Daily Tanya in 3 Minutes: Recent Episodes
Sara Stiefel
We learned that there are 4 levels in the hierarchy of creation: Inanimate or lifeless objects ⚱️💦Plants 🌴🌱Animals 🦁🦆Human beings 👤👤They all possess a body and a spirit.It sounds funny, but in a certain way, a mitzvah is like any other creation 😉. It possesses both body 👤 and soul ✨. A soul ✖️cannot function in this world✖️ without a body since it is incapable of interacting with physical objects. This is clear and straightforward. The same applies to the motivation 😌 and passion we experience in our relationship with G-d. They require a physical action - a mitzvah - in order for them to have any sort of impact or meaning. On the other hand - A body with no soul can and does exist 👤. We can see it. It is incapacitated, but it exists in a tangible way.Similarly, when doing a mitzvah, action is what matters most. We were put here in order to influence and change the physical reality of this world.A soul - even the loftiest one - alone counts for nothing. To be sure, G-d does not wish 🤚 for us to be lifeless 👥 bodies. We need to add spirit into our mitzvot and make them really meaningful 😍! A mitzvah performed mindlessly is compared to an inanimate object or a plant, a non-sentient being.Such a mitzvah is comparable to a person who is, G-d forbid, in a coma 🛌🏻😨, or _vegetative state_. The person is alive but his mind and emotions are inaccessible. Similarly, a mitzvah performed by rote has a body and G-dly spirit hidden deep within but lacks the involvement of the mind and emotions. We want our mitzvot to reach the loftiest levels possible - like the categories of animal or even a human being.What exactly gets elevated when we perform our mitzvot with passion and devotion?Not the object used in performance of the mitzvah. That gets transformed through the act of the mitzvah.What gets uplifted is your emotions and intellect - The motivation and driving force that galvanized you to do the mitzvah.There are two levels ✌️, one higher than the other, that our intentions and emotions can be elevated to: 🔸 The lower level is reached when you utilize yourInnate intuition and emotion 💛 to connect with G-d. 🔸 The higher level is accessed when your Intentions and feelings are achieved via meditation 🙄.First we’ll explore the higher level, “the penthouse of spiritual elevation”.Someone who has developed a deep, mature relationship 🤝 with G-d ~ Thinks of Him often ~ Meditates~ Slowly establishes rich feelings of love and awe of G-d 💛🧡🤍. Through contemplation and meditation, she elevates her mitzvot to the highest category of creation - the level of Human Being.Humans 🙎🏻♀️🙎♂️possess developed emotions and intellectual capacity 🧠 and indeed, it was these kinds of emotions and mindfulness that inspires the performance of this mitzvah. Sometimes, though, your mitzvot are motivated by a love 💗 and awe of a lower level.Love and fear of G-d at this level are comparable to an animal 🐹🐮 , which has natural instincts and sentiments. Although animals experience attachment, fear, and many other emotions, those feelings are not developed via the intellect. They are inborn, instinctual. Animals react to whatever brings them pleasure with love and closeness. They react to things that hurt or bother them with hate or fear. But don’t underestimate this type of bond with G-d! This natural, innate connection is incredibly powerful because it is always there, ready to be called up for Reserve Duty. Your natural love and awe for G-d are _really useful tools to tap into_ when you are undergoing difficult challenges or when you find yourself in an atmosphere not conducive to meditation. Since the love and awe already exists and is constantly present, you don't need to create them or ship them overThey are naturally with you - within you! Do you remember where we get them from 🙂❔We inherited them 💰 from our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Intention💓 , excitement🔥 and passion ❤️ are the spiritual dimension of a mitzvah and it is common to perceive them as the key to forming a closer connection with G-d🌟✨🌟.The truth is, though, that this is a misconception🧐. It is not true that G-d is found in spirituality more than in physical reality 😆... Yes, Chassidut emphasizes the importance of the inner experience of the person and what she feels or experiences in her relationship with G-d. And yet, the connection we forge with G-d through our minds is _not inherently closer to G-d_ than the connection we create through fulfilling His commandments. In fact, a relationship with G-d isn't created through what we do! A relationship with G-d isn't possible to initiate from our side.The only way to achieve any sort of connection with G-d is _on His terms_, the way He permits us to get close to Him. He determined that it would be through _our deeds_, through fulfilling the mitzvot He gave us.So why bother at all with mindfulness and concentration and intent?And why would the sages state that a mitzvah with no intention is like a body🧍 with no soul ✨?Just like the physical body hides the G-dly spark that keeps it in existence, the action of the mitzvah draws down a hidden G-dly light. It is hard to notice the connection that is formed because it is concealed within us.The intention we have when fulfilling a mitzvah is the soul of the mitzvah. As such, it draws down an incomparably greater divine light and energy than the body does.Another way of looking at it is through the analogy of water in a cup. There is plenty of water in the world but the cup can only hold so much. It is limited to holding only as much as its size permits.The same applies to the words 🗣️of the prayers that we recite🤍.Words are a limited expression of our rich and deep inner world , like a cup 🍵 that can only hold as much it can, but no more than that. That is why very often, you have no words to express what your heart really feels.Your mind knows and feels much more than what your mouth can express. Therefore, your intentions and feelings for G-d are often deeper and greater than what you can ever say verbally when you pray.The same applies, of course, to any action or mitzvah that you fulfill. Your heart can feel a lot deeper than what is apparent from the deed that you did.It is for this reason that your mindfulness and intentions are considered closer to G-d.Your intentions do not bring you closer to G-d because thoughts are spiritual, but rather because the meaning, purpose, and connection we feel when we pray is really where the deepest bond with G-d is formed. Our intent and the meaning we put into the mitzvot we do is unlimited…When we do a mitzvah, G-d’s energy and light gets more revealed through the feelings we put into the deed, than from the deed itself. ◇◇◇Now we will begin to understand the big difference between deed and intention. As we said earlier, all created beings are divided into 4 categories.Those 4 categories are further divided into 2 groups:1️⃣Inanimate objects🏺💧 and Plants 🌳🪴Whose physical bodies are all that we can perceive2️⃣Animals 🦅🐘 and People👭🏻Their soul and life force is much more prominent and discernible. Similarly, the body of a mitzvah is divided into two:Active deeds such as giving charity. Commandments done in thought or through speech👄, such as praying or reciting blessings.Active mitzvot are compared to the body of the commandment. Therefore, they correspond to the two lower levels of creations, which are inanimate objects and plants, which are primarily seen as just physical beings. The mitzvot that require intent are like the soul of a body. These mitzvot correspond to the categories of animals and humans.
Yesterday we learned that every created being has a spark of G-d hidden within. We are totally unaware of 😕 the G-dliness present within each of them. Of course, there are differences in the kind of life force found in the various levels of creation. Each level receives a different amount 🤏of light and energyIn inanimate objects, just a minute amount of divine energy trickles down. Its energy source is thoroughly and completely concealed.In plants, the divine spark is not as hidden. Plants receive slightly more light and energy, which enables them to grow and reproduce In Animals, the soul and life force is already discernible. Animals move from place to place, communicate, maintain family ties, and even display emotions. Humans possess the power of speech, an intellectual soul 🤔 with the ability to think and analyze 🗣️, and an expansive array of emotions.The quality of the divine spark is equal in all the levels because it is shrunk and concealed within each of them… But the quantity of the spark in each level is different.We can compare this to the difference in the amount of light that creeps in through the keyhole of the door versus the amount of light that shines in through the small window in the door. The light source is the same and both allow only small rays of light to seep through, but the window obviously allows more of it in.~~~•~~~As mentioned above, the world is divided into four categories:But 🙋♀️why four🤷🏻♀️❔The Alter Rebbe explains that this isn't random. These 4 levels correspond to the 4 letters in G-d's name Yud, Hei, Vov, & HeiThese 4 letters are the original spiritual source for all of creation. All life force for this world is channeled through them.What differentiates the categories? _The amount of G-dly energy they contain._In animals and humans, you can _see_ that there is something, some energy - a soul or a spirit - which keeps them alive. With plants, it is much harder to perceive 🔍 that they are alive and have an energizing force that sustains them, and this applies even more so to lifeless objects. Regardless, the divine light reaches _all levels_ only after passing through the level of Kelipat Nogah, the intermediate level which mixes holiness with impurity. Therefore, none are receiving direct and clear G-dly sustenance. ~~~▪️~~~Now, let us apply all this to the idea we were discussing earlier - mitzvot and the intentions we have while performing them 😊:Each mitzvah has a "body" - the technical action. Looking at just the action itself 🧐, it is difficult to discern the love and energy driving it, and the connection to G-d that this action creates. Then there is the "soul" ✨ of the mitzvah. It is the emotion ❤️ and love 🔥 we put into the performance of the mitzvah, and the connection to G-d we aim to create through it. Lifeless objects and plants are like the body, or the action, of the mitzvah.Animals and humans are compared to the soul, or intention, of the mitzvah. Just as you cannot compare the quantity of light and energy in plants compared to human beings, _you cannot compare the 🔅light and energy 🔆 that is present in mitzvah done with intent_ vs one done without. However, our comparison isn't exact. In fact, the two are opposites. 👍1️⃣Both body and soul, in all the levels of creation, have a G-dly spirit in them hidden within 🤦♀️. In both, the origin - G-d - is concealed.When it comes to mitzvot, it’s the opposite:The deed 👐 of the mitzvahAnd the intentions ❤️ we have while performing the mitzvah Both reveal the inner will of G-d☀️Meaning 🤔: Looking around 👀, everything you see exists for a purpose, to fulfill a needBut a mitzvah has only 1 purpose ☝️ - To fulfill the will of G-dThey have no meaning ✖️✖️✖️ or purposeOther than This is what G-d desires!
A couple 🕵🏻♂️🧝♀️came to the marriage counselor hoping to improve their relationship. The woman complained that her husband never bought her gifts 🎀which made her feel unloved. The counselor explained to the husband the importance of gifts as tokens of love 💐 to the health of a relationship and exhorted him to buy his wife presents. The next day, the man returned home with a large box full of all sorts of knick knacks 🎁 and chocolates. "My dear ❤️," he said, "I bought you a huge selection of gifts so that any time that you feel the need, just go to the box and take one…" To his complete consternation, instead of thanking him, his wife burst into tears😰…🎀🎀🎀A gift that isn't a demonstration of deep-felt love is like a body👤 without a soul 🌟. It isn't worth much at all! Getting the deed done is what really counts - that is what we learned yesterday. And yet, we also learned that an action done without intention is like a body without a soul. Chassidut emphasizes the importance of mindfulness 🧠, emotion 💓, and excitement 🔥 as the "soul" of the mitzvah. The sages specifically use the wording of_A body without a soul_Which seems to insinuate that such an action is useless, like a dead body.But the truth is, there is a very deep idea being related here through this wording. We'll be getting a bit philosophical and deep… Hold on tight until the end. We'll get there 🤓 - - - in a few days. 💛👐💛Yesterday, we learned that all creations, even lifeless ones, possess a spirit that keeps them in existence.With humans 👬🏻👭🏻 and animals 🐒🦇🐣 that spirit is easy to discern it because they move 〰️, expend energy🩸, and reproduce 👨👩👧.Nowadays 👌 it is known that even plants 🌳🌾🌱possess a less-obvious, but no less essential, spirit of life within them. Even inanimate objects 🧽🏺, which by definition refers to things that lack life, have lots of action going on inside them🔬🧫. There are millions of electrons moving around in each and every cell of their being … There’s a whole invisible but active city hidden within. Each inanimate object has its own unique composition which is what makes it what it is. Any little change at the molecular level creates a chain of reactions 🔅🔅🔅that completely changes the entire essence of the object. Although there is a different amount of divine energy and life in each category,They all have one similarity: None of them perceive spirituality.G-d's light is concealed 🌚to them. It’s like there’s a huge ⛔GAG ORDER ⛔ On divine revelation in this worldThe physical presentation of each thing in this world overshadows and drowns out 🌊its ability to perceive spirituality: 🪨 A stone does not sense G-d's presence. Neither does a worm 🪱. Humans don’t perceive it either 🙆🏻♀️. When looking at someone's arm💪 , we cannot tell whether he put on tefillin ◼️◼️that morning or not 🤷🏻♀️. We know how to learn 🤓 but our intellect 😇doesn't help us with spiritual reception 📡. After studying Torah, we are still unable to pick up signals of G-dliness in this world 🌍.What this all means is - When it comes to experiencing G-dliness, all 4 levels of creation are equal!Spiritual awareness is completely hidden to all of us ☁️. 🧍🏻♀️= 🐑= 🌴=🏺_This is not the case in the upper spiritual worlds where G-dliness✨ is felt to various degrees._ But then why did the Kabbalists teach that creation is divided into categories of inanimate, plant, animal, and human life forms? Doesn’t this mean there _is_ some sort of difference between the various levels of creation 🤔❔❔❔Yes. The difference lies not in how much the creations perceive G-dliness but rather, in how much the G-d's light and energy is concealed within them.
When we do a mitzvah, do our intentions 🧡 matter?Or is the main job just getting the deed done? On the one hand ✋🏻: you haven't performed a mitzvah until an actual deed was done. Speech, as mentioned in a previous chapter, is the "action" part of learning and praying. We discharge our obligation to learn Torah and pray by moving our lips when saying the words. Thought or intention alone isn't considered speech and therefore isn't counted as a prayer. The same applies to all mitzvot. The best intention without accompanying action means nothing. On the other hand 🤚🏻: Intention is paramount. _Prayer with no intention is like a body🧍 with no soul☀️…_.If you say the words with your lips 👄but don't even realize what you are saying…. Post facto, you have fulfilled the minimum of your obligation and you don't have to go back and repeat the prayers.Exception: The first verse of the Shema prayer, and the first blessing in the Amidah prayer. These two sections require intention in addition to the act of reciting the prayer. If mindlessly recited, you need to repeat them. The reason that the deed is ultimately what counts is something we already touched upon - that the divine soul itself does not need to be repaired or fixed up in any way. She is perfect as is! The mitzvot accomplish drawing down G-dly light 🌈 which elevates the animal soul 🐮 and the body. In order to do this, you need to engage them, i.e. use your energy to do the deed with your body.When it comes to mitzvot that are done with words, the lips must move and the words must actually be verbalized in order for it count as a deed. But then what is the value and significance of intention and concentration when praying?Why do we say that without proper intention, a good deed is like a body 🧍with no soul☀️?? What does that even mean?What is a body 🤷🏻♀️ and what is a soul 🤔❔The body is something we easily identify and understand. It is the physical matter that each and every creature is composed of. The soul - is the G-dly energythat brings the object into existenceThis means that _even stones and soil_ - completely inanimate objects - have a G-dly light and life force that brings them into being. This energy prevents the object from reverting into nothingness, the way it was before creation. The existence of G-d's spirit within lifeless objects is one of the Kabbalistic secrets revealed💥 by the Arizal. There isn't a single thing that doesn't have its own specific energy force keeping it in existence. In plantsthe life force also provides the ability to grow. In animals the life force enables growth, movement 🐾, and instincts. The energizing source within the Human being🤵♂is most powerful of all. In addition to the abilities mentioned above, it also provides the capacity for free choice 🙄, intellectual capabilities, and the power of speech 🗣️.We mention all this in order to understand 👍 the connection between our deeds and the intentions we have while performing them. Every commandment is composed of two parts:The body of the deed And the soul of the mitzvah The intention we have while doing the deed, which injects it with G-dly light ☀️ and energy . The body is physical and is limited in how much light it can tolerate. The soul, being a spiritual being, is completely overcome and consumed by G-d' s light. This is why the soul is eternal, like G-d. It never dies, because its entire existence is really just G-d's light and energy. When fulfilling any mitzvah, even just by rote, a divine light illuminates the "body" of it - the deed that was done. However, if you introduce a "soul" into the mitzvah, it becomes illuminated with a much more intense and lofty divine light. By having the proper, positive intentions while performing the deed, you instill within it an eternal divine light.
The Alter Rebbe was once playing with his young grandchild, Menachem Mendel, who later grew up to become the Tzemach Tzedek, the 3rd Lubavitcher Rebbe. “Where is Zeidy 🫣 (grandfather)❔” he asked his grandchild.The little boy pointed 👉🏻to his grandfather’s nose.“No, this is Zeidy’s nose 👃🏻,” the Alter Rebbe replied. “But where is Zeidy?”The child grabbed 🫳🏻 his grandfather’s hand. “Here is Zeidy!”“That’s Zeidy’s hand ✋🏻, but where is Zeidy?”Little Menachem Mendel understood the game. He left his grandfather’s side and went to play by himself, as if he had forgotten this little interaction.After a few minutes, he suddenly called out 🗣️, “Zeidy! Zeidy 🗯️!” The Alter Rebbe looked at his grandchild and got up from his seat to see 👀what had happened.“Aha!” shouted the little boy gleefully. “👉🏻There’s Zeidy!” 😃Torah study draws down not just the divine light 💫, but G-d Himself, too 😮😮! This happens specifically through 👇🏻Reciting 👀 the words of Torah.When you pronounce the name of an object, you identify the object by its entirety, not parts of it.👉🏻 Similar to the way the Alter Rebbe’s grandson could identify his grandfather by calling out to him by name but not by touching parts of him. Pronouncing someone’s name is a uniquely powerful tool of connection. When you call out to someone ☎️, you are calling his essence, his entire being. Not just parts of him 👤🦵🏻💪🏻 . When you want to wake up a sleeping person 😵, calling his name awakens him. Calling someone by name touches their soul, the very ⚡essence of his being⚡ and that is what catches his attention 😯. When someone faints😱, that is another time that you see the power of a name. Calling the person’s name helps revive him 😮.When you study Torah 📜You are calling out 🗣️to G-d Himself☝️, asking Him to be close to you😮😮😮Like a person calling his friend to come over 🙋♀️and be with him.Or like a small child 👶🏻asking his father🕵🏻♂️ to be with him and never leave him alone. ~ ~ ~Isn't prayer 📖 also speaking to G-d? What is the difference, then, between studying Torah and praying to G-d 🙆🏻♀️?Isn’t prayer another method of calling out to G-d?Yes, but in a more specific, narrow manner.Calling out to G-d in prayer is like a child shouting, “Dad???” to his father. He isn’t necessarily looking to spend time together with him, he just has a request to make of him.The same applies to the way we reach out to G-d through our prayers.For example, when we pray for an ill person to recover, we look to draw down His power to provide healing.When we pray for money, we look to tap into His power to provide blessings and physical sustenance.When learning Torah, on the other hand, we are calling out to G-d Himself. It’s about building a connection and relationship not based on what one can do for the other, but just about being together.This ☝️is the truest, deepest way to connect and have a relationship with another. As our sages state: _There is no truth other than Torah_. The prophet Isaiah lamented the fact that _No one calls Your name_. What he meant was that very often, people forget about connecting with G-d Himself and only reach out in order to obtain something from Him - be it money 💵, health, strength, or even some sort of divine revelation or spiritual experience.But when it comes to establishing a relationship with G-d Himself, just for the sake of deepening our connection with Him with no strings attached, suddenly no one calls…Learning Torah, though, establishes a relationship between us and G-d like a friendship between two parties where the joy is in simply spending time in each other’s company and being together.Every word of Torah is the name of G-d and so when you study Torah, you call His name, inviting His essence ✨into this world and upon yourself, creating an unconditional connection and relationship with Him!
The Alter Rebbe and his son Rabbi Dovber, known as the Mitteler Rebbe, lived together in one multi-generational home 🏡. One night, Rabbi Dovber sat deeply engrossed in his learning in the same room as his baby, who was sleeping in its cradle 🧺. Somehow, the baby fell out of the cradle and began to cry 😭. The baby’s wails filled the house, but Rabbi Dovber, completely immersed in his learning, heard nothing at all. The Alter Rebbe was also awake that night, studying Torah in his room on the second floor of the home. He heard the baby’s cries and went to soothe him. He picked up the child, calmed him down, and rocked him back to sleep 👨🏻🍼. Later, when Rabbi Dovber finished his study session, his father related to him what had occurred and then instructed him ☝🏻: “My son, no matter how deeply immersed you are in your learning, the cries of a child must penetrate through and reach you 🔊. You have the responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of your children above all!”===We are in middle of analyzing what is more important:Torah Study 📖Or Fulfilling a mitzvah 🤝🏻…And what to do if you have the ability to do just one of them 🤛🤷🏻♀️🤜…The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might have hoped 🧐.In general, if you have to choose between two values, the deciding factor will be -Which of these is more important or of greater value ⚖️And so yes, the rabbis do provide an answer to the above-mentioned dilemma:_Learning is greater_ 📖📖📖Why? What is the rationale 😎?_Because it leads to action_ 🙌🏻Since learning Torah teaches you how to do the mitzvot, learning is greater -But the _goal 🎯_ is the _action 🙌🏻_!We see this clearly in numerous statements of the sages throughout the Talmud:🔺 _Studying isn't the priority 👎, but rather action is_ 👍🔺 _Today, ✋ do them!_ ‘Today' refers to our lifetimes in this world 🌍.We were createdTo get things done!The halachic conclusion is to stop learning Torah in order to perform a mitzvah _if no one else is available to do it instead of you_. Why?There is much to be said about the greatness of practical actions. Actions🙏 are what transform darkness into light and make this world into a place where G-d can comfortably reside ✨🌍✨. It is important to qualify👌all of the above: If someone else is able to do the mitzvah, you continue learning 😌 ~ 📖! That other person will ensure that the divine light will descend through the performance of that mitzvah.This doesn't seem so logical, though 🧐🙆🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️. If action is so important, Why pass the honor to someone else?😳 For example:You are sitting and learning the laws of kindness🤝 and someone knocks on the door requesting assistance👩 🦰🚪… Someone else answers and agrees to help out. Shouldn't you also get up to see if there is anything you can do🙂? Isn't the Torah our instruction manual for fulfilling mitzvot?True 💪🏻. And yet Torah is the wisdom of G-d 🧠. Mitzvot are G-d’s will. They are also referred to as The King’s Limbs.A person’s psyche is the part most deeply intertwined with his soul. The mind receives a greater amount of energy and vitality ☀️ from the soul than any other limb 👄👁️👃🏻🦶🏻of the body.So too, Studying Torah, G-d’s wisdom, also draws down a greater light 💫💫💫 than the performance of a mitzvah can.Doing a mitzvah achieves something incredible - it elevates your body 🧍🏻♀️ and the world 🌎.💫🌏💫🌏💫🌏💫Studying Torah produces a connection and bond 🔗between your soul and G-d that is irreplicable 🚫.
Imagine that an army needs to conquer as much enemy territory as possible. The battle strategists have 2 options to choose from: They can conquer a large area 🗾, or, using the same amount of resources🏯, conquer a smaller, more strategic region which will be conducive for further expansion later on. Which is better 🥸❔Now, suppose you have a few free moments. You can either learn Torah 📖 or do a mitzvah (commandment). Which should you choose 🤔? On the one hand, the whole purpose of creation is specifically to fulfill G-d's will by observing His commandments. This is how you elevate your body and the entire universe, transforming this world 🌍 into a welcoming home for G-d. On the other hand, our sages state that _Torah learning is equivalent to all of the commandments._So which takes precedence:Learning Torah Or Fulfilling a commandment??There are 2 advantages that Torah study has over doing mitzvot 😊:🔹Similar to the above-mentioned military scenario - It is fairly obvious that the second option is the way to go.Strategic land 🏯, even if small, will eventually lead to much greater success 🚩🚩🚩. So, too, here: Torah learning conquers the most "strategic part" of ourselves.Which part is that?Studying captures your innermost powers: Thought and Speech Deeds, in contrast, are more external and, therefore, much less impactful, to us. Although seemingly an intellectual pursuit, Torah study affects your entire being. It touches deeper than just your understanding 👍. It impacts the essence of your soul, your mindset 🧠 and emotions ❤️ and they, too, become elevated into holiness!At this very moment, as you attempt to understand this section of the Tanya, your animal soul is processing the knowledge, too! What an awesome victory 💥! When you think and speak words of Torah, it naturally influences your mindset and the choices you make in the future! The effects of Torah study trickle down to your actions and you will _automatically_ make this world an abode for G-d. But one second 🖐️,I thought we said that a Beinoni can never conquer his animal soul ⁉️And that at most, he can control the garments of the animal soul (thought, speech, and action) 👚👕🥼 but never the animal soul itself❓That is true. However, we are not talking about a fundamental transformation here.The mindset and mentality of the animal soul can be changed _a bit_ 🤏. Changing its essential characteristics is beyond the capabilities of the Beinoni. 🔹Another uniqueness of learning Torah is that Torah draws down a greater divine light than commandments do.Here’s an analogy for comparison:Each of our bodies🧍🏻♀️ are comprised of 248 organs.What is an organ?It’s a body part that enables the energy and capabilities that the soul possesses to be expressed.Each organ does its job - but, in truth, organs themselves have no ability to do anything.They each harness the energy or life force 🪄🪄 of the soul.The soul expressed its power and capabilities through each limb. The hand expresses the power of movement or the power of creativity, The eye – the power of sight, The ears - power of hearing Etc - - - The intellect is a power that is greater and deeper than sight, hearing, or movement… The body part that expresses this deepest, most vital soul power is:👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻 The Mind 🧠For it conveys ✨ the wisdom ✨ of the soul. The mitzvot we fulfill are compared to the bodily organs which express the desires of the soul, but in a limited fashion. Divine light gets injected into each object involved in fulfilling a mitzvah… The study of Torah 📖which involves the mind, in contrast, introduces a much greater divine light into ourselves and the whole world 🌎! ~ ~ ~Are you confused 🥺…? If right now you can only do one thing - either learn 👈 or 👉 perform a good deed - what should you do 🤷🏻♀️?This is what we’ll discuss tomorrow 😉!
What is so unique about charity 🤔? Our sages state that giving charity is the most important mitzvah that exists.
Now that we understand that the goal of the mitzvot is to elevate🪁 our bodies, animal souls 🐮, and the physical objects we encounter, we can also understand the unique significance of the mitzvah of charity.
Our sages state that giving charity "Equals all the other commandments combined". Charity requires us to sacrifice the thing most sensitive and precious to us – Our money. All other mitzvot require the use of a specific body part, and only for a limited amount of time. But the money in your pocket is different….
In Hebrew, one of the words for "money" is דמים - Damim - which also means blood🩸🩸🩸! It isn't for nothing that there are two meanings to the same word. After all, blood and sweat are really found inside that monthly paycheck!
That is why the act of giving charity elevates 🙌so much of your life into holiness. There is no other mitzvah that requires as much of your vitality and energy as charity does.
But what if you landed the money effortlessly?
Even if you won the lottery 🤩 or inherited a large sum of money 💰, there is so much you could have done with the money!
You could have finally indulged to your heart's content 😋and gifted yourself:
An exclusive vacation 🏖️,
A beachfront property 🏚️,
A luxury yacht ⛵,
Designer clothing 👘🥻👠
Gourmet foods 🫕🍱...
But instead of all that, you chose to give the money to charity 😊.
That entails giving up things that could have given more life to your physical body 🤑. Your entire being sacrificed itself in order to fulfill this commandment! Because money impacts your very life and existence, the rabbis emphasized that it is uniquely charity that brings Moshiach closer. One act of charity elevates many parts of yourself… _Much more than any other mitzvah_!
✔️Charity-giving elevates this physical world more than any of the other mitzvot.
✔️ There are specific times when it is especially appropriate to give to charity:
Every morning ☀️ before praying,
Before lighting Shabbat candles🕯️🕯️,
In memory of a loved one 🕯️
Likewise, in order to instill the trait of generosity and kindness in your children 👧🏻👱♂️, ensure they, too, have coins to donate to charity regularly.
When Moshiach comes, the forces of impurity will no longer block and prevent the goodness and holiness from being expressed. For example, non-Jews will no longer pressure the Jewish people to change their beliefs. Instead, they will recognize G-dliness and help the Jews fulfill their purpose🙏 of revealing G-d's light here in this world. How will such a basic part of existence suddenly change 🧐? Let us explore the source of energy for the kelipot, the forces that oppose G-liness:Holiness gets its sustenance and existence directly from G-d. Neutral forces, known as the Kelipot Nogah, (Shells of Light) are a mixture of G-dly light and impurity. They are the bridge between holiness and the forces of impurity. Impure forces that oppose G-dliness get their life force from Kelipot Nogah. Once the Kelipot of Light become elevated 🌗🌖🌕 and raised into holiness, the three levels of completely evil kelipot will no longer have a source of sustenance and nourishment… And so, they will cease to exist. Then, all the incredible prophecies and promises of the Prophets will finally come to be! _But it all depends upon__The work we do now!_We each must strive to strengthen our connection with G-d, but not suffice with just that! We also must help others develop _their own_ relationship with G-d and fulfill mitzvot themselves because we need the entire nation on board. The General Soul, which comprises all the Jewish people, needs to be spiritually healthy in order for it to connect with G-d. That General Soul comprises 248 spiritual "organs" and 365 divine "ligaments". We keep it healthy by fulfilling all 248 positive commandments and all 365 prohibitions written in the Torah. We are all interconnected. It is only when we are all on board that Moshiach can come. Collective spiritual health is what will bring Moshiach! ~~~•~~~The world is like a giant puzzle 🖼️ that is divided into 600,000 parts 🧩🧩🧩. No pieces are interchangeable. Likewise, no person can replace or do the job that another soul is meant to fill. But how to know which area belongs to who 🙄? G-d gives us clues:Whatever is on your plate🥪 - literally and figuratively – that is what you are meant to work with. Everything is orchestrated by divine providence. You are meant to use all these details in your service of G-d👌.But aren't there many, many more Jews than 600,000… 🤔?Right now, there are approximately 1️⃣6️⃣ million Jews alive. Add to that all the Jews of all the previous generations... How could we say that there are 600,000 Jewish souls???The number 600,000 actually refers to Root Souls which are more general souls.Each root soul divides into another 600,000 sparksThat itself already equals more than 3 hundred billion… Each spark is another soul… In addition, each soul contains 5 levels… And each of those 5 levels exists in each of the 4 spiritual worlds… As you can see, there are actually many, many more souls than 600,000 - more than enough to last throughout history.By now, most sparks have already made their way down to this world and done their part. Which means that most of the job is already done !A majority of the universe is already ready for Moshiach to come -Because while evil eventually evaporates and dissipates, good deeds are everlasting. Sometimes it feels like there is so much evil in this world, it will never be overcome. But there is a reason it seems this way:We are now finishing off the process of refinement. The most tedious and difficult part of any job is the end… We are up to the equivalent of washing off the filth in the animal pen of the palace. The rest of the cleanup effort is already complete! Before we know it…. The job will be DONE! The world is basically already ready!
"One of our jobs was to search for old shipwrecks 🛶🛥️⛴️," related one of the prisoners in the Soviet gulag to Rabbi Mendel Futerfas."Those boats carried lots of treasures and so when we would find one, we would need to raise it up ⚓ to the surface in order to salvage the cargo." "How did you manage to do that🤔?" asked Rabbi Mendel curiously."Well, shlepping up the boat with one rope 🪝 wouldn't work because the boat could easily tilt and fall back into the water, and so we would send tens of divers 🤿🤿all the way down to the boat. They would find any sort of ledge or hole in the boat and attach ropes 🪢to all of them. Then, all of us together would pull all the ropes ✊✊and raise the boat to the surface."Until now, we've been discussing how we elevate the specific item used in the performance of a mitzvah.But what about the rest of the things that exist, those things we use in the course of just living our everyday lives? Let’s say that for breakfast, you had some toast, an omelet 🥪, salad, ☕ coffee and a piece of cake 🥧. Of course, you carefully recited a blessing over the food before eating.Is this the only connection to holiness that the food has? Consider 👀 what happened next:After breakfast, you went to visit your elderly neighbor. You cheered her up🤝 and ran some errands for her 🧓🏻. All the physical energy ♨️ expended on that good deed becomes transformed!That wholesome breakfast you enjoyed, which is now part of you 🤩🤩🤩, gets elevated! Because _food and drinknconsumed by a person becomes part of his blood_, your very blood has become spiritual and holy.It's as if a spiritual chemical reaction occurs. We take a common object or regular, everyday deed And change it 💥 into spiritual gold ✨The spiritual life force for these transformed items and deeds is no longer from the forces of impurity that oppose G-dliness, but rather, from holiness. The Jewish nation all together is one complete unit which is split into 6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣Chief Souls We are each just a single component of one huge entity☝️When all of us have successfully repaired the areas under our jurisdictionThere will be Worldwide Redemption! We each have _a little corner_ of the world which is our section to raise and elevate into holiness. When each of us accomplishes what we are supposed to in the areas under our jurisdiction, it raises the entire parachute - i.e. the entire world 🌎 - bringing about the purpose of all of creation - to make this place a comfortable home for G-d. It all begins with working on yourself.Keeping your mini world - your body- in tip-top spiritual shapeThe Torah contains 248 positive commandments to fulfill, corresponding to the 248 organs of the body365 prohibitions - actions to avoid - corresponding to the 365 ligaments in the bodyBy observing all of them, we keep our bodies in perfect spiritual health.The 365 prohibitions are like 365 channels through which impurity can latch on to a person. We need to avoid these behaviors in order to stay in top spiritual health. When a person sins, his soul gets dragged down into the control of the forces of impurity.It is difficult for the soul to escape from there because its channel is blocked like a clogged artery. For this reason, the smartest choice is to totally stay away from these behaviors.This is Part One of the job -But not the end of it. To draw down G-d's infinite light into this world, we’ve got to fulfill the positive commandmentsImagine the process of restoring an old, majestic castle.First they scrub away the layers of filth and grime in order to reveal the original beauty of the place. But the work isn't complete.Now they have to update it - installing restrooms, piping, and wiring for electricity, Finally, in the end, the castle becomes filled with light! This physical world undergoes a similar transformation: The goal is to fill this lowly world with divine light.
The abode that G-d desires for Himself here in this physical world - He could have, theoretically, created it on His own! But He wants that we be the frontline workers that make it happen.
The times of Moshiach are not simply a reward for our contribution towards his arrival, like a salary for a loyal worker at the end of the month. Moshiach is a direct result of our efforts. It is a change that comes about because we made it happen. It is like a farmer who plows the earth, plants the seeds in the ground, and waters and nurtures the crop. The bounty is a direct result of his toil! With each good deed that we do, we are slowly adding more light to the world. In the future, we will actually see the light.
Reality is composed of many layers, including tangible and intangible experiences. Intangible reality includes things such as: Spirituality, Beliefs, Intentions, Logic Emotions. Tangible reality refers to the palpable components of existence: Food, Possessions, Habits, Bodies, Even the animal soul…
The job of mankind is to inculcate spirituality into the _lowest, most mundane_ level of creation. When we mindfully utilize a physical object for a holy and noble purpose, G-dliness penetrates it and becomes an inseparable part of its existence.
This is what happens, for example, to the parchment used for Tefillin, a mezuzah, or a Torah scroll. Therefore, though cows don't get buried in cemeteries, their hides can be transformed into parchment for mezuzot, tefillin, or Torah scrolls. At the end of the lifespan of these holy objects they are buried in a cemetery. Not all animals can become holy, however. It has to have been created as a kosher animal, one that is permissible for us to eat. A building can’t be wired with plastic wires. Only metal conducts electricity… So too, Different creatures conduct 〰〰〰 different spiritual energies. Pure objects, things that are not beholden to the forces of spiritual impurity, can connect with divine energy. Items that the Torah prohibits us from utilizing cannot conduct spiritual energy and therefore, can never become elevated into holiness. A work of art transforms raw material into something meaningful and even spiritual. The object becomes so much more than just a hunk of wood or dab of paint…. We are all spiritual artists when we fulfill a commandment. Our physical actions, utilizing the physical material, express a spiritual dimension that was imperceivable before we interacted with it. These results cannot be achieved with intention or thought alone. Only through our deeds can we transform raw material into sacred objects . Learning and prayer fall into a unique category of mitzvah in which no object is utilized, nor is an action required --- Unless you move your lips. _Moving your lips is considered the action of the mitzvah._ Although at first glance, the primary aim of: Study - is comprehending the information Prayer - is authentically connecting with G-d… Something critical occurs when you recite the words of prayer or Torah! The divine soul has no access to your lips and mouth. It has no way of controlling them. It needs to partner with your animal soul in order to use them for a mitzvah. Through praying or learning Torah, your mouth become elevated, the energy that moved those lips becomes holy, and your animal soul gets refined along with it! Uttering the words of the material you are studying helps you retain the knowledge better 🥺. Your animal soul and body are naturally inclined to physical, tangible pursuits. As soon as she gets distracted by something that excites her more, she simply forgets those “irrelevant” spiritual notions and theories. The trick to overcoming forgetfulness is to involve the animal soul, as much as possible, in the learning process. As an active participant, the animal soul develops a connection to the knowledge, finds meaning and relevance 😍 in it, and is then able to retain it better.
G-d desired to a have a home down here in this world.
G-d desired - A desire isn't a logical 🧠 thing. It simply exists. We aren't able to and aren't supposed to understand His reasoning.
A home - A place where it is comfortable for G-d to reveal His light, thus transforming this world into His home🏡.
Down here - This world is the end of the chain of worlds, each with different levels of revealed G-dly light.
Before creation, there was only the revealed infinite light of G-d shining 💫 everywhere _equally_ in all its glory. This infinite light still shines equally in all places, but to us, it seems that there are gradations or 4 levels of revelation, each one called the name “עולם” - world:
The World of Atzilut
The World of Briyah
The World of Yetzirah
The World of Asiyah
Each level is called an "Olam" (world), which shares the same Hebrew root as the word "Hel’am" (hidden) because in each one, the light of G-d is increasingly concealed . This concealment is indispensable to creation because no one, not even the loftiest angels, can see G-d as He truly is or they would cease to exist.
The higher the world, the more the G-dliness is felt. The concealment increases in each of the lower worlds until, here in this world, G-dliness is totally hidden☁️ and not felt at all… So much so, that the forces of impurity, which oppose holiness, can deny, quite persuasively, that there is a G-d at all! And yet - this physical world, the lowest world of all, is the purpose of creation! And the reason for this is quite logical: In the upper spiritual worlds, the concealment of G-d's light represents a reduction of appreciation for His greatness. There, the light is less revealed than before creation, and there is no benefit whatsoever. Plus: If the goal of creation was the World of Atzilut, then there would be no need to create any of the other lower worlds and decrease G-d light even more! Logically then, Atzilut is only necessary as _part of the process_ of creation. The process of concealment finishes once this physical world came into existence since this was G-d's intention from the very beginning! Why does the process of creation end here, with the creation of this dark and lowly physical world. Because specifically _this lowly world_ is what G-d finds fascinating and exciting. Pleasure is derived from something innovative and unexpected. In the heavens, where G-d’s light shines unimpeded, there is an infinite number of angels who acknowledge G-d and sing His praises. But this is no novelty. They live in a spiritual reality and they simply acknowledge that reality. This lowly world is full of opposition to holiness. When we find a way to reveal the innate holiness present in all of creation and change over the darkness to light - ☝️ that is what G-d finds so delightful! For the time being, there is so much darkness here. Twarm and welcoming abode that G-d desires will only be ready at the end of time☝️- when Moshiach comes. Then, the light of G-d will shine in this world in all its glory. Studying Torah 📜enables us to be able to handle the G-dly light that will shine in full glory when Moshiach comes. At that time, we will see G-d with our own physical eyes👁️ 👁️. Since this is outside of our lived experience, we really have no idea what this whole concept really means 😱. The Torah promises that after Moshiach comes, the dead will awaken, in their physical bodies, and live once again. But why should there be resurrection of the dead? Why force a divine soul, a piece of an infinite G-d, to return 🙁 to a physical body🧍with all its limitations? Don't worry 😊! When Moshiach will come, things will be different☝️. The body, too, will be elevated and purified 🔮. It will become a pure conduit for the soul's self expression! In fact, the whole world will be a dwelling place for G-d. The world will reach a state of perfection and its ultimate purpose 🏆.
We learned the purpose of creation will be fulfilled when we will all see and experience G-dliness with our own eyes, here in this physical world. This will happen in the future - - - when Moshiach comes.
Although nowadays we can only dream about this, there actually was one occasion when the world experienced a taste of this. There was one time in history when G-d revealed His light and glory in this lowly world: When He gave us the Torah on Mount Sinai.
It was similar to viewing a sample house before paying the developer upfront for a unit that hasn’t yet been built…
When G-d revealed His power and glory to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, it was a tiny taste of what the world would be like when Moshiach comes. Moshe told the Jewish people before his passing: _"You have seen and now know that G-d is G-d and there is no other."_ How did they _see_ that there is no other?
When G-d gave the Jewish people the Torah, and proclaimed the Ten Commandments, they didn't only hear the voice of G-d but actually saw His voice as well! Wherever they looked, they saw His voice coming from that direction! Obviously, something very deep was going on there. When G-d's light shone in this world, it illuminated how everything is really G-d, removing all the layers of concealment that usually cover up this reality. When G-d spoke, every part of creation transmitted the word of G-d, and so wherever the Jews looked, they saw G-d's voice emanating from that direction… The people saw clearly that G-d is everywhere and that there is nothing besides Him. At Mount Sinai, G-d relayed the 10 commandments which contain all 613 commandments within them. As we've already learned, the commandments are G-d's will and so, at that moment, His will was completely and totally revealed down here in this physical world, with no layers of cover or concealment. The G-dly revelation was extremely intense and overpowering... and the Jewish people couldn't handle it. With each commandment that G-d said, their souls left their bodies Because if nothing exists besides Him, then we don't exist either. And so, their souls automatically flew back up 🌪️and returned to their original source, where they are not individual entities. G-d returned all the souls to their bodies using the same dew that will be used for the resurrection of the dead when Moshiach comes. This is not just any plain old dew. This is the _Dew of Torah_, which invigorates and strengthens those who study it 📖. The Torah is what will also enable us to bask in the glory of G-d's radiance when Moshiach comes. Guess what happened right after the supernatural, divine revelation at Mount Sinia❔ The world couldn't handle it. Just a few days later, the Jewish people sinned with the golden calf and no longer deserved such incredibly open spiritual experiences 💫. The divine light had been imposed upon the world from above and without prior work to elevate and transform the physicality of the world, the light could no longer remain here. In order for a spiritual effect to last and the changes it brings about to remain in place, it must originate from our own efforts down here in this lowly world ↗️↗️. Although the revelation we experienced at Mount Sinai did not last, it wasn't pointless, either. It showed us the destiny of the world, the goal we are aiming for. It gave us the strength to persevere in our efforts to achieve our objective. What about the rest of humanity❔What will be with them when Moshiach comes? The central changes we will experience are spiritual and we will access them through the Torah. Is all this relevant only to the Jewish people❔ Not to worry - all the other nations of the world, too, will experience spiritual enlightenment, through the influence of the Jewish people. All the nations of the world will attain a whole new appreciation and awareness of G-d. They will experience a new level of awe of G-d and seek to connect with Him.
*Three individuals traveled together to the Rebbe:
The Chassid, the devotee of the Rebbe
The coachman
And the horse
All three are on the exact same trip, but each one has something completely different in mind:
The Chassid was meditating about his Rebbe and serving G-d✨ The Coachman was dreaming about the payment 💵 and bottle of vodka 🍾 he’d receive at the end of the trip, The horse was focused on the hay awaiting him at the end of the journey 🎋 Likewise, there are three partners in the performance of a mitzvah: - The “Chassid” - the one who serves G-d. This obviously refers to the divine soul. - The “horse” - the body🧍🏻♀️ - The “Coachman” - the one who directs the horse to follow the bidding of the divine soul, ie - the animal soul. It takes all three of them to fulfill a mitzvah. Together, they become a vehicle for holiness. Therefore, G-d’s presence will rest upon all three of them. The only reason this is possible is because while performing the mitzvah, the animal soul is in exile. Her essence remains unchanged. She retains her natural attraction to evil 😕, and yet, she is hijacked into the service of G-d, or exiled from her inner will, so she cannot express her desire. Exile is a reality in which someone cannot express himself as he truly is 😬. He cannot be who he wishes to be. We’ve already been introduced to the concept of G-d’s presence in exile. This occurs when your divine soul is overpowered by your animal soul and commandeered into doing things that are against the will of G-d. In the same way, the opposite situation also exists: the forces of impurity get exiled ⛓️🥜⛓️! When you overcome your impulses, refuse to act upon them, and instead pass the steering wheel to the divine soul so that it determines your actions, you place your animal soul into exile. It is similar the way Haman led Mordechai on the king's horse🏇 ~🚶🏻♂️… Even as he was displaying the greatest honor to Mordechai and fulfilling the king’s instructions, his personal desire was to do the exact opposite. He remained, as much as ever, the same evil Haman. The same applies to your animal soul and innate negative impulses: They remain in place, as strong as ever, however during the performance of the mitzvah, they are surrendered to holiness. And yet, the animal soul never becomes 🙃 a divine soul... She will always continue to seek physical pleasure 😋, but since the good deed was done via her, she, too, deserve the spiritual reward for her participation. There are several useful methods to help convince your animal soul to perform a mitzvah: 👉🏻 You can convince her: “You won’t regret it! It’s totally worth it!”. _Observing Shabbat means you will have a day of rest 😌and connection with your family 👨👩👧👦. And delicious food…_ 👉🏻 You can threaten her ☝️: “If you don't keep Shabbat, G-d will be angry and you will be punished 😨” _This compels the animal to agree but not with all her heart 💔… She just doesn’t see any other choice. 👉🏻 You can literally force her: “That's what I decided ✊! Be quiet and listen 🤫!” _Coercing your very own self_ 😉 Regardless of the route taken to get yourself to do the mitzvah, As soon as the animal soul surrenders to your divine soul and cooperates in fulfilling a commandment, nothing hinders G-d’s light and presence from resting upon your body _at this point in time_ since it is subservient to G-dliness. It is important to note that when G-d’s presence rests upon the body or animal soul, it’s different from the way it does on the divine soul. The divine light is literally absorbed into the divine soul, while it merely surrounds and encircles the body and the animal soul 🌀. The divine light and energy does not penetrate them. This does not mean that there are several types of divine presence. Although the light and energy of G-d is absorbed into the divine soul and only encompasses the animal soul and body, it is the same Shechina, the same divine presence.
You live with 2 simultaneous realities:
Your body. That’s pretty straightforward
Your soul. That spark in you that strives for purpose and meaning
These 2 things are Complete opposites
The body enjoys eating, drinking, sleeping, lusting…
The soul has no interest in all that. She knows she is here for a reason and that there is purpose and meaning to life.
The question is - how can the soul convince the body to go along with her search and live her life accordingly? Is this even possible?
Bridging the gap between the body and divine soul is (surprise!) The Animal Soul
👉🏻On the one hand, she’s got physical tendencies: sleep, eat, reproduce…
👉🏻On the other hand, she is a soul. She possesses spiritual/intangible qualities, such as intellect and emotions
It turns out that the animal soul essentially serves as a pair of crutches for the divine soul in this world, enabling it to carry out its wishes.. In other words, it’s only through engaging with the animal soul that the divine soul can get its wishes fulfilled.
Let’s clarify:
When the divine presence rests on a person, where exactly does it reside❔
In the divine soul,
In the animal soul,
Or in the body❔❔
It really depends on which parts of the person were activated when observing the commandment: If the mitzvah involved just the divine soul✨, then G-dliness rests there✨.
Learning Torah 📖, for example, involves the divine soul, along with 2 of its tools/garments: Thought🙄 and Speech🗣️… Therefore, G-d’s presence will dwell on just the spiritual aspects of the person.
If you want to refine and elevate your body, 👉🏻 you need to do a good deed utilizing your limbs🧍 Such mitzvot employ not only the more spiritual aspects of yourself (such as understanding the importance of, and then planning and arranging the fulfillment of, the mitzvah), but even the thing most disconnected from your soul; the seemingly lowest parts of you - your actions!
Tefillin, Circumcision, Immersing in a mikvah - are all examples of actions you can do to elevate either specific parts, or even all, of your body.
What about the animal soul? Does G-d’s presence rest upon it?
The divine soul itself cannot convince the body to do any mitzvot. It has no common language with the body. The animal soul is what mobilizes the body into doing a mitzvah. By fulfilling the mitzvah, the animal soul transforms herself into an entity worthy of hosting G-d's presence 🌟. This is the awesome power of fulfilling commandments with your physical body.
When you have to Run🏃♂️, Sweat 🥵, And Persevere ✊ In order to fulfill a mitzvah, it involves much more effort than utilizing your mind or your words to connect with G-d. This is how you bring G-dliness even to your animal soul - and into all of this physical world ↙️↙️.
Now we have the answer to the bothersome question we asked at the beginning of this chapter of Tanya: Why does G-d give us an animal soul 🐮 that ✖️we won't ever✖️ be able to transform?
Now we get it 😊!
The _essence_ of the animal soul will never change. There always will be a struggle 👊 - between its animalistic desires and the altruistic dreams of the divine souls. Its attraction to physical pleasure will never suddenly switch into an attraction for holy pursuits.
But when it comes down to action 🤚🤩 ✋ … Where it really counts 👍… The animal soul can always do what G-d wants - just like a Tzaddik, a righteous person. When that happens, the animal soul is tied up and is totally subservient⛓️🐮⛓️ to the divine soul and so the divine presence can rest upon the person.
G-d’s most fervent desire is that this physical world 🌍become a place where He can reside openly; where all of creation will recognize Him as Creator and the Power 🌟 behind everything. This world, however, naturally conceals the presence of G-d 🌥️. Creations do not obviously demonstrate their spiritual origins and connection to G-d.
In order to access and maintain a connection 🔗with Him, we need to fulfill His commandments. The 613 commandments are G-d’s inner will and desire🌟🌟, the things He likes and that bring Him joy:
Tefillin🕴🏽⛩️🕴🏽,
Ritual hand washing🚰,
Tzitzit ⏸️⏸️ Etc
By fulfilling His will, you welcome His presence ✨ into this world ✨.
There are lofty levels of G-d that remain disconnected from this world 🌪️. They are too infinite to be contained by finite creations. The level of Divine Presence that can infiltrate and be contained in this world is called Shechina in Hebrew. The root of the word Shechina is related to the root word "Shochen" - to dwell It refers to the level of G-dliness that descends ⬇️ down to this world and stays here, instilling G-dliness into the physical creations and elevating the world into a more spiritual and holy place.
How do we get G-d to dwell in this lowly world🙄?
👉🏻 Accommodating something 🤗requires making a space for it 🙂: If you want to hear someone else 🧏🏻♀️, You need to be quiet 🤐. If you want to fill your cup with coffee ☕, First it needs to be empty .
Emptying a space for the divine presence ✨ means nullifying and eliminating its identity. It has to be totally apparent that this is G-dly and nothing else. Nothing can exist as its own being in the space where G-d rests.
When a king 🤴🏼wants to remove his crown 👑 in order to sleep, he does not place it on the head of one of his officers💂🏻♂️. He will only put it on a stand ⛩️ or hook ⚜️ for the crown. The officers 💂🏻♂️are self-aware. They feel themselves and their greatness. If the king would put the crown on one of them, he would begin to imagine himself as king 🤴🏼… A hook ⚜️ or hatstand is ~nothing~. It simply holds the crown for the king.
The same is with G-d’s presence resting on physical objects in this world. The divine presence can only reside on something that is a ~non-entity~ so that the holiness is its entire existence.
As mentioned above, souls long for G-d ✨😍 ✨. You can only long for something that you don’t have; that isn’t part of you 🙌. This means that souls have an identity separate from G-d. This applies even to Tzaddikim who are righteous 😇, G-dly people. Their souls originate from the loftiest spiritual levels and they desire ❤️🔥nothing other than G-dliness. This desire and longing only proves how they are indeed an entity separate from G-d.
It turns out that the only way to become united with G-d and enable Him to dwell down here in this world 🌎 is 👉🏻through the performance of the mitzvot (commandments). 💥 ● 💥 ● 💥 ● 💥
A soul is pure and holy but it does not automatically draw down G-d’s light and presence 💫. Mitzvot are G-d’s innermost will and desire. They exist simply because these are the things G-d enjoys. By dedicating yourself to fulfilling mitzvot, you create space within your life for G-d’s light and energy to dwell in you 💘, along with all the accompanying blessings and goodness.
When people came to the Lubavitcher Rebbe requesting blessing for physical matters, the Rebbe encouraged them to strengthen themselves spiritually by adding in the observance 🙌of a mitzvah. Based on the above, we can understand the why: G-d’s commandments are the channel of His presence - His light and energy 🔆 - to this world. By making ourselves a repository for G-d’s light, we benefit from the accompanying blessings and goodness 🥰!
We left off yesterday with the analogy of an oil lamp 🪔:
Your body is the wick 〰️ G-d’s presence, is the flame 🔥 The oil that keeps the two connected are your good deeds 🙌🏻. But why can't your divine soul be the oil which connects the divine presence with your physical body?
In fact, here’s an even better question: Your soul itself is a piece of G-d🌟. Why isn't that enough by itself to connect you with G-d? Why do you need to fulfill 👐 commandments in order to connect with Him 🤷♀️❓❓
At first glance, what is closer to G-d - a soul or a mezuzah scroll 🤔? The soul, no? 🙄 The soul is a piece of G-d✨, while the mezuzah is a piece of processed animal 🐄 hide… Why does the soul need the mezuzah in order to become closer to G-d?
Thinking this over makes you wonder about something else 🙋♀️: You know who you are - a Jew! A proud one! You are a beloved child of the Creator 👑 and possess a pure divine soul. Why isn't it enough to be Jewish in your heart❓❓ You are already essentially connected with G-d! What difference do your actions 🤲🏽 make?
This question is even greater regarding a righteous person. His soul originates from a really sublime level of G-dliness, so why is he forced to limit his connection to G-d to a regimen of physical actions❓
All these queries will be answered by understanding the analogy of the oil🕯️in the lamp and how that corresponds with our souls:
So first let’s clarify: what is the purpose of the oil in a lamp 🪔❓
The oil:
1. Determines the clarity and purity of the fire ✨
2. Ensures that the wick doesn't instantly get consumed by the fire. Only a material that is completely combustible makes a good fuel☝️since the fuel of the lamp gets totally consumed by the fire ♨️. It actually turns into fire. Iron🪝 or concrete⛩️, for example, are too durable and stable 💪. They can't be used as fuel since they won’t become fully consumed 😊.
What does this have to do with your soul? You body 🧍is a wick. You don't want it to be consumed. It needs to maintain its identity and existence in order to be the place that G-d's presence can rest ✨🧍🏻♀️✨. The oil loses its existence and becomes consumed by the fire🔥. Therefore, your soul _cannot_ be the oil of the lamp. Your soul has its own separate entity.
How do you see this? When you love someone ❤️, there is you and there is them. Usually this means that you are ready to do anything for them… But it also means that you exist as an identity separate from that other person. There is a “you” who loves 😍. A righteous person loves G-d 😌. This means that he exists as a separate being who loves G-d, who is outside of himself.
Therefore, even a super lofty soul ❌cannot ❌ serve as the fuel to connect his wick (the body) with the fire (G-d's presence). Instead, we need something else to act as the fuel that attaches G-d’s presence with our bodies.
How do the mitzvot, G-d’s commandments, act as the oil for the lamp 🤔? Mitzvot are G-d’s will and desire. They are the purpose for which all the worlds were created. A mitzvah has no other purpose other than expressing G-d’s will.
The details and parameters of a mitzvah are precisely so because that is what G-d desires:
A mezuzah made only from animal hide 🐮,
Kiddush on Shabbat made specifically on wine🍷,
A Sukkah for the holiday of Sukkot with walls of the proper measurements 📏 and vegetation as its roof 🌿🍃…
In a world which hides G-d 🌥️, His commandments reveal to us how to access and maintain a connection with Him. By fulfilling His will, we transform our bodies and environment into a place that is welcoming to G-d ✨- an abode for Him down here in this physical world.
What gets you up in the morning…🙆🏻♀️❔ Or in other words… What is the purpose of your life 🙄❔The above question is not a purely philosophical 💭 question. It has a massive influence on how you live 🙌 your life.If you are aware of what truly matters in life, you can choose how to best prioritize and focus your attention.In order to answer the above question, take the time to reflect and ask yourself:_When do you feel satisfied and fulfilled 🤩?__What makes your life meaningful?_Unfortunately, life is mostly made up of mundane activities that don't particularly inspire or move you. In the upcoming chapters, the Tanya teaches something incredible: A deep connection with G-d is forged not through only through emotional or intellectual experiences, but also through consistent action 🤚 - fulfillment of His commandments.In the Tanya's introduction, the Alter Rebbe writes that the goal of the book is to make the service of G-d relevant and attainableEmotionally🫀, In the way you express yourself 👄 And practically, with your deeds 👐._'Deeds'_ is written last - hinting 😉 that the ultimate purpose 🎯 of emotional experiences and self-expression is that it lead to behavioral changes. In order to understand the importance of our actions, we need to first answer this burning question: Why did your soul 🌟 need to descend into this lowly world 🤷🏻♀️❓ What was she missing Up There ☄️that she can attain only down here 🌍? The answer to this question is identical to the answer of another painful question:The Tanya instructs us to strive 🪂 to become a Beinoni. But while a Beinoni successfully controls his impulses and inclinationsHe will never get rid of them completely.Not only that - He will never win it! At most, he can restrain it and limit its damage, but he will always wrestle 🤺 with it! His _only_ triumph is that he controls the garments of the soul:The thoughts he thinks, The words he saysAnd the actions he takes This realization is quite depressing 😞.It is like attempting to fix 🧰 something over and over again, but it still remains broken 😣…What's the point in struggling 👊 all your life with negative impulses 👽🧟♂️ that nevertheless remain as strong as ever … 😳😳?!The Alter Rebbe phrases it thus: _"Why did his soul descend into this world, to toil in vain, G-d forbid?"_The answer to this question is doubly✌️comforting. When we understand the purpose of our struggles, we can joyfully deal with them instead of feeling overwhelmed, shamed, and guilt-ridden. To answer this question, the Alter Rebbe mentions a fascinating statement from Zohar, _A wise man's eyes are in his head._"Really now," Rabbi Heinukah, son of Rabbi Hamnunah, asks." Where else should his eyes 👀 be??"Obviously this verse means something deeper than just a description of where to find an intelligent person’s eyes. It’s saying that someone who is wise is always mindful of the divine presence✨ which rests above a person's head 😇. This is one of the reasons Jewish men cover their heads with a kippah - out of respect and in acknowledgment of the divine presence resting above his head.Here is an analogy to help us understand the meaning of the above concept.Our bodies🧍 are compared to wicks 🪔, the physical material that enables an oil lamp to burn.The fire🕯️ refers to G-d's presence ✨☝️In order to keep the fire attached to the wick, you need a fuel 🏺.Without it, the fire can’t burn. It separates from the wick, leaving you dark and cold.The oil which keeps G-d’s presence connected to our physical bodies is our good deeds.This is what the wise person constantly keeps in mind: Aside from studying Torah learning and doing his internal work to serve G-d better, he needs good deeds in order to keep the divine presence present and connected to him.Tomorrow we’ll learn how this is relevant to overcoming our daily struggles and challenges.
When you study Torah, you become G-d’s host. But what about a person who is occupied with his job, raising his family, and helping others, so he doesn’t have much time left to learn Torah? If, when a window of free time opens up, he makes use of the opportunity to study Torah, he proves that he _would have_ liked to spend more time studying Torah. Therefore, G-d considers his aspiration and desire to learn as if he had spent the time occupied with Torah. The Chassidim of the Alter Rebbe approached him with a similar complaint: their work occupied most of their day and they did not have as much time as they would have wished to study Torah. The Alter Rebbe writes, _The rest of the day, when one is occupied with business matters, can be considered creating an abode for G-d in this world._ When you earn money, you can give charity and do other acts of kindness using the resources you have. This makes you the extension of G-d’s right hand, which is His attribute of kindness. Ok, but very often, we are busy just living, and are not necessarily working. How can we create a home for G-d in this world through all that time we spend on casual pursuits? Or even if you’ve taken from your earnings and given charity: let's say you gave not the minimum required sum of 10%, but 20%...❗ It demonstrates your generosity and is very helpful to the recipient, but what about the remaining 80 percent of the money? Nothing holy was done with that part, so does that mean that it remains as mundane as it would have had you not give _any_ charity❔ Here’s wonderful news: _The part of money donated to charity elevates to G-d the remaining parts_ The same applied to the sacrifices offered in the temple in Jerusalem. By offering one sacrifice 🦙 on the altar, _All animals would ascend to holiness 🐥🐟🐄🐑🦌 and all plants ☘️🌳🍃 would be elevated by the single handful 🤏of flour that was offered on the altar_ What this means is: All your mundane affairs can easily be elevated into holiness, making those areas of your life as holy and G-d-friendly as the parts that you specifically set aside for G-d. When you give charity 👛, donate some food to the needy, or help out another person 🤝, all the food you ate that gave you energy and all the money you earned, become holy and a receptacle to G-d’s presence and light.
This is truly a joyful 💛 and motivating perspective 🤩 to keep in mind!
And yet, feelings of contentment and joy do not contradict simultaneously feeling pain and bitterness.
Pain and discontent stems from the reality of your body and animal soul retaining their attraction and predilection for negativity
Ease, contentment, and joy 💛 because your innate essence, your ⚡G-dly soul ⚡, remains untaintable, pure, and innocent.
Conflict of emotions regarding a single situation is a normal state of being and is due to different aspects of the scenario.
Once, Rabbi Eliezer was taught by his father, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, deep secrets about the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Afterwards, he said that he had mixed feelings about the experience:
Immense sadness and great happiness
Sadness about the destruction, especially because now he truly understood the magnitude of the tragedy!
And yet, also joy, because of the incredible secrets of the Torah that he had heard!
This demonstrates that when there are differing causes, our hearts can feel opposing emotions at the same time.
Faith can remain theoretical 🌀 or faith can infiltrate your entire being and impact your mindset and actions.The thief 🕵️ who prays for success obviously believes in G-d, for if not, why pray? However, that faith hasn’t fully penetrated his heart and therefore, it doesn’t affect the way he leads his life. It remains theoretical, like all those other things _you know about_, but whose knowledge hasn’t led you to change your habits…Living in accordance with your beliefs is challenging!In our history as a people, there were just a few lofty souls who lived in complete and exclusive harmony with their beliefs.These were our holy forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose entire lives were focused solely on serving G-d. They had no desire to do anything else.For this reason, our sages state that _The forefathers are chariots_ 🛺A vehicle has no opinion. It carries its passengers wherever they want to go without interfering with the planning of the route or destination.In this same way, our forefathers lived with complete dedication and ~submission~ to G-d’s will. _Throughout their lives, there was never a moment where they stopped connecting their minds and hearts to G-d_In this merit, they opened the channel ➿➿➿of dedication and submissiveness to G-d for all their descendents.All the Jewish prophets, each according to his own level, with Moses at the forefront, completely ~surrendered~ themselves to G-d. They became known for dedicating their very beings to fulfilling and spreading G-d’s word.There was one moment ☝️in history where all the Jewish people entered into this state of complete ~nullification~ and surrender to G-d: when standing before Mount Sinai ⛰️ to receive the Torah. The entire nation, irrespective of spiritual status, experienced unity with G-d where they felt part of Him and not as beings separate from Him.But it came at a price:They couldn’t tolerate this level of surrender to G-d.Their bodies could not contain the intense divine light and revelation. Their souls kept leaving their bodies, returning to their original source and so G-d had to continuously revive them.In order for this experience to continue influencing the Jewish people in a tangible way and not just that they continued with their regular lives, G-d immediately afterwards told them to build a temporary temple, a Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the desert, where they could serve Him. A number of years after arriving in the Land of Israel, the Jews converted their temporary temple into a permanent home for G-d when King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem 🕍. For about 1,500 years, there was a place in the world where G-d’s presence rested in a revealed, palpable manner. Three times a year, all Jews would embark on a pilgrimage to the Temple in order to internalize the feeling of connection with G-d and draw it into their homes and daily lives. But what after the Temple was destroyed 🤔❔To be perfectly honest:We can never attain this level of absolute surrender to G-d…Surrendering to G-d is an unrealistic expectation ☹️. It’s not where we’re at. We’ll never be like our forefathers because we don’t even get Who and What G-d is. You can’t surrender to something that you have no clue about! So how can we make Him a home down here ⬇️in this world and even more so, within ourselves??The answer is: By studying Torah._Since the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem, G-d does ❌not have a dwelling place ❌other than where Jewish law is studied_For this reason, it’s vital to find find windows of time 🪟🪟 to study Torah yourself and see to it that your family members - and every Jew - learn Torah, too. Knowing that you are engaged in the only possible activity that enables you to host G-d within yourself leads to great joy and satisfaction!
There is a second kind of joy ✌️that results from our faith in G-d. This is the joy that we receive because we know we’ve brought G-d to joy!What gives God great joy and pleasure 🤔❔In general, people get a kick out of things that are unexpected or novel 💥- out of the ordinary.The Maggid of Mezritch, teacher of the Alter Rebbe, provided the following analogy: There was once a king 🤴🏼who was looking for something that would amuse him. His servants brought before him a parrot 🦜 that could talk. The king really enjoyed the parrot 😍. Every day, the king would talk with it and play with it, laughing in surprise at the things it said 🤣😂😅.One of the king’s ministers 🥸 couldn’t understand what the big deal was with the bird. He said to the king, “Your majesty, this parrot is speaking nonsense! Why do you find him so amusing? Wouldn’t it be better to summon your wise men🕵️♂️ and advisors 🦹♂️🧛🏼♂️🦸🏻♂️ to hear some sensible words of wisdom❔”The king laughed.“Don't you understand? There’s nothing particularly fascinating or entertaining about people talking 🗣️🗣️🗣️. A parrot 🦜 talking is unique 💥 and that's why it gives me pleasure!”G-d has countless angels that devotedly serve Him... However, they live in the upper spiritual worlds where G-d’s light and energy shines openly. Therefore, it is only natural that they would worship and believe in G-d.G-d receives great pleasure specifically ☝️ from the “talking parrot”... from human beings 🕴🏻 like us, made from flesh and blood 🫀🫁🧠 who live in a world where holiness is hidden 🌑, and yet - they “chirp” faith and discover G-dliness even in this lowly world.This is unexpected! It’s out of the ordinary 😊and it brings G-d so much pleasure!In fact, it’s exactly what G-d wishes for:That He feel welcome and comfortable and at home precisely down here in this lowly physical world 🌍.This knowledge that we bring God pleasure and joy brings us double joy😁😁, too!When you actively live with faith in Him, you fulfill the purpose 🎯 for which G-d created you and all the worlds 🪐: To bring awareness of G-d here, into the world.This is such a joyful and pleasurable thing 🤍. It’s like a child 👦 who is so excited to do something for his father that he knows will make his father 👨 👦 very happy and give him pleasure. There is an especially strong joy and pleasure that G-d receives from those who live outside of the Land of Israel and nevertheless, serve G-d with faith and love. _For the air of all the lands outside of Israel is impure 🕍🏨💒🕌_ and it is more difficult to connect with G-d from there.◇◇◇King David wrote in Psalms, _Let Israel rejoice with their Creator_Why should Jews be happy?What’s there to be so excited about?_Meaning, everyone Jewish should rejoice together with G-d ✨ Who is ✨ecstatic ✨ about having a dwelling place down here in this lowly world 🪐._Why does the verse say _Their Creator _ - plural? Why not in the singular tense, since it refers to the entire nation as one singular entity?This physical world is called a “Public Space” 👬🏻👭🏻👬🏻 where no one is in charge, and “Separate Mountain Peaks ⛰️⛰️⛰, where each mountain independently soars into the sky, intent on proving its own majesty. Both these terms use plural tenses. It’s not an accident. The reality of this world is _separation_, where there are many different kinds of things, each seemingly operating independently from one another.By revealing G-d’s presence in this world, all these disparate things become unified 🙏, turning over this world into a private dwelling place for G-d.
Just as a person is excited to receive a huge fortune as inheritance without an ounce of labor, we should be happy and appreciate the inheritance that our holy ancestors bequeathed to us.We’ve received it without having to work 🥵 for it. It's part of our DNA. What is it?The knowledge that G-d is the one and only true existence and He is with us always!What's so joyful about that?So let's check together what a real joy is:If joy is dependent upon money, health, talents, or even family (a loving spouse, healthy children)...Then your happiness ♾️depends ♾️ on something external to you. If, G-d forbid, that thing will not happen or if it ends 🌬️, your happiness will disappear, too. You’ll have nothing to give you joy or make your life worth living…We need to hold on to something deep within ourselves, something that can never be taken away, something unlimited, eternal, and that never runs out or finishes. Faith in G-d and the knowledge that He fills this entire world and directs every little thing provides that anchor to happiness that never ends.All pain in this world stems from loneliness and disconnection: The pain when you are cut off from a loved one who has passed away… The pain of rejection from peers… The pain that no one seems to know or care about what you are going through… The feeling of being abandoned by G-d… The pain of disconnect from your own self; the inability to be who you were meant to be… However, when you have a deep and unbreakable attachment to a Power who never disconnects from you, Who always has your back, Who cares deeply about you and for you, especially when you are in pain… Wow! There is nothing more deeply calming and restorative than that! When you know that you are always connected with G-d because you are always found _within Him_ - nothing exists out of Him… He fills everywhere 🪐🪐🪐 and is found everywhere… You can truly rejoice…With a joy that lasts forever!The best part is that you have access to it in your blood!It’s a gift, an inheritance, and an inborn feature of our DNA… In order to really experience this feeling of connection with G-d and to internalize the joy and relief it provides, you need to set aside a few minutes each day to remind yourself about it. Even during holiday season, when things are super hectic, meditate for a few moments 😌about the great gift we received from our ancestors - inborn faith in G-d and an eternal bond with Him.▪▪▪The joy and strength that faith brings is the reason why of all 6️⃣1️⃣3️⃣ commandments stand on just one commandment: Faith.What does this mean 🤔❔Faith illuminates and empowers all the other mitzvot ✨.The stronger and deeper your faith, the greater joy you feel. That joy leads to greater energy and fuel ♨️ to fulfill all the other mitzvot.Faith is like a spiritual gelatin that solidifies and stabilizes all other mitzvot.The prophet Chabakuk stated, _A Tzaddik - a righteous person - lives by his faith_He doesn’t say that the righteous person delights in or is joyous because of his faith, but that he lives by it. Faith is literally restorative.Like the resurrection of the dead, faith in G-d can rejuvenate and reinvigorate someone who has nothing else left to live for, other than his faith. Faith enables you to overcome all the obstacles ❌✖️❌ that make it difficult to observe the mitzvot. Faith in G-d reminds you that obstacles are mostly mental 💭and can be overcome with some will and self-confidence. Without faith you think like this:😖 Ugh, I can’t handle this child...😒 What can I do that I was born to difficult/dysfunctional parents...☹️ Life is hard...😟 It's just too much for me...A person filled with faith thinks completely differently:Everything will work out This challenge was made just for me and I’ll get through it.I am protected, loved and safe.G-d is with me and, like a rich and loving father, gives me all the tools I need to succeed.
Anytime you’re feeling a bit anxious or down, there is a way to bring yourself to joy: MeditationIn the beginning of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe introduces the idea that there are two paths that bring us to love and joy in serving G-d.The Long Path involves meditation. There is no other way to achieve this love and joy.For this reason, although much of the information below may not be new, the Alter Rebbe felt the need to “repeat it” - but this time as a meditation guide. At the end of this process, your heart will be calm and happy…Point One:G-d fills the whole world and provides every creature with the energy and lifeforce it needs in order to exist ✨.Basically - everything is G-d! There is nothing else but Him!In front of G-d, every single being is ~inconsequential~ and ~non-existent~. G-d was the only thing that existed before the creation of the world and nothing has changed since. Although, in our eyes, it seems that the world occupies space and is a very important entity, for G-dThere is nothing!Point Two:The whole world came into being by means of letters since G-d created the world through words. He said, _Let there be light_ and light came into being, and so on, for all of creation.Think of a few words that you’ve said in the past . What is the significance or magnitude of these words compared to the essence of your being, to your soul itself?ZeroIn this same vein, the entire world 🌍, which resulted from G-d's speech, has no value or significance in comparison to the essence of the Creator Himself, Who is infinite, (as we explained at length in chapters 20 and 21)Point Three:Planet Earth is sustained by the light and energy radiating from the sun ☀️. Without those sunrays 🔆, the world could ❌not exist❌. Sunrays extend to earth from the sun, and yet, if you were to somehow get into the sun, you would find no rays there at all! Sunrays do not exist within the source of their existence. In the sun itself, there is only SUN.Similarly, this world 🪐 exists only due to the divine light and energy ☄️which sustains it. However, within the source of that energy, within G-d Himself, that light and energy doesn’t exist. There is only G-d! When you really stop and think, when you delve deeply into the concept of G-d's unique existence, and how literally everything else is meaningless and insignificant and doesn’t even exist, your heart begins to fill with wonder and awe. You begin to feel closer and more connected to G-d,And then slowly,You begin to feel joyful and happy 💖💖, with inner peace that stems from faith 😌.Making this world a dwelling place for G-d begins within each person. When our minds and hearts are filled with awareness, awe, and love for G-d, we live our lives accordingly and the whole world slowly becomes a place where G-d can comfortably dwell. _This is the whole purpose of man☝️ and his creation - and the creation of all the upper and lower worlds: that there be a dwelling place 🏡 for G-d in the lowest world 🌍_Imagine you are at home, busily preparing for Purim 🥮🫕👨🏼🌾🧑🍳👘🎀🎉… The place is chaotic and noisy, when suddenly, there's a knock on the door 🚪. You open the door and just about pass out.Someone you really admire and respect is standing there. Maybe it’s the Queen of England 👸. Or your favorite president, celebrity, or billionaire … She’s there alone, with no entourage. She asks you for a cup of coffee ☕and to stay by you for a few days 🏡… Everything changes 🙃. You have a lot more work on your hands now 🪣🛋️, _but that doesn’t bother you_ 🤩🤩! In fact, you are thrilled 🤍🛎️🤍🛎️🤍!Now consider this: G-d created all the worlds but asks each of us to open the door of our hearts and entertain Him _in there_.Yes, it’s work... But it’s a wonderful joy and privilege! Realizing that a privilege and honor has been bestowed upon you opens your heart and enables you to view the experience as a pleasure and joy 💛💚💙.
There are people who do evil acts, even if they possess a divine soul. If you love him - does that mean you are endorsing his negative behavior?It’s understood that you have to take a position against evil and not enable it. Evil should be hated❗But how does this jibe with the true and deep love we are enjoined to have -for every Jewish soul_❓The Alter Rebbe explains how we are to balance these opposing emotions: _Regarding what is written in the Talmud that whoever sees his friend sin is obligated to hate him, and also to inform his teacher to hate him_"👇This applies only where the following three conditions are met:🟣 It’s a friend with equal social status and who is close to you, so you have the responsibility and the ability to admonish him.🔵 It is someone who observes Torah and mitzvot, because only someone knowledgeable in Torah is held accountable. If someone doesn’t know what is expected of them, their misdeeds are considered accidental.🟢 You already approached him personally and discussed the issue with him, yet he did not relent.For all other cases which do not meet the above-mentioned conditions 👉🏻 only love 💛💚💙is appropriate!We learn to behave this way from the sage Hillel the Elder who said:_Be a disciple of Aaron - love peace, pursue peace, love all creatures, and bring them close to Torah 🫂_Every single person deserves love and affection, even if he possesses not a single positive virtue, beyond the fact that he is simply a creation of God. It is for this reason that Hillel chose to use the word “Creature” - which does not have the most positive connotation - and not any other word for “Person”. This is the only way to draw someone close to you.In the poetic words of the Tanya, _Draw him closer via thick cords of love_. Through this, _Perhaps he will be able to draw him closer the Torah and the service of G-d_Each person has free choice. We cannot coerce a person to change. However, if there is to be any hope for improvement, it will only happen through love.But what if all that love doesn’t help 😕?Even if you haven’t be successful in rehabilitating this person, _At least you have not missed the opportunity to fulfill the commandment to love 🫂 your fellow Jew_.Now let’s return to the kind of person who _does_ fit the profile with the 3 categories we mentioned above: Someone who is close to you, who knows better, and you’ve spoken to him but he refuses to listen -_It’s a Mitzvah to love them as well!_You’ve got to hate their bad deeds ❌ but love their inner essence 💫, the innate goodness ✔️ within them.Continue to love the person 💖, but not the acts he did. Anger and love are mutually opposing forces 👈👉.When you are angry, it’s as if your love went to prison⛓️💛⛓️...🙆♀️ Is there a way to love someone who hurts you 💘or is engaged in self-destructive behavior 😖?The Alter Rebbe teaches us how to maintain a very delicate balance between continuing to love ❤️the person while clearly not condoning or agreeing with his actions 🙅♀️.What is the secret tool 🤫? Compassion 🥲Love is the trait associated with our forefather Abraham, whose entire life was focused on loving kindness and helping others, even undeserving strangers.Compassion or empathy is associated with our forefather Jacob.The prophet Isaiah stated, _Jacob (compassion and empathy) redeems Abraham (love)_It is possible to live in a world where you can maintain a relationship with people who do bad things to others and behave destructively to the world, and yet to not get hurt by them.It’s even possible to not be angry with them 🙂 .How?By arousing compassion and empathy for the 🥲struggle they are facing, which has brought them to such a lowly and difficult situation._Empathy eliminates hatred 👎 and awakens love👍_When you have compassion for the person and the challenges he faces, you can awaken feelings of love for him, too!
The Torah teaches us that true love is a love based on a spiritual bond. Each person possesses a soul, a deep core, that is beyond evaluation or grading. No human ☝️can ever judge 🙄 the value and greatness 😇of a soul which originates from G-d. When you start to connect more to your own soul, your entire outlook towards other people undergoes a transformation 🙃. You begin to perceive them from a spiritual point view ✨👁️✨ You will no longer judge others by their externals, nor love a person because of their money, personality, or how they make you feel. True love means looking deeper and valuing only a person's core. Their divine soul.Keep in mind that human beings have no clue about the greatness of a soul☝️.It’s very possible that the person you are looking at has a soul which originates from a spiritual level much higher up than mine 🙆♀️...Here’s another important point 😊:When it comes to souls - we are _all_ interconnected💞.After all, all souls are one because they originate from the same source - G-d! _For this reason, all Jewish people are called brothers because our Father is one and the same for all of us._This beautiful explanation of the mitzvah to love another like yourself leaves us with a huge question: Can you really, really love another person as much as you love yourself❓❓With true love - yes, you can! True love is a feeling of love, care, and concern 🫂 For any JewSuch a love can only be experienced 🤚if you prioritize the soul over the body.Because from the body’s perspective 👤 - We are all s e p a r a t e , competitive beings 👬🏻👭🏻👬🏻_Therefore, anyone who considers his body to be the main thing and his soul to be of secondary importance will find it is impossible to have true love and affection for another person except for the kind of love that is dependent upon external factors_But if you view yourself and those around you from a spiritual perspective, you can love another person just as you love yourself, because in truth, you are both one unit. This understanding enables us to have a deeper appreciation for the following famous story mentioned in the Talmud:A non-Jew came to Shammai and asked him to convert him while standing on one foot 🦵. Shamai chased him away.The same non-Jew then went to Hillel with the same ridiculous request.Hillel answered him:_What is hateful to you - do not do to your friends 🖐️. This is the entire Torah👌and all the rest of it expounds upon this. Now go and study._But is this really true?There are 2 ✌️categories of commandments: 🔸 Between man and G-d🔸 Between man and his fellowLogically, loving others as yourself can be the basis for all the commandments that apply to two people. For example, we can understand that if you truly love someone, you will not steal from him, cheat him, or kill him… But what is the connection between tefillin or Shabbat 🕯️🕯️, for example, and loving your fellow 🤷🏻♀️❓When you love and value other people because of their souls, you are fulfilling the entire goal and purpose of the Torah! The goal of the entire Torah is to get you to value and elevate your soul over your body 🪂🪂. When you value your soul and want to connect with her, you do more mitzvot! Therefore, yes, true love between people is, indeed, the foundation of all The Torah.Parents’ greatest comfort is seeing their children happy and loving each other 👨👦👦. There is nothing a parent won’t give just to see his children get along.Similarly, our love for one another draws down divine light and blessings to this world.Unity is the key to all blessings 🗝️. Peace and love are the things that G-d, our Father, loves most 🙏 and so when we act in that manner, we automatically draw down divine light and blessings upon ourselves.
The formula to move past 💱sorrow and pain and reach a state of contentment is:A conversation with yourself; talking to your heart 🫀Firstly acknowledge the reality that you find yourself in: “All those shortcomings and failures - are all true 👍. I really am in a negative state and I have done all those lowly, disgusting deeds - - -But I didn't make myself 🙆♀️.God created me this way.He set up my circumstances to be exactly as they were and He created my personality - with all my flaws and shortcomings.Here it’s ok to feel pain, to cry 😰😫: But why ⁉️ What for ⁉️Why did G-d mix goodness 🌖 into evil 🌘?Why did G-d take a piece of His divine light and energy 🌟, send it far, far away - all the way to Planet Earth 🌍, and clothe it in the skin of the snake 🐍 (a nickname for the body)❓❓No normal person would send his son into a pit 🕳️ full of snakes and scorpions 🐍🦀...Unless there is a very deep and worthwhile purpose 😊☝️.The Alter Rebbe writes here that he will expand more on this theme in the last chapters of the Tanya. In the meantime, he gives us the idea in a nutshell:It must be that the function of this plunge ⬇️ ⬇️Is to bring you up - ⬆️Higher than where you were previously ⬆️In truth, there is a great profit ⚡💰⚡resulting from the soul's descent into this worldBut surprisingly 💥 The one who benefits is not necessarily the soul.It’s primarily the body ♀️🧍🏻 and the animal soul who gain!The purpose and mission of the soul is to elevate you body byRepairing 💓Refining 🧡And polishing ✨💖✨ All parts of the person - the good, the bad, and the in-between - So that the light of your soul shines through your body, your personality, your thought process, the words you say - every bit of you!How do you repair and elevate a body?By speaking and thinking about Torah and fulfilling what is written in it.After all, the soul itself - was already perfect and always remains in that state.When you fulfill a commandment, you reconnect your divine soul with her source but you don’t change her. She was and is pristine . What you do accomplish is:You elevate your body, the emotions you put into the mitzvah, and any part of creation that came in contact with the good deed.For example:🔸 When you give charity -Your hand, The coin, All the energy you invested to earn this coin...And your body that did all the work - All become holy!🔸 You give someone a ride in your car - The body that drives the car,The car and all its components - metal, glass, gas, etc.The people involved in the production of the car...The food they ate in order to workThose who grew the food for them - All become holy! And so it continues forever ...When you understand this incredible concept 😍,Of course you’ll want to do as much as you can to elevate more and more parts of the world to holiness, transforming them ~From nothing~✖️ Into sparks of infinity ✨: This becomes the focus 🙏 of your life: to connect your thoughts 🧠 and words 👅With G-d’s thought and words.💎 The first step towards true joy 😁is to contemplate and internalize the fact that you did not create yourself, nor did you choose your circumstances - your upbringing, your personality, the hardships you underwent. There is a reason you are in a dark and lowly state - but you didn’t do it to yourself. Once you accept that, you can continue on to the second point mentioned by the Alter Rebbe: G-d set up all that transpired to you - for a purpose.The goal is to repair and elevate the deepest and darkest parts of yourself: your thoughts, the way you communicate to others, your reactions, and your actions! 💎 Infusing yourself with a Torah mindset enables you to connect with G-d and search for the purpose of all you went through. Doing mitzvot elevates your body, your actions, and your possessions into holiness. This is the way to achieve peace of mind and true joy 😁💛😁.
Is there any relief and joy as great as the return of a loved one to his proper place???Nothing is comparable. True joy is the feeling of freedom to be who you truly are and live accordingly.Ask any freed prisonerOr even children, finally let out of school after a looooong day… This pure joy is dependent upon no substance or outside influences. It’s nothing other than the ability to be yourself - and there is no greater feeling!Similarly, the soul experiences no greater joy than the ability to break out of the confines of the body and return to her father’s home, as she had been in her youth.Death is not the only time the soul can experience this feeling.We can allow her that relief at any time, by studying Torah or helping another person . This is the self-expression that the divine soul craves.This is joy - -But is it Complete Joy?How could it be, if the soul is still trapped in a physical body with its pesky animal soul and all its accompanying liabilities - limited strength and stamina, physical desires and lusts, and character flaws?It’s kind of like coming to a wedding and dancing with the bride in celebration of the occasion - while she is still dressed in pajamas…The trick is to DIFFERENTIATE.There are many situations in life that are complicated and include a coinciding mix of emotions, such as feeling joy and sadness at the same time.It’s up to you to decide -Where to give in? Which one is of greater importance or value ?While not denying your personal shortcomings which certainly do exist,You can still choose which of your souls to focus on:The lowly and depressive state of your animal soul - -OrThe great joy of the divine soul when you pray or perform a mitzvah.Your divine soul should be more precious in your eyes and so you’ll choose to focus on her joy, despite your awareness of the lowly state of your body and animal soul. This is how it worked at the Exodus, when the Jewish people left Egypt. _The nation fled_ But that is surprising! Why did they have to flee from Egypt?The Jews weren’t escaping the Egyptians as much as they were escaping _their very own selves_! We’ve got to understand the complex situation that the Jews faced at that time: After witnessing so many G-dly wonders and miracles, the divine souls of the Jewish people were ignited. The divine souls wanted to escape immediately, get the Torah, and forever connect with G-d.Their bodies, on the other hand, preferred to stay put in Egypt. Slavery was familiar and Egypt was home, while the harsh desert certainly was not! Their animal souls didn’t change until later on, after the Torah was given. For this reason, there was no choice but for the Jews to FLEE_Before_ their bodies/animal souls could stop them. The exodus from Egypt is not a one-time historical event, but an ongoing model of attaining spiritual freedom: Your body - hinders freedom.Your divine soul wants to be free.Sometimes there is no choice and you have to 'cut' and separate the two parts of yourself.It’s up to you to decide where that cut will be:Will you give in to the anxiety of the animal soulOr rejoice in the freedom of the divine soulThe choice is yours.Even when differentiating between the differing needs and desires of your divine and animal souls, and focusing on your divine soul, remember that the evil and impurity of your animal soul has not disappeared. It is just as much stuck to you as before, similar to the way the Jewish people escaped Egypt while still in their negative state. Only later on did they become fully purified and holy.Even if your body continues trying to prevent you from doing your spiritual work and fulfilling mitzvot because all that negativity and evil still exists inside you - Focus on your divine soul’s joy which is infinite and make sure to give her as much of it as you can!
The road to happiness comes gradually.It’s a Step by Step process.It requires reminding yourself - and thinking deeply about - three vital points, which will provide you with a double measure of comfort after the heartbreak.Step One 🔸:Acknowledge where you are at spiritually, admitting that _In truth, without a doubt, I am very far from G-d, I am broken and abominable, etc."But hey, This is only one side of you: your body and animal soul! There is another side to you - _There is a real part of G-d within me… a divine soul_Although the divine soul is felt only minimally on a daily basis - this in no way means that it does not exist.What naturally follows next is - Stage Two 🔸🔸 of the process: CompassionFor your divine soul!Since you are so distant from G-d, your poor, captive divine soul deserves to be greatly pitied! Imagine a prince, the beloved only child of the king, captured by human traffickers and forced into slave work in a dark and filthy coal mine…It’s an objectively horrid situation for anyone to be forced into - how much more so for the pampered, sheltered prince❗This is how a divine soul trapped inside a human body feels. With every sin and additional separation from G-d, she suffers more. This is not her natural habitat.But do not wallow in pity and sorrow for too long…Immediately move on to the next step of the process - Stage Three 🔸🔸🔸: Contemplate ways that you can assist your divine soul and ease her suffering! Focus your energy on freeing her from captivity and returning her to her father's house.There are ways to make her happy and feel at home, even while she is still stuck inside your physical body.~~~~~~Home 🏡Sweet 😁 Home 🏡!This expression means something else to each person.What does it mean for you?When you can toss your handbag and heels aside and slip on a pair of slippers…?When you can quietly sip a cup of coffee and enjoy a piece of cake…?Or perhaps it’s simply when you are greeted by your love ones with warm, joyful welcome-home hugs.Your divine soul, too, misses her home very much…What was so special about her home?"There she was included in G-d’s light and united with Him in the closest way possible"Is it possible to somehow allow her to experience this pleasure here, in this world, where she is imprisoned inside a body⛓️🕴🏻⛓️❓Yes!Every time you fulfill a commandment: Helping out another,Thanking G-d after eating a meal,Washing your hands for bread,Charity,Lighting Shabbat candles,… Or any other mitzvah,You dress your soul in her comfy 'home clothes', making her feel comfortable and welcome in the environment she finds herself in.This is especially so when you pray!Praying allows your soul to connect with G-d and cry out to Him in pain regarding the state she finds herself in: in exile, separated from G-d, her source. Prayer enables you to sympathize with the great pain your soul is experiencing. It’s a great opportunity to beg G-d to help you make your soul feel comfortable and safe by enabling you to provide for her needs.This kind of prayer is extra powerful:The Alter Rebbe states that it is combination of Teshuva - repentance AndKindness*! But isn’t repentance for sins?How could praying for your divine soul be a form of repentance? The founder of the Chassidic movement, the Baal Shem Tov , taught that every single mitzvah and good deed is a form of repentance.The Hebrew term for repentance, Teshuva, means "to return" and this is exactly what such prayer accomplishes. It returns the piece of G-d within you to its Source and Origin. And therefore- Teshuva (repentance) is relevant to every Jew without exception. It is imperative that we involve ourselves in prayer and good deeds as much as we can, since this is what comforts your divine soul and connect her back to her source
In Chapter 26-28, we learned that it is possible to be joyful in any situation, no matter the circumstances. In Chapters 29 and 30, we learned how to deal with feelings of numbness and indifference that result from negative influences and the forces of impurity covering your heart. Today, we will tie these two topics together.Sometimes, in order to crack something, you use the object itself. It’s difficult to crack a nut using your bare fingers but strategically banging that walnut against another walnut will very effectively crack it.The Talmud mentions how the handle for an ax used to chop down the forest - is made from wood, from the forest itself. Similarly, you need to employ terms that the animal soul understands in order to break it. The emotion most effective for this is one that the animal soul uses in order to advance its agenda: Depression.In this case, however, you tweak the emotion a bit so that instead of depression, you feel Merirut - disenchantment, distress, and regret. When you utilize your pain and regret to drive you to improve and change the status quo, you are using the holy version of sadness. This is the only way to break the unholy, negative state you find yourself in. You employ a tool that the animal soul is familiar with - ie depression - to fight itself.In fact, this is the only positive side that exists to sadness... Properly utilized, it forces us to face the unpleasant truth and make changes in our lives. Otherwise, it would be a totally negative emotion, one to avoid at all times!To clarify: The difference between depression and Merirut - sadness and bitterness, is very slight ---:When experiencing either of them, you admit that the current situation is no good and not sustainable. But what happens next differentiates the two: Depression is rooted in the Element of Dust, (one of the 4 elements that the world is made up of: Fire, Air, Water, and Earth).Depression makes you feel down and heavy, overwhelmed and unable to lift yourself out of the situation.Bitterness is energizing, like fire. It leads you to take action and make changes as needed.Like the doctor who gives his patient a choice: Lifestyle change or early death -- pick your choice.When you feel sadness or depression, you hide in bed under the covers until….When you feel Merirut - disillusionment or bitterness, you can’t sleep. You can’t stay in one place. You need to do things, to take action. ~☆~How often should you allow yourself to enter this state of Merirut - distress and regret?Like any medical treatment :Use only as prescribedTake only as much as needed, and only at the proper times.The correct time to sit and think the kind of thoughts that lead to Merirut is when you are already bothered by something else. Grab the opportunity to sit down and take a personal accounting of your life. This should take an hour or two, not more. Then, the sadness should be replaced with relief and even joy! ~☆~Merirut - distress and sadness - is like a pill that you have to take when you are sick.However, for the most part, good health is dependent upon proper nutrition, not medication. Nutritious food for the soul is JOY and this is the mode you should always operate in.Of course, medication is used only temporarily and the same applies to Merirut. Most medications are not to be taken on an empty stomach. The same applies with Merirut. Only utilize this potent remedy when you’ve got food - JOY - in your system already!The Lubavitcher Rebbe noted that in a generation where people have experienced so much suffering and trauma, Merirut is an unnecessary bitter pill to swallow. There’s enough of that present already in people’s lives.In our generation, our task is to serve G-d with JOY.
Arrogance, that feeling that you are better than another person, leads to coldness and indifference to their plight. This is another version of Timtum Halev - a dull, numb, and unfeeling heart.This is the precise state of being that we just spent so much effort learning to eradicate! In this chapter of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe presents the correct attitude towards others that we need to inculcate within ourselves. _Be humble before all people_How is this possible 🤷♀️?You’ve got to look at three other factors:▪️ The overall trend - the direction ⬆️⬇️ the person is moving in. Is he progressing ↗️or regressing ↘️ ?It’s very possible that one person descended from Rung 10 down to Rung 9, while another has advanced from Rung 1 to Rung 2.▪️ How much progress was there?One person descended 1 rung while the other increased by 2 🪜🪜The most significant factor is: ▪️ How much effort 🥵🥵was invested in the process?How can you compare someone healthy and fit 🏃making a leap and a person with impaired mobility 👨🦽who successfully takes one step? ▪️ ▪️ ▪️ ▪️ ▪️ ▪️ Applying these 3 factors changes your entire perspective towards others.True humility and empathy are developed through practicing what our sages taught: _Do not judge a person until you have been in his circumstance_A person is the product of his circumstances. Perhaps the home environment where he was raised was problematic, while you were raised in a warm and loving home.Perhaps he underwent some tragedy or some trauma, while your life has been a lot smoother. If _you_ had experienced the same challenges in your life, would you have reacted any differently…?It’s possible that he struggles with intense passion and temptation. No one other than him is aware of how much energy he expends just to stay sober and not fall victim to sin…While you are a colder, more somber person who naturally isn’t attracted to physical pleasure in this way not due to anything you’ve done but simply because you were created in that way. Comparing yourself with his ability to withstand temptation isn’t fair because passion isn’t equally distributed. Each person has different inclinations and predispositions.No matter the situation, we are challenged to judge the other person favorably.yourself is:Do I invest the same energy to overcome _my_ challenges as this person expends in overcoming his challenges?This will bring you to feelings of humility and empathy.The Rebbe says something very important here:Even if you do face significant challenges in your life and you are a very passionate person, and you work in a tough environment that puts you in direct contact with temptation, you have no excuse or justification to sin.In human beings, the brain is wired to control and direct the heart. Through studying and implementing within yourself the correct mindset, you can learn how to redirect, distract, and overcome the negative habits and traits that have become such an ingrained part of yourself.~~~~~Before judging another person, you need to ask yourself:To what extent do I push myself beyond my comfort zone in my personal battles🤺?It may be that the person in front of you struggles with the basics while you haven’t given in to temptation in a long while.But do you push yourself to pray properly?Praying 📖 is part of your routine. Do you push yourself to really, really connect 🔗🔗with G-d and mean every word you are saying? Praying properly is really hard. The time of prayer is literally battle time ⚔️. The struggle to control your mind from wandering and to really be present in your prayers s a battle just as strong as controlling yourself from sinning!Do you push yourself to do this properly every single day?Or do you cut yourself slack and say that what you are doing is good enough?If so, how can you judge another person and expect _them_ to engage in a battle ⚔️ ⚔️ in whatever area they struggle with?
Every single human being experiences challenges in different areas of life. Sometimes it seems that there is absolutely way out; no way to overcome the issue. The source of all struggle and all difficulties is the “Other Side”.“The Other Side” of what?The other side of holiness; the forces of evil who oppose and deny G-dliness.This term, originating from the Masters of Kabbalah as the go-to name for all things negative and evil.But the good news is:The “Other Side” really has no existence of its own!For this reason, the forces of evil are compared to darkness.Darkness, too, has no substance of its own.It’s merely the absence of light.To chase away darkness…Just turn on the light!The Other Side, the forces of impurity, are as scary and intimidating as darkness.In fact, they seem to have a lot of power because many creations receive their spiritual energy and life force _through them_! Doesn’t that seem to indicate that the Other Side is real and is a force to reckon with? Nope!Because guess where its life force and ability to exist comes from?All existence stems only from G-d.Holiness is the source of everything, even the forces of evil who oppose and deny G-dliness!The forces of impurity possess a very limited and temporary power which is intended to only fool us and attract us to it… But then it runs out and you are already stuck…However, when you remind yourself, “Hey, this evil is really NOTHING! It gives me nothing and it gets me nowhere except stuck in its downward spiral!”Then you are able to fight it, shine a light on its evilness and reveal what your exploration of it truly is: a search for, and even a ladder towards, a connection with G-d. Suddenly, the darkness is no longer dark.As soon as you reveal the truth, lies can no longer stand.This explains the dramatic and sudden shift in attitude that occurred to the Jewish people when they were in the desert, on their way to the Land of Israel.Moses had chosen a group of 12 solid and wise men to act as spies and scout out the Land of Israel. These spies returned and turned the people against the idea of going to live there. They concluded that it was not possible to conquer the land, despite G-d’s assurances. They claimed that the nations residing there are stronger than G-d.Hearing their report, the Jewish people became very frightened and cried and wailed all night long. Suddenly, just a few hours after their terror and sobbing, they declared, "We can prevail against those nations ! Let’s go up to the land!"Where did they suddenly receive such confidence and courage?Nothing had changed in the interimMoshe hadn’t performed any miracles...In fact, he had just given them a pretty harsh verdict - that G-d would _not_ be bringing them to the Land of Israel. So what happened? What made the Jews change their mind so quickly?The truth is that Jewish people really and truly have faith in G-d.They had simply been overcome by fear and doubts.The forces of evil had risen up and blinded them and so they temporarily felt disconnected from G-d and doubtful of their and His abilities.When G-d became angry with them and identified the evil by its name:_For how long will this evil congregation continue… Their corpses will fall here in the desert_They heard this and became broken-hearted.They became pained and bothered by the verdict .The shell of doubt and fear covering their hearts shrunk and cracked… and the truth was revealed ✨.They really _did_ believe - the entire time - that they could successfully conquer the land.This story demonstrates that - There is no substance to the Other Side. Once you reveal the ugly truth, it dissipates as if it never existed .They are the ghosts 👻 in the PacMan game whose entire purpose is to challenge you in order to determine how good you are at playing the game of life.
We’ve been discussing the concept of taking aCheshbon Henefesh, a personal accounting.You do this when you are feeling numb, stuck, and indifferent towards spiritual pursuits.When properly done, the result of this spiritual audit will shatter the rough exterior of your animal soul - its false sense of independence - in order for your divine soul to finally be able to shine through. The longer you linger on these thoughts, the more you’ll begin to feel revulsion for the state you find yourself in. This isn’t your true self! Driving your self-centeredness, disconnecting you from G-d, and separating you from your essence - your divine soul - is your animal soul.The way to reawaken your attraction and desire for G-d is to let the animal soul know exactly who he is and what you think of him.The Alter Rebbe suggests to direct your feelings of disgust towards peeling away the masks the animal soul dons by telling him:You are wicked!You are evil!You are despicable!You are a disgrace!Most people, when they refer to themselves, are actually referring to their animal soul, so by taunting your animal soul with these names, you are referring also to yourself, to your self-identity. The acknowledgement of your lowliness reminds you that this isn’t the real you… Your real self is your divine soul.You'll start feeling angry and pained by the fact that this shell was cutting you off from the source of life - from the divine light. Hey, you can _feel_ again…!The numbness and indifference, the Timtum Halev, has dissolved a bit.A crack has formed in the shell….Your G-dly soul can shine through once again! The forces of evil - the animal soul - provide the illusion that this world is an entity independent of G-d And that you, too, are your own, independent, self-sufficient being And this separation, this split from your source and who you really are, is the source of all your sins and misdeeds. It’s only when a person denies his core and ignores who he truly is that he would dare put his personal will above the will of G-d.It’s like those Holocaust deniers...Covid deniers…Who put their personal agenda ahead of the truth…The biggest deniers of all are -The forces of evil and the animal soulWho deny what is most obvious - that this world and all of existence is literally nothing 🌬️in relation to G-d. ▪▪▪What’s the point of all this effort to shatter the animal soul?Does it exist just so we can break it?Well, its purpose is much more than that:_The whole purpose of the animal soul is to enable us to discover the truth of the world on our own._If G-dliness were not hidden from us, we would clearly see that there is no other besides Him. If we did not have to discover Him on our own, we would rely on our sense of sight, as opposed to our _understanding_ to acknowledge G-d’s existence. Notice your surroundings for a moment. What do you see☺️?PlantsWalls People Furniture...Our sense of sight perceives, first of all, the physical form of the objects we are viewing.In Chassidic terminology, we experience the world as reality and G-dliness as a novelty.Physical objects are what we naturally relate to and take as a given,while G-dliness is something we have to get comfortable with.Since G-dliness is concealed, in order to "see" G-d, we need to don intellectual glasses and learn about Him in classes, study about Him in books, and meditate upon those ideas. Our goal is to achieve the opposite perspective and to see the world through divine glasses:To experience G-dliness as reality and the physical manifestation of everything as a novelty;to perceive every idea, every action, and every object according to its spiritual purpose and meaning without being misled or fooled by its physical presentation. Studying Tanya slowly educates us to attain this perspective.
There is an additional concept to contemplate as part of your Cheshbon Hanefesh, personal accounting: the motives behind your actions, even positive actions!Why is this important? All permissible activities that you engage in….If they are done for mundane purposes and not specifically as a way to connect with G-d, you’ve entered risky territory:These deeds are not automatically evil, of course. Torah permits them, which means they can be used as a way to connect with G-d. But they can also be misused, and that connects the doer with the forces of impurity and evil. Anything that isn’t done for a higher purpose, to connect you with G-d -Is by default connected to the opposite, to the kelipot - the forces of impurity.How can you identify your underlying motivation in all these areas? How can you know whether you’ve been connecting to G-d in these relationships and interactions, or not? It’s the life story of the bookkeeper vs the business owner.Both go over the books and check the income vs the expenditures. But there’s a huge difference: When the bookkeeper notices a discrepancy or mistake in the books, he still sleeps well at night. The impact of the error has nothing to do with him.But for the business owner, the numbers are so much more than just an excel spreadsheet. He understands that the audit will affect him personally. If there’s a problem with balancing the books, he can’t sleep at night…When taking a spiritual accounting of where you are holding, you need to be like the business owner, auditing your thoughts, words, and deeds from your entire life!Once you’re contemplating your thought patterns, you need to remind yourself of the power and impact of your thoughts: Many people think that thoughts are insignificant. But really, it’s not like that at all.Whatever actions you are doing, even mundane ones, are influenced and elevated by your motivation.If your motivation is holy, you become a chariot for G-dliness.What is a chariot?A chariot (or any vehicle) is operated by the rider/driver and it goes where it is directed to go. The chariot (or car or bike…) has no personal opinion or desire regarding the choice of destination. It speeds up, slows down, and turns according to the instructions of the rider.When you ensure your thoughts and deeds are not selfishly motivated but are intended to fulfill G-d’s will, you become a chariot for G-d! All those potentially mundane actions and interactions become holy, too! The same applies in the inverse: Unholy, self-centered thoughts turn you into a chariot for the Kelipot, the forces of impurity, at that moment.The same applies to words or deeds motivated by selfishness or unholiness.▪️▪️▪️There’s an additional, somewhat surprising, factor to consider when making a personal accounting of your spiritual status:Your dreams at night!Do dreams mean anything…?On the one hand, the Talmud states that dreams are senseless. They are of no consequence. But on the other hand, G-d often spoke to the prophets in dreams and our sages occasionally received answers via dreams to queries that they couldn’t resolve when awake. The Zohar states that the value and meaning of dreams depends on the spiritual status of the dreamer.When a person sleeps, his soul is supposed to rise up in the spiritual worlds but not everyone merits this. Dreams are a very subtle and deep way to measure your spiritual state.You may control your conscious self very well - your conscious thought, words, and actions - But your subconsciousness is not something you can control.How can you tell where that part of you is holding spiritually?Via dreams💭!That’s where your subconscious flows freely, revealing what’s deep in your mind and heart, in a place beyond your control. Not receiving G-dly solutions to your questions or prophesy in your sleep?Guess what?You aren’t perfect.You have room to grow spiritually
Yesterday we began learning about a strategy to reinspire and reignite a heart that has become cold and numb. The Zohar refers to this process as Shattering or reaching a state of Brokenheartedness.Practically, how do you do this?Think deeply about - don’t avoid! - the parts of you that have not yet healed, the areas that you struggle with, the aspects of yourself that you dislike admitting exist: Your “self” that you identify with refers to your animal soul which stems from the forces of evil. That’s why you feel so distant from G-d.You are strongly attracted to things that are forbidden, to sins that are against G-d’s will! 😧Even if you don’t act out those desires, you get pleasure from the thoughts. You are not at all like the Tzaddik, the righteous person, who is repulsed by evil with every fiber of his being.You identify more with your animal soul than your divine soul, but in actuality, you are _worse_ than an animal! An animal acts upon its instincts which were created exactly according to G-d’s plan. No creatures in the wild overeat, drug themselves up, commit suicide, or do dangerous stunts just to have fun. But _you_ do! Only human beings, the most intelligent of all creations, willfully and knowingly engage in behavior that is self-destructive. Only human beings are capable of going against G-d’s will…Even when you study Torah or pray, what’s it worth if straight afterwards, you return to your previous state of sin and disconnect from G-d? Next comes the process of probing your memory for the negative thoughts and actions you’ve engaged in. This process is known as Soul Accounting. Remind yourself that: A sin is like a fractured limb. Even after the break has healed, there is often sensitivity or pain in that area.Likewise, every sin that you ever did is a part of you.This isn’t a bad thing. It reminds you that you're imperfect - a very vital point to always remember! A sin impacts not only you and your environment in this world, but also the upper spiritual worlds, which are beyond time. This means that even sins from long ago are present as if you had done them today, G-d forbid!What about sins that you repented for already? It’s understandable that if you haven’t dealt with or rectified past negative behavior, that it would still be present in the spiritual worlds. Why do the negative effects of a sin that you already repented for remain forever present in the spiritual worlds?Teshuva - repentance and healing - requires deep excavation into your heart. There are many layers to the heart. You repent according to where you are at that point in time. As you heal, you can always dig deeper and uncover more aspects of this issue that still require rectification.If there’s a stain on a colored, textured piece of fabric, the stain blends in and is hardly visible.However, if the fabric is smooth and light colored, stains will be more obvious. You’ll need to scrub them more thoroughly, but also more gently.A sin is like a stain on the soul. Teshuva, repentance, erases the stain. But even once you do that, later on, it’s not enough.As you grow spiritually and become more refined and pure, suddenly those light shadows remaining from the old stains are more apparent. Before, in your previous state, they were unnoticeable. Now, however, you are cleaner. Those markings are visible once again and so a new process of spiritual cleansing - Teshuva - must occur. When you notice yourself becoming numb and indifferent to spiritual pursuits, it’s time to reexamine your past misdeeds and heal in a deeper wayThe purpose of the spiritual descent, is to produce future spiritual growth. It is intended to serve as a reminder that you need to reconnect with G-d on a deeper level. You will then discover great hidden strengths within yourself that you would not be able to access without undergoing this entire painful process.
At this point in Tanya, the theme changes a bit. The upcoming three chapters discuss three emotions that balance ⚖️, or counter, joy: Broken-heartednessHumility Disenchantment or disillusion… Which will then bring us back to our original theme: TRUE JOY! It sometimes happens that your heart is so clogged and numb, that "It’s stiff as stone, tightly closed off to anything related to G-dliness".In this chapter, with great sensitivity, the Alter Rebbe elaborates on the causes and ramifications of this reality, and provides a way to reinspire yourself and reconnect with G-d in a whole new way. A person is composed of body and soul. The body provides the physical material needed for existence here on earth. The soul provides the divine connection and motivation to live an impactful, meaningful life. The ideal state is when the body doesn’t interfere and disturb the soul from fulfilling her objectives. The body eats, sleeps, breathes and lives for a higher purpose, assisting the soul in connecting to G-d and lighting up the world with goodness. However, sometimes, the animal soul takes on its own, separate identity. It then takes the reins and interferes with the divine soul’s plans.This condition is referred to as "A stifled heart"Clogged. Numb. UnfeelingSpiritual endeavors become cold and meaningless.You lose sight of your purpose in life…Under these conditions, your brain cannot control your impulses. Your brain cannot “think the right thoughts” and thus inspire your heart to feel, to be motivated, and to want to change its behavior.What is the solution for this? Shattering those layers that have been built around your heart, covering up what you are truly feeling.Only then, can the true, inner you be revealed. The Zohar provides the following analogy: Big chunks of wood don’t ignite easily. If you want to start a fire and all you have are large logs, you need to smash the wood into smaller pieces. The little chips will easily catch and slowly grow the flames, until even the large logs are engulfed. When you feel numb and disconnected…Instead, that thick shell covering your heart needs to be smashed in order for the fire of your soul - your real YOU - to reignite. Practically, what this means: "You must beat and humiliate the animal soul"You must designate times to remind yourself how out of control you’ve become, how low you have fallen, and how unbecoming this behavior is, in order to pull yourself out of the muck you are stuck in. The source for this principal is found in Psalms, where King David writes, "A broken heart, a broken spirit"The spirit or forces of impurity are eradicated through a broken heart. By the Beinoni, and anyone striving to become a Beinoni, the “me” is the animal soul.Since your animal soul has infiltrated and become the official _you_, you need to break your entire self-identity! This is why we say each day in the morning prayers, _G-d, the soul you placed within me is pure_…Who is me???If the divine soul is speaking, she should say, _I am pure!_But this prayer makes it clear that there is a separation within:There is _me_And there is the _pure, divine soul_ placed within _me_. A Tzaddik, a righteous person, never separates from his core, his true self. He is his pure, divine soul and his body is the tag-along.This was readily apparent by the great sage, Hillel. When he would sit down for a meal, he would say that he was going to bestow kindness upon the pitiful pauper. He was referring to his own body, which was a separate identity to him. It wasn’t the _real_ him! He dealt with it kindly, as he would any wretched stranger who needed his help.A Tzaddik, a righteous person, lives a spiritual life. His body receives its energy and life force from his divine soul. He transformed the evil👽, which was the source of energy of his animal soul, into holiness and so his animal soul is completely united and one with his G-dly soul.
How should you contend with intrusive thoughts that enter your mind uninvited, confuse you, and don’t leave you alone?Does it make a difference if these thoughts arise during prayer, as opposed to at any other random time?When you pray, you connect yourself with a power greater than yourself - G-d! Annoyingly, and perhaps surprisingly, it is specifically at this time that most people struggle with invasive, distracting thoughts.A common mistake that many people make is that they think foreign thoughts invalidate their prayers and that if they had prayed properly, these thoughts wouldn’t arise.That would be true, if we had only one soul…But we have two souls!And each one wants to control the one brain you have, and your entire body. Each soul wants the mind to be occupied with just the thoughts that she approves of. The animal soul bombards you with unwanted thoughts especially when you are praying, and even more specifically, when you are praying _intently_! That’s when she releases her artillery all at once because she knows she is fighting a battle that will determine the outcome of the entire day!What can you do about this?Picture your body like a car that has two drivers.Each driver is trying to steer the wheel in the direction he wants to go.When you pray, the wheel is in the hand of the G-dly soul who is striving to connect with G-d.The other driver is dozing off but she doesn’t want to be helpless like that so she passive-aggressively makes background noise, turns on the radio, starts singing songs, babbles about nonsense - all in order to distract the driver and attempt to grab the steering wheel.How do you drive safely with disturbances like this?A good driver knows:Keep your eyes on the road. Stay focused on your goal.Ignore the background noise.When you realize that it’s not _you_ who is conflicted and unable to decide if you want to focus on your prayers or on something else. You are not like a single driver of a car who can’t decide which destination he wants to reach.Instead, it’s the other driver, the animal soul, who is interfering! Now you know exactly what you need to do in order to achieve your objective. Stop paying attention to the distraction!Imagine that it’s a clown performing silly tricks and making funny faces…Or your noisy neighbor shouting out the window to a passerby…Or the radio blasting from next door…They’re noisy and distracting, but they have nothing to do with you. Continue moving forward by ignoring the distractions.You can’t stop the thoughts. They are like a radio that cannot be turned off. All you can do is change the station.Any time intrusive thoughts arise - not only during prayers - the solution is the same: _Ignore them…_ Focus your mind on something that _you_ want to think about.Why?Because engaging with the thought creates a connection with it._Someone who wrestles with a filthy person, becomes filthy, too!_ Therefore, make as if you didn’t notice and didn’t hear the intrusive thought.If, after you’ve tried to do this, the thought refuses to fade, reach for outside help! Raise your eyes to the heavens and request assistance for overcoming this struggle.If you can’t speak because you are in the middle of a section of prayers where talking is forbidden, at least direct your thoughts to G_d, and in your mind, beg for relief. He, in His great mercy, will certainly listen and respond.In Conclusion:Intrusive thoughts are really intrusive. They are not _you_, being split into two and being pulled in two opposite directions. Instead, it’s an attempt by the animal soul to wrestle your mind and your heart back into her control, like a driver trying to grab the steering wheel from another driver. The way to deal with intrusive thoughts is to not engage with them at all. Completely disregard them and pay no attention to them at all. Instead, refocus and redirect your attention to your prayers.Have a wonderful day!
”The front lines are different!” The lieutenant explains to his battalion.“All that we practiced until now - the exercises, the strategizing -Was just a preparation for what you are going to experience during the real fighting.״At the front, there is haze and confusion.It’s not always immediately apparent who is a friend and who is a foe.Life is always full of challenges, but prayer is the front lines. You open up your prayer book, ready to really focus on the words and connect yourself with G-d when suddenly, you find yourself somewhere else 💭💭...Planning your son’s Bar MitzvahFretting over a bill that’s due Remembering the unpleasant spat you had yesterday with your upstairs neighborIt’s really frustrating! It makes you feel that you don’t know how to pray or that you don’t take praying seriously enough 😏. But, in truth, it’s nothing like that.First of all, let’s discuss what to do when these thoughts infiltrate your mind during prayer:❌ _Do not pay any attention to them ❌. Immediately redirect your mind ➡️away from them_Tell yourself, _Yes, this is important. I’ll take care of the matter when I am done praying but not now, because right now, I’m busy 💭._Is it possible to prevent these thoughts from popping into your head to begin with?Not really.Random thoughts arise on their own accord and it’s not possible to stop them. What you _can_ control is whether or not accept the package that was delivered 📫and open it up. You can choose to delve into the thought that arose of its own volition 💭💭💭, or you can choose to return your focus to your prayers. These are all practical suggestions. But the real issue with disruptive thoughts arising during prayer is not what to do with them, but the frustration and defeat 😩that you feel because of them. At the very moment that you are trying to rise above yourself and connect to a power greater than yourself, suddenly you find your mind wandering and disrupting you! _Nevertheless, do not despair_ 😭😭In fact, do the opposite!_Refocus all your energy into concentrating on your prayers 📖, with gladness and additional joy!_ 😃😃What’s there to be joyous about? That your prayers are working!! 👍🏻Huh?Let’s go all the way back to the first chapter of the Tanya, and reflect on the first revolutionary concept 🌟 by the Alter Rebbe: You have two souls ✌🏻, and not one 🌞🌑And because of this, you are struggling 🤼♂️!Whenever there is a battle between two opposing forces 🤼♂️,_When one side gathers strength, the other side doubles down and tries even harder 💪🏻!_This is exactly what happens every time you pray. Praying is the front line of the internal battle between your divine soul 🌞and your animal soul 🌑.The animal soul knows that if you pray well in the morning 📖, with focus and concentration, then he is lost for the rest of the day 🫥. The rest of the day’s battles are not going to end well for him. Therefore, precisely when you are praying, the animal soul rounds up all of its reserves to confuse and distract you 💭💭💭.The very fact that you are experiencing these disturbances indicates that your prayers are very important 🏅! If your prayers were done by rote or were suboptimal in some other way, your animal soul wouldn’t feel threatened and she’d leave you alone! Foreign thoughts popping into your head 💭 while you pray _indicate that you are doing something right!_ 👍🏻👍🏻Have a wonderful day!
We said that when a person overcomes temptation and restrains his inclination, G-d derives great pleasure from this.This doesn't mean that you can’t ever enjoy yourself, but rather, to wait just a bit ☺️ before indulging in that delicious, pleasurable, permissible treat.OrTo restrain yourself a bit when you are indulging by not taking it all the way to the end or not filling every single one of your fantasies and desires.The Talmud teaches that Torah scholars would eat lunch two hours after most other people had eaten. The average person eats in the fourth hour. Sages eat in the sixth hourThey didn't do this in order to add more time to their study sessions. In fact, they continued learning after their meal too, for the remainder of the day! They withheld themselves from food for two extra hours with the intention to delay and restrain the forces of evil and the desire in their hearts. Self-control doesn’t only apply to the food you feed yourself or the behaviors you engage in. It applies just as much to the thoughts you permit yourself to indulge in. There are certain thoughts that are very pleasurable to engage in:Self-righteousnessSelf-pityFantasyYou can practice Iskafya (self-control) and subjugate the forces of evil that fuel such thoughts.Postpone indulging in these thoughts even for just a bitMaybe it feels like you didn't accomplish anything because you gave in later, but the Zohar states that G-d’s Holy presence & light become elevated and greater as a result. The impact of G-d’s pleasure is increased holiness and success drawn down to the person who stimulated this whole cycle with his self-restraint.~☆~There is a commandment in the Torah And you should sanctify yourselves and be holy.We need to ensure that aside from the amazing positive good deeds that we do, we also work to control and subjugate the negative passions and inclinations in our hearts. We need to conduct ourselves as if we were pure and holy. Until now in Tanya, the Alter Rebbe kept reminding us of the importance of being honest with ourselves: Not denying our struggles and inclinations Not lying about the challenges we are facing and where we are holding in lifeAcknowledging our impulses and tendencies and accepting that it’s ok and normal for a Beinoni to feel that way…Then, once you are fully cognizant of your reality, you can push yourself! Control yourself even if you really, really, really want that ___ (fill in the blank). Pretend to be holier than you really are - in the areas that you need to work on. Despite the fact that you really aren’t holy and are very much affected by the desires that fill your heart -Act as if you were holy…Conquer the evil! Crush the desire (even temporarily).Behave in a disciplined, holy manner.Our sages state in the Talmud: A person sanctifies himself a little bit here in this lowly world, and as a result, is greatly sanctified from Above.When you work to sanctify yourself in the areas that you struggle with, you will receive assistance from Above!The Torah assures us:And you should sanctify yourselves and be holy.This isn’t a commandment - It’s a promise! You will become holy.In the end, you will succeed in separating yourself from that struggle and temptation. G-d assists you to slowly, step-by-step, chase away the lust and desire from your heart.(Note: It is possible for a person to exercise self-restraint in an unhealthy, unspiritual manner. She may restrict what she eats, how she dresses herself, the words she says, or the things she listens to, out of self-righteousness, guilt, or shame…This isn’t noble and holy.If this is a person’s tendency, she needs to incorporate the opposite method:Learn to be happy and enjoy the pleasurable things that G-d created! He put them here for a reason! It is important for each person to be honest with herself and acknowledge what is motivating her.)
The service of the Beinoni is not an IEP for those who, unfortunately, cannot be righteous. The pleasure that G-d receives each time a person overcomes a compulsion is a pleasure like no other! It is for _this_ reason that G-d created all the worlds!Understanding the reality of the Beinoni - that he was born to struggle - raises a philosophical question: How can we say a person has free choice, if he was created this way? The Talmud states that before birth, an angel pronounces the future that awaits this child: Rich/poorWise/gullibleBeautiful/homely… But, declares the Talmud, whether the person will be righteous or wicked is not proclaimed. This choice is left to the individual. There is no contradiction here.The point is, that there's a difference between _tendency_ and _behavior_. We cannot choose our natural predispositions. G-d created certain people to be righteous, with no internal conflict, and He also created everyone else, who are attracted to sin.And yet:The Beinoni controls his behavior. He constantly wrestles his thoughts, inclinations, and desires. When these impulses arise in his mind, he pushes them away and does not engage with them.Every time he overcomes and withstands temptation, he exercises his power of free choice to choose his reaction. He crushes and weakens a bit more of the evil in the world, and this brings pleasure to G-d Who rejoices in witnessing the Beinoni’s strength of character. However, even knowing all this, being a Beinoni is hard!A Beinoni never gets to enjoy feelings of accomplishment and perfection.He never achieves feelings of purity and closeness to G-d. After all, he is still struggling! Despite this, the accomplishments of a Beinoni are not any less than those of a righteous person. A Beinoni is perfect in his own way.There are two types of pleasure G-d has from the service of human beings.The first comes through destroying the forces of evil and changing them over to good. Bitter becomes sweet and darkness is transformed to light 🌟. This kind of work is done by righteous people. The second type of pleasure results from controlling and subjugating the forces of evil while they are still going strong, in full force. There are two different types of foods that people enjoy as a treat: Sweet and smooth like ice cream or cake. Savory or sharp foods which are flavored with spices and sour flavors. The spices transform an unappetizing dish into something delicious and pleasurable. G-d, too, receives two kinds of delights: Righteous people serve G-d in a manner that is sweet.The service of the Beinoni is compared to hot, sharp, or spicy treats. The Beinoni adds spice to the ugly, unappetizing material of this world and turns them into aromatic and piquant treats of delight.The Beinoni is involved in some way with evil, which, on its own, is pungent and unpleasant.The job of the Beinoni - and each of us working to become better people - is to take the negative, unpleasant parts of our lives and flavor them properly. By properly harnessing the negativity, we enhance and direct it to the service of G-d. G-d loves this treat! The Talmud states that G-d created the Evil Inclination and created the Torah as its spice.This is because your job is not to eradicate the evil inclination.What you need to do is add seasoning to it. Work with it, enhance it, and spice it up so that it will turn into something pleasurable. Each human being, along with his physical impulses and attraction to negativity, was created in order to bring honor to G-d!How can a person use his evil inclination to honor G-d?After falling into darkness and seeing how horrible it is, he emerges from there and uses the experience as a catalyst to change his life. He takes the negative energy, the pain and darkness he used to be lost in, and he pulls himself up, closer to G-d. He transforms the negativity into a positive force in his life.
Sometimes, something disturbs you more than a burning house which can be rebuilt…You feel a sense of personal failure and guilt:The _home_ isn’t destroyed; _you_ are 🫥! What should you do when you feel guilt and pain regarding your spiritual state? You can't even comfort yourself by declaring that everything is for the good…Because _you’ve_ done something wrong. You’ve transgressed G-d's will. You have placed yourself into circumstances that are messed up and even evil. What do you do then? Even in such a case, the Alter Rebbe challenges us to maintain a joyful, open heart, with no trace of depression, anxiety, guilt, or shame. How is that even possible??Should you not care that you’ve behaved badly?Should you not feel guilt for your bad choices?Should you not feel shame for allowing yourself to fall to such a state?Obviously, you need to resolve the issues you are facing and repair the damage you’ve done.But the way to do this is through regulating your emotions. You are in charge of your emotions, and not the other way around. Guilt, shame, or a sense of personal failure are not conducive emotions for change.Instead, you need to channel the correct emotions whose energy will help you solve the problem and not just dig you in deeper.The Alter Rebbe suggests setting up an appointment with yourself. Choose a specific time when things will be quiet and you’ll have time and mental space for dealing with the emotions and behaviors that require modification.Until the time of the appointment, you need to shelve the mental file of the case. At the appointed time, you can retrieve it, open it, study it, and create a plan to fix that which is necessary.Then you close the file, archive it, and be happy 😁!You must know with complete confidence that you are doing your emotional homework properly and now G-d has forgiven you. You are done.Don’t dwell. Move on.Go do good things.Beware: The animal soul is a clever fellow. He likes to try to hijack spiritual endeavors and turn them into guilt fests so that you cannot grow spiritually For example:If a negative emotion, such as sadness, worry, guilt, or shame, arise during prayer, Torah study, or the performance of a mitzvah, don’t think that this is a good thing!This isn't the time to engage in such thoughts. Serving G-d must be done joyfully 😃! Deal with it later, at a predetermined time.What if these thoughts pop up while you’re busy at your job, or at the dinner table, or while talking to your spouse?Again, don’t allow the thoughts to enter. It isn’t real contrition. The evil inclination simply sent them to trick you and drag you back into its net. Think about it logically: Since when does the average human being achieve a spiritual awakening and desire to repent, out of the blue, without any preparation or meditation? Why would depressing reminders of your spiritual state occur to you in the middle of the day? Is this a G-dly voice talking to you? Of course not…This is a known tactic of the evil inclination. It has an interest in seeing you worry and doubting yourself 😧. When you are confused 🤷🏻♀️or sad, you comfort yourself with the fact that at least you feel guilty… And that comfort is enough to get you to sin again.You’ve turned yourself into a suffering hero 😇. The animal soul knows good and well: When you’re sad, you’re weak , and then it's easier to control you. There is never room for sadness or self-pity 😒 . It doesn't serve you nor does it contribute to your relationship with G-d.It’s only if you’ve intentionally set aside the time to deal with your issues that you can heal yourself. Often that means entering a state of bitterness or broken heartedness which can give you a bit of a squeeze and shake you up to take action. But even then, only in low doses… Once you’ve done that, only feelings of happiness and joy are appropriate!
Even when facing challenges and difficulties that you don’t know how you will overcome, remember that G-d loves you and wants the best for you. Painful experiences are, in essence, concealed goodness. They are somehow greater and better than the revealed goodness that we prefer to experience.
Joy is key to a spiritual and meaningful life and you have to work to develop it. The only benefit to sadness it was emerges when you are finally done with it - and that is joy!
Motivation is just as important as strength in overcoming struggle. How does the Shema prayer provide us with this mindset?
When we sin or act against what we know, deep down, is really right, it's most often due to the following rationalization: What's the big deal about doing this just one little time? Today segment discusses how to overcome this ploy of our animal soul...
Are there "worse" and "not-so-bad" sins? What happens to your divine soul when you sin?
Sinning isn't natural. It's an aberration, a form of temporary insanity. What can you do to prevent yourself from being overcome by those delusional thoughts that justify negative behavior?
A person who sins is worse than the existence of evil itself. Evil was created by G-d and it just fulfills its role. A human being who sins, in contrast, is going against G-d and the purpose of his creation!
Torah study creates the deepest possible connection to G-d and revelation of divine light - but we don't feel it. And that is precisely why this connection can occur.
Mitzvot - the commandments from G-d - are like limbs of a body. They are an inseparable part of you that carry out your will and desire. The energy used to perform a mitzvah is likewise an inseparable part of G-d, the fulfillment of His innermost will and desire
OTHER G-Ds: Why are they referred to with this name and how idolatry isn't so distant and foreign to each of us, after all
Why humankind feels independent from G-d and doesn't sense the G-dly enegy sustaining the universe
Speech reveals thoughts. Creation is referred to in context of speech because it revealed G-d's desire to have a physical world in which He could reside
Why those small struggles are just as impactful on your relationship with G-d as the big, vital struggles. And how it can be that nothing exists besides G-d
Why humility, self-effacement, open mindedness, and delayed gratification are prerequisites for wisdom and key to living a well-balanced, spiritually-attuned light
How the divine soul is similar to a flame and why Chochmah, wisdom, is incomprehensible and somewhat contradictory
The source of our innate faith in G-d: Chochmah - Wisdom. What is Chochmah and how does it work?
Introduction to the short path towards spiritual growth: tapping in to the natural, inborn love for G-d that each Jew possesses. Also, the different levels of divine soul and where they originate from
How to reboot your system and or your head back in control when bad habits and addictions hijack your brain, causing you to continue these destructive habits even though you know how harmful they are
When to disregard your own senses and emotions and do what your brain tell you, even if it goes against your desire at the moment
The secret to staying youthful and vibrant, especially in our service of G-d, is to always innovate and grow ☘️🌳! ✔️ Constantly look out for ways to add to your spiritual repertoire and do more than what you’ve been doing until now - even though you’re already occupied with so many good things!
The hidden benefit of internal struggle and how it can lead a person to a deeper, more passionate relationship with G-d
The tools of the Beinoni - learning to avoid rationalization of negative behavior and to find pleasure meaning, not in physical pursuits
Why we strive to improve ourselves when though we know that the conflict never really ends and we'll never become perfect
The key self improvement is honesty: Never allowing yourself to become complacent with what you have achieved until now
When the internal conflict is too strong and the Beinoni isn't sure he can withstand it, he reached out to G-d for assistance. G-d provides him with the strength he needs to overcome his inclinations
How prayer empowers your fight against the animal soul and why controlling your thoughts is essential
The human head is located above the heart because we have the amazing, innate ability for our minds to control and direct our hearts
Meet the Beinoni: The In-Between Guy. He struggles like everyone else, but he always overcomes it!
Acknowledging reality: The vast majority of people fall into the category of the Wicked Individual and live life filled with regrets
The difference between a Completely Righteous Person and and Incompletely Righteous Individual
The Righteous Person - what makes him unique and why he despises material pursuits so much
The location of the battle between the Animal Soul and the Divine Soul, and their respective aims
Where the headquarters of the Animal Soul and the Divine Soul are located and what difference it makes to us
The power of the knowledge we put into our brains and how to maintain spiritual intellectual integrity
Anything neutral in life but that isn't specifically for G-d falls into the category of spiritual impurity called Kelipat Nogah - Shell of Light
Spiritual impurity is called "Kelipot" - shells. There are two types of Kelipot, two types of evil in this world and we have to deal with each type accordingly
The unique connection with G-d - like a mutual embrace - established through Torah learning
Introduction to the main characters of the Tanya: The Righteous Person, the Wicked Individual, and the In-Between Fellow