60 Second Tanya: Recent Episodes
Shmuli Hecht
Our Soul has 3 vehicles of expression:
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Thought
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Speech
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Action
Thinking Torah thoughts, speech of Torah and Mitzvah actions brings the Soul incredibly close with Hashem.
The Soul is divided into 2 parts:
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Sechel - Intellect
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Midos - Emotions
In this chapter, we discover the inner dynamics of the Soul. We discuss the 3 processes of intellect, and their role in producing and sustaining emotions.
Nefesh Ha'elokis, the Divine Soul:
The Divine Soul originates from the thought of Hashem, and since Hashem is totally unified with his thought, this means that our Soul is a literal piece of Hashem inside us.
There are 3 levels of moral status:
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Tzadik - Righteous
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Rasha - Corrupt
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Benoni - Somewhere in between
We determine that a Benoni has the external righteousness of a Tzadik, but the internal corruption of the Rasha.
Every Jew has 2 souls:
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A divine soul - Nefesh Ha’elokis
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An animal-like soul - Nefesh Habehamis
The goal of this podcast is to help make the Tanya accessible, by condensing each chapter into a very brief synopsis that highlights its core messages.
Study the Tanya with English translation:
https://www.chabad.org/library/tanya/tanya_cdo/aid/6237/jewish/Lessons-in-Tanya.htm
- When use your Chachma to realize the greatness of Hashem, and then your Bina to contemplate on it, you are filled with feelings of awe towards Hashem, which then morphs into love for him.
- Da’as is connection and is the key to maintaining emotions.
The soul is divided into two categories: Sechel/Intellect, and Midos/Emotions.
Sechel is comprised of three parts:
- Chochma/Wisdom
- Bina/Understanding
- Da’as/Knowledge
Chachma is the first step of cognition
Bina takes that idea and develops it
Chochma and Bina are like parents, and together they bear emotions.
- The divine soul, the Nefesh Ha'elokis is a literal piece of Hashem
- The Jewish nation is like a body, some of us are leaders like the head, and others are followers like the feet
- It's vital to connect to the Jewish leaders of the generation because they nurture our spiritual life
- The Tzadik is someone who is totally rid of his Yetzer Hara (desire for evil), not just external perfection.
- Every Jewish person has two souls, an animal-like soul, and a divine soul.
- The Nefesh Habehamis (animal-like soul) energizes our body and is the source of all negative thoughts and feelings.
- For Jewish people, the Nefesh Habehamis also produces altruistic emotions such as compassion or kindness.
Three categories of righteousness:
- Tzadik - Controlled by the Yetzer Tov (Inclination to Good)
- Rasha - Controlled by the Yetzer Hara (Inclination to Evil)
- Beinoni - Influenced by both
The Tanya determines that a Beinoni must be someone totally free of sin.
The goal of this Podcast is to provide a brief synopsis of the Daily Tanya and to highlight the key points that the Alter Rebbe is giving over.
Tanya with English Translation: https://www.chabad.org/library/tanya/tanya_cdo/aid/1028862/jewish/Tanya.htm