ב”ה Tanya, chapter 32

Chapter 32

Introduction! In the original manuscript of Tanya, this chapter was absent. The author wrote it later, after deciding to go to print, and inserted it as chapter 32. The choice was obviously deliberate: In Hebrew, every number spells a word. Thirty-two spells heart. This chapter was meant to be the heart of the Tanya. Nevertheless, the opening was adapted to follow the three chapters before. Those chapters provide advice for those who just can’t get inspired—no matter how much they study, ponder and pray. The counsel is simple: You think too highly of yourself—of your “body-self.” Your is beautiful, but that’s not the self with which you identify. It is the material-pleasure ori- ented, impulse-driven, self-centered self. Put that body-self in its place, and your G-dly soul will shine through. From that rejection of materialism, the author finds a clear pathway to love. ______Let’s say you have accomplished that which we just dis- והנה ע"י קיום הדברי' הנ"ל להיות גופו cussed—you despise the body-self and all you celebrate is נבזה ונמאס בעיניו רק שמחתו תהיה the joy of the soul alone. Now you have a direct, easy שמחת הנפש לבדה הרי זו דרך ישרה route to fulfilling the of loving another Jew as yourself. And this love will be towards every Jew, great וקלה לבא לידי קיום מצות ואהבת לרעך and small. .כמוך לכל נפש מישראל למגדול ועד קטן You see, since you despise the body-self, obviously that will not be the critical factor in your relationship with an- כי מאחר שגופו נמאס ומתועב אצלו other Jew. That leaves only your soul and spirit—and והנפש והרוח מי יודע גדולתן ומעלתן who can know the greatness and the status of the soul and .בשרשן ומקורן באלקי' חיים the spirit of another Jew in their root and their source in the living G-d? Especially when you consider that all are match- בשגם שכולן מתאימות ואב א' לכולנה ולכן ing and that we all have one Father. That is why all נקראו כל ישראל אחים ממש מצד שורש are called brothers—because they literally are .'נפשם בה' אחד רק שהגופים מחולקי brothers at the root of their souls in G-d’s oneness. It is only their body-selves that differentiate them. It turns out that those who make their body-self their ולכן העושי' גופם עיקר ונפשם טפלה אי -principal concern and provide their soul only a back אפשר להיות אהבה ואחוה אמיתית ביניהם -ground role can never experience true love and broth erhood. Whatever love they experience will be condi- .אלא התלויה בדבר לבדה tional. Hillel the Elder had this in mind when he said that by fulfilling this mitzvah you have “the en- tire , all of it—and the rest is commentary...” How could this be? Because the basis of the entire Torah at its very root is a twofold dynamic: First of all, the act of picking up the soul

Tzvi Freeman, .org 1/3 ב”ה Tanya, chapter 32 and raising its status over the body-self, higher and yet וז"ש הלל הזקן על קיום מצוה זו זהו כל -higher until it reaches the core root level of all exis התורה כולה ואידך פירושא הוא כו'. כי -tence—which is, as we explained, is the necessary condi tion to fulfillment of this mitzvah. יסוד ושורש כל התורה הוא להגביה ולהעלו' הנפש על הגוף מעלה מעלה עד And secondly, to draw inward the Infinite Light within עיקרא ושרשא דכל עלמין the community of Israel. That means into the source of all Jewish souls (as we will explain later) so that they are rendered in a state of “one within One.” This cannot וגם להמשיך אור א"ס ב"ה בכנסת ישראל happen, however, when there is division among the כמ"ש לקמן דהיינו במקור נשמות כל souls, G-d forbid. In the language of the , “G-d ישראל למהוי אחד באחד דוקא ולא כשיש does not dwell in a blemished place.” And as we say in פירוד ח"ו בנשמות דקב"ה לא שריא our prayers, “Bless us, our Father, all of us as one in the באתר פגים וכמ"ש ברכנו אבינו כולנו light of Your presence.” (All this is explained elsewhere :כאחד באור פניך וכמ"ש במ"א באריכות (.at length

What about the statement in the that if you see your colleague sinning you must hate him, and also tell his teacher so that he should hate him as well? ומ"ש בגמ' שמי שרואה בחבירו שחטא That’s talking about someone who is your peer, who מצוה לשנאותו וגם לומר לרבו learns Torah and does all the . He did something that he should have realized is wrong and you rebuked him for it, as the Torah instructs you, “Rebuke, you shall rebuke your comrade.” The word for comrade used here is “amitecha.” Who is amitecha? The Talmud tells us that היינו בחבירו בתורה ומצות וכבר קיים בו this means those people who are with you in Torah and מצות הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך עם שאתך mitzvahs. Nevertheless, this friend of yours still has not בתורה ובמצות ואעפ"כ לא שב מחטאו -repented from his sin. This is how the situation is de כמ"ש בס' חרדים .scribed in Sefer Chareidim Let’s say, however, this person is not your comrade in Torah and you are not close with him. In that case, Hillel the Elder instructs you to “be of the disciples of Aaron: love peace...love those that were אבל מי שאינו חבירו ואינו מקורב אצלו הנה created and attract them to Torah.” He was speaking of ע"ז אמר הלל הזקן הוי מתלמידיו של אהרן those who are far from G-d’s Torah and from being אוהב שלום וכו' אוהב את הבריות ומקרבן observant Jews—which is why he calls them just לתורה. לומר שאף הרחוקים מתורת ה' those that were created.” He was saying that you must“ ועבודתו ולכן נקראי' בשם בריות בעלמא צריך -pull in these people with thick cords of love, and per למשכן בחבלי עבותו' אהבה וכולי האי ואולי haps, with all this effort, perhaps you will attract them יוכל לקרבן לתורה ועבודת ה' והן לא לא -to Torah and to the service of G-d. Perhaps yes, per הפסיד שכר מצות אהבת ריעים haps not. Whatever the outcome, you have not lost the reward for showing love to a fellow Jew.

This love also applies to those who are close to you—the ones that you have rebuked and yet have not repented of their sins. Yes, it is a mitzvah to hate them, but it is also a mitzvah to love them—and both in all earnestness: Hatred due to the evil within them and love due to that

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וגם המקורבים אליו והוכיחם ולא שבו מעונותיהם שמצוה לשנאותם מצוה לאהבם ג"כ ושתיהן הן אמת שנאה מצד הרע שבהם ואהבה מצד בחי' הטוב הגנוז שבהם שהוא ניצוץ אלקות שבתוכם המחיה נפשם aspect of good that is buried within them—meaning the spark of G-dliness within them that vitalizes their G-dly soul.

וגם לעורר רחמים בלבו עליה כי היא בבחי' גלות Aside from this, you need to inspire your בתוך הרע מס"א הגובר עליה ברשעי' והרחמנות heart towards compassion for this G-dly מבטלת השנאה ומעוררת האהבה כנודע ממ"ש soul. It is in exile within the evil of the sitra ליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם [ולא אמר דה"עה achra that dominates it in those that do תכלית שנאה שנאתים וגו' אלא על המינים wrong. Once you awaken that compassion, it can overwhelm the hatred and stir up the והאפיקורסים שאין להם חלק באלהי ישראל love. Think of the interpretation given to the :[כדאיתא בגמרא ר"פ ט"ז דשבת verse, “To Jacob who redeemed Abraham.” Jacob is the quality of compassion and Abra- ham the quality of love, and compassion re- deems love from within the hatred.1

1 King David, of blessed memory, did not intend the words, “I hate them with an ultimate hatred...” towards anybody but those cultists and heretics who have no share in the G‑d of Israel, as stated at the beginning of chapter 16 of Talmud Shabbat.

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