×

Summary of the Tanya

Save "Summary of the Tanya "
Summary of the Tanya
User Profile Picture
Byxvi Kaizen
  1. Culural Context:
    1. People generally had emuna in the Torah, this issue isn't discused in Tanya
    2. We are after the flourishing of Kabbala of the Arizal.
    3. Chassidus needed a concrete philosophy
  2. Problem Statement:
    1. Even with Emuma, God can appear distant, uncaring and cruel.
    2. We can view ourselves as flawed, unholy, and unworthy.
    3. The world can be viewed as a dark place that is just an arbitrary test.
  3. Solution World-Outlook:
    1. God is everywhere in all places, sustaining all things (Sha'ar HaYichud)
    2. Everyone has a yezter hara, but we connect to Hashem through the Yetzer Tov. (Yetzer Hara = feelings, Yetzer Tov = Intellect a.k.a. ChaBaD = our most essential parts)
    3. The world needs tikkun, there are no arbitrary mitzvot. Mitzvot are like a rope connecting us to Hashem.Tanya Chapter 4 (Igeret HaKodesh, Epistle 26)
  4. Implications :
    1. Because Hashem is everywhere, we don't need to seperate ourselves from gashmi world to attach ourselves. Rather, bring out the sparks of kedusha everywhere.
    2. The Avoda is to bring the kedusha hidden in our core out to the mind, the emotions, to our body/actions.
    3. When we engage with this world we express the keshusha in our core, that connects with Hashem, in the world.
    4. Our purpose is not a state of perfect performance, but the struggle, the change to greater yichud of Hashem, Israel, and the World. (Klal Gadol in Ch. 15)
  5. Dealing with the Yetzer Hara:
    1. To have true love and fear, we meditate on our relationship with Hashem.
      1. How Hashem is in all things around us, good and bad.
      2. Hashem is in us, and our relationship is intimate.
    2. To have hope and simcha, we accept that we have a connection to Hashem and Olam Haba even though we have a yetzer hara.
    3. Be aware of the role and existence of the Yetzer. Fighting it is good, it is Hashem's messenger.

Source for function of Mitzvot: (Implications 1)
"The reason why the precepts were commanded to us, with their simple meanings, is because the lights and holy sparks are found within them... and through them, the lights and holy sparks will be elevated and will become an abode for the blessed Ein Sof." (Tanya, Chapter 7, Likutei Amarim, section 4)

When we struggle and overcome the Yetzer Hara, this is the service of God: (Implications 2)

"The mind should rule over the heart so that it (the heart) should desire only that which the mind understands and comprehends to be good for it, in serving G-d with all one's might, with both the right and left inclinations of the heart." (Tanya, Chapter 12, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, section 2)

"Our sages of blessed memory have said, 'The righteous are controlled by their hearts, while the wicked are controlled by their hearts.' This implies that righteous people are controlled by the Divine soul within their hearts, which rules over the animal soul and the body. For they have transformed their natural disposition through toil and struggle, which is their particular purpose in life." (Tanya, Chapter 29, Iggeret HaTeshuvah, section 6)

Tanya ch. 33, about how meditation is how we control the body