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מודעות יהודית אנגלית - דוגמא PDF
מודעות יהודית אנגלית - דוגמא PDF
for the
soul
A clear, easy-to-understand exploration
of the Tanya's essential concepts
Sales:
Chish Printing
Kfar Chabad, Israel
1HſEG +972-9600770 | Fax: +972-3-9606761
www.chish.co.il | chish770@gmail.com
ISBN: 978-965-7498-37-8
Foreword
It is a merit and honor to have had a part in producing GPS for
the Soul and to help make the timeless, relevant wisdom of the Tanya
more accessible to English speakers everywhere. The need for this
book is clear—the passage of time has only proven the Tanya ever more
applicable to our daily lives—yet countless souls who have sought its
sagely advice have struggled to grasp and understand it. The currently
available works in English have helped, but more had to be done.
The need for a book like GPS for the Soul became even clearer when
I began teaching Tanya to seminary students in Machon Alte in Safed,
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Foreword
GPS for the Soul is an enormous step toward making this a reality.
Rabbi Cohen’s book was crafted from his successful lecture series that
engaged students by rendering the material more accessible to a wider
range of people. His words were easy to follow and brought readers
into the world of the Tanya in an entirely new way. It was a pleasure
translating his Hebrew book into English, and as a result, I personally
deepened my own understanding of Tanya.
Enjoy and hatzlachah in your efforts to live the Tanya! Feel free to
be in touch with your comments and questions.
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Introduction
It has been three hundred years since the Baal Shem Tov established
the Chassidic movement. He started by teaching the inner, mystical
secrets of the Torah to the masses using stories and analogies everyone
could understand. As a result, he breathed new life and enthusiasm
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technical study of the Torah and performance of mitzvot, but rather to
seek out deeper, inner meaning in everything they did: to be Jewish
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The Tanya provides us with a full picture of man’s soul, the uniquely
Jewish soul, the structure of the worlds, the meaning behind the
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Introduction
mitzvot, our purpose in this world, and much more. The Alter Rebbe’s
masterpiece enables us to understand the loftiest of spiritual concepts
intellectually and logically. Besides discussing the great importance of
pure and wholesome faith, the Tanya emphasizes the importance of
grasping deep concepts with our intellectual attributes of Chochmah
and Binah, internalizing them, and then putting them into practice via
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to spirituality and G-dliness, enabling us to make true and powerful
changes on the soul level.
Just remember one thing: reading this book is not a replacement for
studying the Tanya in its original Hebrew. But it does serve as a great
introduction to this classic work of Chassidut. Hopefully this taste will
inspire you to join a local class or study the original commentaries to
delve deeper into the Tanya’s wisdom.
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Table of Contents
Chapter OneWho Am I? 11
Chapter TwoThe Second Soul 25
Chapter Three7KH 6WUXFWXUH RI WKH 6RXO 7KH 7HQ 6H¿URW
Chapter Four 7KH 6WUXFWXUH RI WKH 6RXO *DUPHQWV
Chapter Five The Structure of the Soul: The Secret of Tzimtzum
Chapter Six The Other Side: The Animal Soul 65
Chapter Seven )RUELGGHQ RU 3HUPLWWHG"
Chapter Eight The Battle 89
Chapter Nine The Tzaddik 101
Chapter Ten The Rasha 111
Chapter Eleven 7KH %HLQRQL
Chapter One
Who Am I?
The First Gate - Tanya, Chapters 1–17
The Long Way
Chapter One
Who Am I?
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goes for the Torah and its many levels of explanation.
Borrowed Names
When we describe a smart person as being “clever as a fox,” does
that mean he walks on four legs, is furry, and has a tail like a real
fox? Of course that’s not what we mean.
Accurate Names
In contrast to a borrowed name (shem hamushal) is an accurate
name (shem ha’etzem). When we call someone a chacham (wise person),
and intend it as an accurate description of the essence of this person,
we mean that he is truly a chacham in everything he does, just as
we call a person who practices medicine a doctor. The Tanya refers to
these as accurate names.
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Based on this, we can better understand the difference between the
way Tzaddik KU EQOOQPN[ WUGF CPF KVU RTGEKUG FGſPKVKQP #EEQTFKPI
to the Torah’s simple and basic level of interpretation, a person is
judged only according to his deeds-i.e., that which we can see on the
The First Gate - Tanya, Chapters 1–17
The Long Way
But the accurate usage of the title Tzaddik means that the person
is a Tzaddik in his entire essence and being. According to the Torah’s
deeper and more inner level of interpretation, a person is measured
by his true nature. Which means we now have a completely different
scale for judging who is a Tzaddik and who is a beinoni.
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Each one of has not just one, but two souls.
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this soul that we sense and feel most of the time. It is also called
the “Animal Soul.” This doesn’t mean we are literally animals, G-d
forbid; this is just the name that describes its inner essence, which is
animalistic, driven by physical needs and desires.
Chapter One
Who Am I?
It may seem harsh to say such a thing. But what would we answer
if we take an honest, deep look at ourselves and ask, “Would I do
something for someone else before I do it for myself? Am I willing to
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for other people without receiving money, honor, or satisfaction for my
efforts?”
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The Animal Soul is the source of all our negative personality traits:
I am angry-because someone bruised my ego. I am jealous-because
my ego is threatened. I even love because of my own ego! In such
circumstances, even the love we express toward others can bounce
back at us like a boomerang and seek vengeance against us. Why?
Because we really acted out of self-love, thinking about what we get
out of the relationship, and not out of true care and concern for the
other person. Eventually the fraud is revealed.
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Every Jew has another soul, a G-dly Soul, which is literally a “part
of G-d above.” In other words, a very real piece of G-d comes into this
The First Gate - Tanya, Chapters 1–17
The Long Way
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to be connected to its source-G-d.
The way these two souls behave inside us can be compared to the
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it. At the same time, the wax drips downward.
The same tendencies are found in our two souls. The G-dly Soul
longs for an ever-deeper connection with the Creator, while the Animal
Soul pulls us downward with a single-minded interest in meeting its
needs and enjoying the pleasures of this world.
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These two souls wage an intense, constant battle deep within us,
yet they strike a different balance in each person. This provides us
with new parameters for understanding who is a Tzaddik, rasha, and
beinoni. The beinoni is actually on such a high level that we’re grateful
if we can reach this level!
In a Tzaddik, the battle between the two souls is over and the
winner is the G-dly Soul. It subdued the Animal Soul, took it prisoner,
and gave it a completely new identity. Not only has it stopped opposing
the G-dly Soul, it actually changed sides! As a result, the Tzaddik
never sins,
does only good deeds and mitzvot throughout the day, and
Chapter One
Who Am I?
The Beinoni
The beinoni is more complicated. According to the Tanya, he never
sins and spends his whole day doing good deeds and mitzvot-just like
the Tzaddik. So why isn’t he considered a Tzaddik? How are they
different?
The answer is found inside. Deep within the beinoni, the battle
between the G-dly and Animal Souls not only continues to rage on,
it gets even more intense with time. The beinoni’s drive in life is not
pure and focused like the Tzaddik, and he is distracted by attractions
to physical things. However, each round of battle ends with a decisive
win for the G-dly Soul: no sins in action and deed. In terms of his
behavior, he remains someone who never sins.
In fact, the very notion of sin, even the tiniest of sins, is completely
foreign to the beinoni in the same way that we would never consider
committing murder, G-d forbid. Just as it is perfectly clear to us that
all the money in the world couldn’t get us to murder someone, so is
committing even the slightest of sins totally foreign to the beinoni.
Just as a normal person would never willingly ingest poison, because
a normal person deeply desires to stay alive, so too a beinoni would
never commit a sin: he sees it as spiritually poisonous.
The First Gate - Tanya, Chapters 1–17
The Long Way
,I2QO\,:HUHDBeinoni
At this point, you are probably entertaining noble fantasies of being
a beinoni, or at least moving your spiritual life in that direction. That
alone is already a high level…
The Tanya starts with the G-dly Soul, discussing its essence, faculties,
garments (i.e., methods of expression), and overall aspirations and
desires. Then there is an analysis of the Animal Soul. After dissecting
Chapter One
Who Am I?
both souls, it’s possible to better discern the interaction between the
two.
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Don’t beat back the darkness with a stick, teaches Chassidut. Light
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own. The same approach applies to the battle between the souls.
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Reb Chaim was a Chassid who made his living buying and selling
merchandise in the European markets. Every free moment he had was
devoted to studying Torah. Once a year he would travel to spend time
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On one such trip, Chaim entered his Rebbe’s private study for
“yechidut”-a highly personal and precious soul-to-soul meeting time of
deep connection.
When they were together, Chaim poured out his heart, telling his
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observance.
The First Gate - Tanya, Chapters 1–17
The Long Way
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sets me off. When things don’t go as planned, or people don’t do what I
asked them to do-in short, when I don’t get my way-I blow up!”
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Rebbe’s response. Chaim had been in yechidut many times before and
merited receiving answers and instructions on a variety of matters.
This time, however, was different.
Chaim was shocked. He’d waited a long time to tell his Rebbe this
problem and longed to hear a good solution. “But Rebbe! For me this
is a big problem! I feel terrible every time I explode, and yet, I do it
again and again.”
The Rebbe waved his hand again. “That is a very small issue, and
really it’s not a problem at all.”
“Maybe now the Rebbe will answer me,” Chaim added hopefully.
“It’s a tiny problem, and in fact it’s not really a problem at all,” the
Rebbe repeated.
Even a fourth time of explaining the problem was met with the exact
same response!
There was nothing left to do, and Chaim left the Rebbe’s room
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muttered.
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Chapter One
Who Am I?
(administrator) and instructed him not to give Reb Chaim his customary
honor of maftir that Shabbat.
“Instead, give him gelilah” (the retying of the Torah scroll at the end
of the reading that was usually given to children).
It’s best to tell the truth and warn him, he thought. He met with
Chaim and told him that he would be honored with gelilah instead of
his customary maftir.
Everyone was stunned when someone else was honored with maftir.
They all turned to look at Chaim, and their shock grew even greater.
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was honored with gelilah, the congregants were certain that Chaim
would get angry. Yet he strode up to the Torah with a little smile on
his face and a niggun on his lips. He tied the Torah scroll and quietly
returned to his seat.
The First Gate - Tanya, Chapters 1–17
The Long Way
“I see that your problem is not as great as you said it was,” the
Rebbe began. “They tried to dishonor you in front of everyone, but you
didn’t get angry.”
“Of course not, Rebbe,” said Chaim. “I didn’t get angry because I
knew it was a test from you. Now, had they really wanted to make me
angry, you can’t imagine how I would have reacted.”
When Chaim realized that the Rebbe was testing him to see
if he would get angry, he was able to stay calm. If we look at our
life through the lenses of the Animal Soul, we become the center of
attention, easily offended, easily angered, and self-righteous. However,
when we wear the lenses of the G-dly Soul, everywhere we look we see
hashgachah pratit-G-d personally overseeing every individual detail of
our life, including the things that irritate us. How will we react? In a
G-dly way or in an ego-centered way?
When we identify with our G-dly Soul, the world will start to look
very different.
Chapter One
Who Am I?
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The titles Tzaddik, rasha, and beinoni can apply to a person’s
conduct alone, or to the state of his inner world. The coming chapters
will give us a deeper explanation of the makeup of our inner world and
empower us to choose the upward path.