bitterly remorseful over his sorry spiritual state, he must strive for joy by considering the following: True, on account of his body and his animal soul, he is utterly remote from G-dliness. Yet, he has within him a divine soul, veritably a part of G-d. This soul, in exile within the body and the animal soul, is to be greatly pitied.

Like the kal shebekalim, he too fails to wage war against his evil impulse when it is required of him. Yet, this still does not explain the requirement that one consider oneself lower than every man. In what way is he worse than the kal shebekalim?With a scholar, the reverse is true: an oversight due to lack of study is adjudged as being as grave as a deliberate sin. Thus, his failure to restrain his evil impulse is indeed worse than the failure of the kal shebekalim.

Upon honest reflection, one may come to notice that their actions have been less than desirable. In matters that may seem minor, one may have been less diligent in paying attention to the details of the law.

True, on account of his body and his animal soul, he is utterly remote from G-dliness. Yet, he has within him a divine soul, veritably a part of G-d. This soul, in exile within the body and the animal soul, is to be greatly pitied. One should therefore strive constantly to release it from this exile and to return it to its divine source through engaging in the Torah and the mitzvot. Such a return will bring one great joy, the joy of freedom.

While the methods previously may effectively dispel timtum halev, they would seem to have an undesirable side effect—depression. These next chapters will deal with this issue and offer direction.

When one studies Torah only as much as his natural inclination or habituated diligence dictates, he requires no effort or struggle at all. But in order to match the struggle of the kal shebekalim, one must study far, far more than he would by nature or habit.

Even the most dispassionate and cloistered of men must often engage in battle with his evil inclination, both in the area of “doing good” and in that of “turning away from evil,”

A great way to combat Timtum Halev is through humility. After coming to a genuine appreciation of the struggles of another human being, we become to realize the potential of our strength and determination, that we certainly can attain even higher. We gain an appreciation for the victories of our peers.

When the light of his soul does not penetrate his heart, it is merely due to the arrogance of the sitra achara, which will vanish as soon as he rages at it.

Even one who cannot call to mind any past sins can humble his spirit by contemplating how often he has become a vehicle for impurity through his thoughts, words, and actions which, though not sinful, were still of the realm of the sitra achara—since they were not directed toward G-dliness.

The difficulties in his divine service and the timtum halev serve as an impetus so that he will call forth greater resources from within himself and repent more deeply.

The Alter Rebbe now proceeds to suggest various lines of reasoning that the beinoni may use in order to humble and crush his spirit—and thereby the sitra achara of his animal soul. The first of these follows from the point just concluded, that the personality of the beinoni is, in fact, an expression of the sitra achara—the animal soul.

The Alter Rebbe now proceeds to explain how this is accomplished. He points out that the personality of the beinoni is his animal soul. (When a beinoni says “I,” he is referring to his animal soul.) Thus, by crushing his own spirit, he crushes the sitra achara and thereby enables the light of the soul and intellect to penetrate himself.

In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe will discuss means of dealing with “dullness of heart” (timtum halev) after describing this state more clearly.

The two souls battle over jurisdiction over the mind. Therefore, if a Beinoni experiences feelings or thoughts that do not stem from holiness, rather than grapple with them, he should try to avoid them at all costs. Contending with such thoughts would only drag him down further. Instead, one should beseech G-d for mercy and to come to his aid.

“Sanctify yourselves…,” applies only to beinonim, not to tzaddikim. For the intention of the commandment is that even one’s personal, permissible, and mundane matters should not be attended to out of the desire of one’s animal soul but for the sake of G-d. This directive cannot apply to tzaddikim, who are unencumbered by desires of the animal soul

The subjugation of the sitra achara and the consequent Divine pleasure are brought about not only by one’s struggle against the sitra achara when it attempts to lead one to sin (as in our case, where the lack of a struggle against evil thoughts, and the continued meditation on them, would constitute a sin). Rather, one produces the same effect by struggling with one’s nature in abstaining from permitted matters.

One type of offering we can give to G-d is one of sweetness, of pure righteousness. Another type is when the naturally wicked, overcome the evil inclination, thus making the bitter into sweet.

The Alter Rebbe explained there that the evil in the soul of the beinoni remains vigorous; his task is to prevent it from expressing itself in thought, speech, and action. Thus, he has no control over the occurrence of evil thoughts in his mind, but only over his acceptance or rejection of these thoughts.A tzaddik subjugates his animal soul to such a degree that it is unable to arouse temptation in his heart. His mind is therefore untroubled by evil thoughts. Those, however, of whom Job said that they were “created wicked” cannot rise to this level. It is always possible for evil thoughts to enter their minds; their task is not to give them free rein.

In this chapter and the next, he will discuss another type of melancholy, caused by concern over one’s sinful thoughts and desires. This category itself may be further subdivided into two: (1) where these thoughts occur while one is occupied with his material affairs and (2) where these thoughts disturb his service of G-d in Torah study, prayer, and the like.In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe discusses the first situation. He states that not only are these thoughts no cause for sadness but on the contrary, they ought to give rise to joy.

In the coming chapters, the Alter Rebbe will discuss means of overcoming possible obstacles in the path of one’s service to G-d. In the first instance, he shows how one may overcome the sadness and dullness of heart, whereby the heart becomes insensitive to feelings of love and fear of G-d.

We see that the union of the soul with G-d that is affected through the mitzvot is eternal. When one considers that he would gladly give up his life so as not to be (even momentarily) parted from G-d by practicing idolatry, he will realize that he surely ought to exert himself in performing the mitzvot which bind him to G-d forever.

This details how the mitzvot effect a bond between man and G-d. The Alter Rebbe will now go on to explain why this bond is eternal.

No created being can possibly consider itself separate from G-d unless the Divine will is concealed from it. Since the inner aspect of this will stands revealed in one’s performance of a mitzvah, it does not permit any sense of separation.

One could, after all, submit to coercion and practice idolatry and rely on teshuvah to save him from a lasting separation from G-d. Yet no Jew would take advantage of this resource; the love of G-d innate in every Jew dictates that he sacrifice his life rather than bear the temporary separation caused by idolatry.Additionally, the Alter Rebbe shows how one could utilize his hidden love of G-d in refraining from sin. He now goes on to the category of “doing good,” discussing the use of the hidden love in leading one to perform all the positive commandments.

In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe concludes the discussion, stating that every Jew, at any time, is able to dispel the “spirit of folly” and to arouse his hidden love for G-d. Thus, when he is tempted to sin, he will actually feel how the sin would tear him away from G-d, and he will therefore resist the impulse. Similarly, when he is required to perform a mitzvah, he will feel his love for G-d dictating that he do so so as to be united with Him.

A transgression has exactly the opposite effect of a mitzvah. Whereas a mitzvah joins one to G-d, a transgression severs one from Him; whereas a mitzvah attests to G-d’s unity, a transgression implies idolatry.