In honor of the 5,462 edition of the Tanya printed at the Chabad House of the Upper East Side, at the Schneerson Center for Jewish Life.

The Alter Rebbe proceeds to clarify: ומה שכתוב בגמרא שמי שרואה בחבירו שחטא, מצוה לשנאותו, וגם לומר לרבו שישנאהו As for the Talmudic statement 8 that if one sees his friend sinning, he should hate him, and should also relate the fact to his teacher so that he too will hate him, — how does […]

In ch. 31, the Alter Rebbe discussed various means of arousing joy to counteract the sadness brought on by contemplation of one’s spiritual failings. Ch. 33 resumes this discussion. עוד זאת תהיה שמחת הנפש האמיתית, ובפרט כשרואה בנפשו בעתים מזומנים שצריך לזככה ולהאירה בשמחת לבב Yet another means of leading one’s soul to true joy, […]

The Alter Rebbe here introduces an analogy which traces the early evolution of an idea or a desire from the moment that it first occurs in one’s mind and heart. At that stage the idea or desire is formless, not yet having the shape or form of words. It is pure desire, pure idea. The […]

וזהו שאמרו רז״ל: תרי״ג מצות ניתנו לישראל, בא חבקוק והעמידן על אחת, שנאמר: וצדיק באמונתו יחיה This is [the meaning of] what our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said:6 “Six hundred and thirteen mitzvot were given to Israel;… came Habakkuk and based them all on a single one – faith as it is written:7 ‘a tzaddik […]

ובפרט בחוץ לארץ, שאויר ארץ העמים טמא, ומלא קליפות וסטרא אחרא This is especially so in the diaspora, where the atmosphere is unclean and is filled with kelipot and sitra achra. ואין שמחה לפניו יתברך כאורה ושמחה ביתרון האור הבא מן החשך דייקא There is no greater joy for G‑d than the light and joy […]

No text was read

והנה מודעת זאת שהאבות הן הן המרכבה It is known that “the Patriarchs constitute the Divine Chariot.“1 שכל ימיהם לעולם לא הפסיקו אפילו שעה אחת מלקשר דעתם ונשמתם לרבון העולמים Throughout their lives, they did not cease even momentarily from binding their mind and soul to the Master of the universe, בביטול הנ״ל ליחודו יתברך […]

From the end of Ch. 30 up to this point, the Alter Rebbe discussed various forms of joy which one ought to strive to attain when saddened over his spiritual shortcomings: the joy of one’s soul on its being released from exile within one’s body and animal soul; the joy of being close to G‑d […]

שאינו מאיר ונאחז בפתילה בלי שמן that it does not shed light nor is it retained by the wick, without oil, By nature, fire strains upward; it will not remain below unless restrained by a wick or wood, for example. But a wick alone is rapidly consumed, and the fire vanishes quickly. Moreover, the burning […]