Quotes from the Tanya – Chapters 16 – 22

CHAPTER 16

“A great principle for the Benionie is that the main thing is to overrule the Yetzer Hara’s lusts through contemplating and rejoicing in one’s comprehension of God’s greatness leading one to practically fulfill the Torah and Mitzvos.”

“An even greater principle for the Benione is that even if he cannot arouse a fiery love (a palpable love in his heart for God) only that his heart agrees with his mind, that God is worth desiring and hence there is the thirst to long for God and even to leave the body, but the soul is tied in it; so though normally it takes a revealed love in the heart to have the Mitzvos one does elevate to the Spiritual world of Beriah (this will be spoken about at length in later chapters,) nonetheless, our sages teach us, that God himself attaches the intellectual understanding and hidden love born from it, as if it were a revealed love, and hence though normally such Mitzvos would elevate to the world of Yetzirah, as his meditation is the cause of the extra adherence to God, so it does get elevated to the world of Beriah.”

 

CHAPTER 17

 

“Now we can understand the famous teaching in the Torah “It is very easy for a Jew to fulfill all of the Torah and Mitzvos.”

 

It would appear that to induce a love of God to transform ones loves from worldly pleasures which we are instinctively programmed in, towards exclusively loving God Torah and fellow man is very difficult.

 

Rather the emphasis is on the word to fulfill.

 

The key is not overpowering the instinctual desires rather fulfilling the Mitzvos.

 

For this, even a minor love which one can use to have the self discipline to do what is right suffices.”

 

“Every person has the capacity to use his mind to control what he thinks about, says and does.

 

The only exception to this is the truly wicked whose sins cause a barrier, for they have placed their animal soul under the dominion of the Kelipos that do not allow the mind to access the thoughts, speech, and action.

 

We refer not to such people who are called by the sages as the walking dead (as they lack freedom of choice.)

 

However even such people, through doing a proper Teshuvah (repentance) namely by breaking the hold of the Kelipos through regretting their sins, as it states “a broken heart God despises not” – they can remove the strangle hold of the Kelipos and lift their animal soul out of the Kelipos and hence gain the ability to self regulate as well.”

 

CHAPTER 18

 

“A further explanation on the word it is very easy for a Jew to fulfill all of the Torah and Mitzvos.

 

Even someone who cannot meditate, giving birth to an intellectual love, and a hidden desire in his heart for God – even he, through accessing his subconscious inherited love for God, which is always with him can truly fulfill all of the Torah and Mitzvos in thoughts, speech, and actions.”

 

“As our forefathers were chariots (a merkavah i.e. like a car is subservient to its driver they were subservient to the will of God) hence they merited to bequeath to all their children, even the sinners of Israel, a holy soul in which the radiance of God illuminated them from head to toe.

 

This is clearly seen in the faith of all Jews, for even one who may never contemplate about God, as faith is something that is beyond contemplation, for we believe precisely in that which we cannot understand, as it states, a fool believes everything, and relative to God we are all like fools – hence we see that all Jews are prepared to give up their lives and even suffer terrible torture to maintain their faith (as historically is proven.”)

 

CHAPTER 19

 

“To better understand the innate Godliness in a Jew we must preface the explanation of the verse ‘The candle of God is mans soul.’”

 

“Just like a candle, the flame always is striving to go upwards, for it inherently desires to become part of the source of the element of fire though through doing so (like a ray of sun trying to go back into the sun) would cease to be an independent being and give off light on earth, nonetheless, this is its nature (nature is a term for a fact that we do not understand.)

 

Similarly the Jewish soul desires to return back into God from whence it emanated out of, despite the fact, we would cease to be an independent separate entity for this is the soul’s nature.”

 

“The general principle of the side of holiness is that it emanated from the Chochmah of God, which being beyond human understanding can only be accessed through faith and hence all those who belong to the side of holiness strive after God.

 

In contradistinction are the nations of the world, whose good deeds are selfishly motivated, and like the leach say “more” “more” for they perceive themselves to be independent beings and hence are  not subservient to God.”

 

“Similarly are the Reshaying and sinners of the Jewish people prior to being challenged on their faith, for the Chochmah of God is like in exile, hidden beneath the Animal soul which is motivating their thoughts, speech and actions.”

 

“This is why this love for God is called the hidden (subconscious) love, for as the animal soul is in charge of a Rasha hence this love is dormant.”

 

“It (the hidden love) is like asleep during the time that the Reshayim (plural for Rasha) are working through their own agendas, motivated by their animal souls.”

 

“When a Rasha is challenged (kiss the cross or the sword) regarding his faith, which supersedes their intellect, then this love for God awakens and causes that their thoughts speech and actions should be Godly.”

 

“The verse states “God awoke as if from a slumber” similarly though the Rasha may have the Godly soul slumbering within, when his faith is challenged it awakens and he is able to forgo all the worlds pleasures and in fact despises them and literally have the Godly soul dominate all of his thoughts speech and actions.

 

As it states “the enemies of God shall melt away” similarly all of the Kelipah, though previously totally controlling this individual, melt away as if they weren’t there in the first place, and the Godly soul becomes the sole arbiter of his actions.”

 

CHAPTER 20

 

“It is well known that the first two of the Ten Commandments, to believe in God and not to worship idols is the encompassing principle of the Torah.”

 

“This first commandment to Believe in God encompasses all the positive (do / action) Mitzvos.”

 

“The commandment to not worship idols is the encompassing principle of all the don’t do (prohibitions) commandments.”

 

“To understand the above we must preface the absolute oneness and unity of God.

 

Every Jew believes as the statement that, God never changed from before to after creation, jut as he was the only single unified being before creation similarly afterwards.

 

This is because all of creation has absolutely no intrinsic value whatsoever (like not even a speck of dust.)

 

All of creation lives from the single breath of God, which is the source of its existence (it would be like saying that a single breath of yours creates a difference in you before or after you breathed it.”)

 

“(The Author the Alter Rebbe gives an example for us to understand how ths world causes no intrinsic differentiation in God, bearing in mind creation is simply a sentence of speech of God’s “in the beginning God created heaven and earth” which is the source code for all subsequent beings both in heaven and earth) Imagine the value of a single sentence of yours – now one sentence relative to your ability to speak indefinitely is certainly valueless.

 

How about one sentence relative to the source from where the thoughts for the construct of that sentence comes from, namely, your letters of your brain – for the brain also thinks in letters, just a more refined letter, so that one sentence relative to the capacity to create letters in the brain is even more irrelevant.

 

Now the thoughts of the brain emanate from the desires of the heart – for our thoughts come after we desire something, so we think how to attain it – so relative to the desire of the heart where there are only feelings – no letters, certainly this one sentence is completely insignificant.

 

Now the desire of the heart must come from the brain which perceives, say that it would be wise to study or to pursue a certain course of action, as the heart will only desire what the mind considers desirable.

 

So now that one sentence relative to the minds infinite capacity of perceiving desirability, which translates into the hearts feelings and longing for those things, which translates into the letters of thoughts, on how to get it, which translates into perhaps a sentence requesting from someone, it obviously has no intrinsic value.

 

In a similar sense as the entire world only begins in God’s mind as a single desire, hence the single sentence relative to God’s infinite mind, heart, thoughts and “speech” cannot be considered to hold a significance whatsoever.”

 

CHAPTER 21

 

“Now God’s speech is unlike our speech, for our speech is separate from the speaker, for after it is spoken, it is not connected to the soul of the speaker (his ten levels of intellect and emotions,) but God’s speech never leaves him, as we know that all is included in him, and there is no place devoid of him.

 

We use the word speech, as a figure of speech, for speech means that you reveal something that was within you, hence hidden from another, to the other; – however though we do not see God behind the speech, namely the creation of the world, the Torah etc., but it is within him, just a before it was spoken.”

 

“God’s speech is exactly like our speech while it is still within the mind that conceives of the desirability which produces the hearts longing, love, desire for something, and at that stage there are absolutely no letters within the desire, for the letters only develop once the desired object comes into the thought process to contemplate its fulfillment.”

 

“The truth is that even after God’s speech creates the world, it has never left him and is one within him, it is only that it descends – for our sake, so (instead of like plugging in your computer straight into the nuclear reactor) it doesn’t transcend our abilities of receiving God’s light – therefore the light of God progressively gets hidden, until we only see the effect and not the cause.”

 

“Though we see the effect and not the cause, God obviously can see beyond the cause to the effect – as the verse states, darkness hides nothing from you – this is similar to the snail, for though a person may see that the shell is housing the snail, to the snail, the shell is an integral part of his body (so unlike clothing which we can remove, the snail’s body being one with his shell, is intimately aware of it at every given moment.”)

 

CHAPTER 22

 

“The terminology of speech, though not exact, as mentioned above, for God’s speech never leaves him, but has an exact parallel, for as mentioned, speech denotes leaving someone, to enter into someone else.

 

Similarly, God’s speech, descends into the Kelipahs to give them life.

 

Now God despises the evil of the Kelipos, so the reason he does this, is to be able to punish the wicked (that derive nourishment and add to Kelipos) and reward the righteous who suppress the Kelipos (by not listening to their Yetzer Hara coming from the Kelipah).

 

When a person does something, there can be a direct pleasure (say giving to someone you love, like your child or wife etc.) or an indirect pleasure, like say paying a bill (which obviously you have no desire to do, but as you need electricity for your home thus the indirect desire feeds the direct desire.)

 

Similarly, the giving to the Jewish people and all that is subservient to God is given directly, but the giving indirectly to those Kelipos for auxiliary purposes (such as freedom of choice as mentioned) is given like one would without any will and desire, hence, like speech, it so to say leaves God and enters into exile to sustain the Kelipos.”

 

“Now the direct pleasure, light of God, is what gives life to all spiritual worlds but it descends within but in a imperceptible manner into the kelipos.

 

This is the cause of their arrogance for as the light of God is not revealed, hence though they acknowledge a creator, they feel him not, and sense their own significance.

 

This is the essence of idolatry, for it includes one who believes in God but doesn’t see God as the only being, hence there are other forces.

 

It is for this reason our sages compare the arrogant person to an idolater.

 

The essence of God is only revealed in one (or spiritual beings) that are subservient and cognizant of God’s unity, singularity, in being the only being that truly exists.”