Teaching the Tanya “Standing on One Foot”
William Schecter, MD
March 29, 2022
On this happy occasion celebrating the Siyum, or completion, of a reading of the first portion of the Tanya, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidut, Rabbi Potash has assigned me the task of summarizing this complex book “standing on one foot” as it were, in five minutes. First published at the very end of the 18th century, the book is essentially a Kabbalistic interpretation of the Sh’ma, the foundational prayer that we say twice a day.
Imagine for a moment a time before creation when there is nothing except an unknowable infinite G-d. I mean nothing, not a void because a void implies a space with boundaries, an area to be filled-- absolutely nothing. The Elter Rebbe uses the term אור אין סוף ברוך הוא (Or Ain Sof Baruch Hu), or the Infinite Divine Light as a synonym for G-d implying an infinite amount of energy and light -- think of an infinite number of our own suns as a way of conceptualizing it.
Suddenly, out of an abundance of love, G-d decides to create יש מאין (yaish miayin), to create the universe ex nilio. But the Divine Energy is infinite in its power, so great that it would destroy anything in proximity, like a candle next to the sun. So, an infinite number of worlds were created between our own netherworld called Asiyah and the Divine Eternal Light. The Divine Energy undergoes the process of Hishtalshalut a flowing downward to our world--Asiyah. Think of a waterfall cascade. At each lower cascade, the water has less energy until a quiescent pool is reached at the bottom of the cascade. The reduction in energy which occurs at each level of the cascade is called Tsimtsum or contraction of the energy.
Before the final contraction, a fork in the road is reached. Some of the reduced Energy takes a different path and surrounds all the worlds. This Divine Energy surrounding all the world is called מקיף כל העולמים (Makif kol Haolamim). Although this Makif energy is reduced, it is still too great to be inserted within the world. The rest of the Divine Energy continues its contractions and then fills the world, ממלא כל העולמים (Mimaleh Kol Haolamim). This contracted Divine Energy, although present, is concealed within our material world
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G-d’s creations in the world are separated for analysis into four categories in ascending order of spirituality: Inanimate (rocks), vegetation, animal and human. All life, however, is composed of the atoms of various inanimate minerals, so the spiritual hierarchy may be reversed, because all life, including human life, is dependent upon and composed of the inanimate mineral elements.
The Kabbalah postulates that within the core of each Jew is a Ray of Divine Light, the G-dly Soul, directly connected to its Source—the Infinite Divine Light. Each G-dly Soul is surrounded by layers of materialism called Klipot (קליפות). The Klipot, the materialism, is the source of the Nefesh Habehamit-- נפש הבהמי (the animal soul, also called the יצר הרע -- Yetzer HaRa, the evil inclination). The animal soul, the powerful drive to satisfy our lust for food, indulgence, sex, power, is in direct competition with our G-dly Soul which seeks to peel back the layers of materialism surrounding it and to spiritually ascend back to its Supernal Source.
What does the Tanya tell us about man’s purpose on earth? Why are we here? The Tanya unequivocally answers this question. Man’s purpose in general, and the Jew’s purpose in particular, is to suppress the Animal Soul and transform it into a force for good, a process referred to in Aramaic as Itkafyah veithafchah (אתכפיא ואתהפכא). By doing so, we can transform darkness to light, prepare a Dwelling Place for G-d among us and reveal the Hidden Presence of G-d. How do we draw down the Shekinah (שכינה), to our world? The answer is through the process of Itorahrut dilitatah (איתערותא דלתתא), an Aramaic term meaning an awakening from below. The awakening from below refers to the process of awakening the natural love contained in the heart of every Jew allowing it to ascend spiritually towards the Source of the Infinite Divine Light. How does one achieve this? -- by studying Torah and performing the 613 commandments. By doing so, one elicits a corresponding response from G-d, referred to in Aramaic as Itrorahrutah diliilah (דלעילא אתערותא), an awakening from above. Think of two lovers staring at each other. The aroused love in one will often elicit an arousal in the other.
In summary, the purpose of our existence is to transform darkness to light, bitterness to sweetness, in our material world in order to prepare a dwelling place for G-d. We do this by studying Torah and performing Mitzvot. The Torah Study and Mitzvot are analogous to the oil in a lamp. The wick in the oil lamp is analogous to the material body. Igniting the wick which is soaked in the oil results in an ascending flame. The material wick is consumed analogous to the consumption and transformation of the physical to the spiritual drawing down G-d’s presence allowing the flame, analogous to the Divine Soul, to be freed from its material constraints and ascend back to its Source. Which returns us to the initial statement of the Sh’ma: “The L-rd our G-d the L-rd is One”. The Shekinah, the Torah and the Mitzvot are all derived from G-d’s Wisdom. They are all One Unified Inseparable Divine Entity.
Shabbat Shalom