Tanya Class- 2- The Compilers Forward

Our Faith Reveals God's Light in the Hiddenness OK, our human senses can't perceive it, right? Like I said, we see the blood, we sense the tears, we feel the fear, we feel the distance, we feel the abandonment. And yet our soul knows that This is why we're here. The Tanya. Yesterday's Tanya was telling us a shrinum Atev Hokkino. Today's Tanya is telling us that this is the ultimate joy, to have the capacity to see what separates us from God, to see what makes us feel like we've been abandoned from God, to see, and in the terms of the pinees is the mountains that separate us and that we have the capacity than to call it out for what it is. That's just a concealment. We're able to look and see these fragmented parts, every part of the world that looks opposite of God, and we're able to know that this is still part of him. This is still part of Hashem Ekhud. It seems broken, it seems fragmented, but this is part of his oneness. And when we have access to this perspective, we have access to this perspective. It does not mean that we forget about the, the, the pain. We still notice those parts of us that feel so afraid, and we still notice the parts of us that feel so alone and the parts that feel so anxious and feel so unsure, and we could still hold these parts inside of our heart. There is room for both to exist when you are grounded in absolute truth that there is a God and He's here and He's holding us and He's orchestrating this just like he was orchestrating the details in the prime story, just like he was orchestrating everything from when Vashti was killed until Esther walks into to Akashiyar's chambers and asks for a meeting. Every single detail is being orchestrated. When you can see this, when you're grounded in this truth, even then then even when you realize that there's a part of me that's very afraid, you're not afraid of that part. The part that's afraid doesn't doesn't even cause you to feel more. If you're, you're still calm, you're still grounded. You're the anchored parent who could then take these scared, these scared parts. See it like a scared child. You put it on your lap and you hold her till she calms down because she feels your calm presence. When you're anchored in this faith, you still get to have parts of you that are so done with this and so done with the noise, and so done with the chaos and the pain and the overwhelm. But you're not overwhelmed by these overwhelmed parts. You're still anchored in truth, and you hold the overwhelmed part in your lap again until it senses your truth. God hides so that we could find him. And when we call out to him and we say, I see you, I see you're still here. I see you here and I see you here, and I see you here too. Just like you were there with Esther, just like you were there with Marta, just like you were there with the Jewish children that he gathered. Even though you're hidden, we know you're here. When we express this kind of faith, this is the fulfillment of the entire purpose of creation. Our faith reveals God in the hiddenness, and that exposure literally floods the entire world with light. When we talk about deer, rabbit tartainim, our purpose here is to create a dwelling place for God here in this world. What is that deer rabbit tartainim? What is this dwelling place? It's for me and you to make this Dark World a place that is obviously filled with God, right? So then through our faith, through our faith alone, we're exposing God in the darkness. And this is how darkness is transformed to light by us seeing God through the concealment and calling out to him and say, oh, I still see you even though you hid yourself. And of course, my hope, my prayer for all of us today, for every single mother and father and every child in Israel is the fulfillment of what we say. By Yehuda, my son, I write, the Jews had light and joy and gladness. Please God, may that kind of light be here for us, the kind that we don't have to expose. We don't have to look for God anymore. We shouldn't have to, you know, expose him. Rather every single one of our senses should be able to perceive him. The Alter Rebbe's Goal: Written Word vs. Mentorship I'm going to today. You know, I I thought we would start chapter 1, but it looks like we're just going to get to the the it's called Hakdamas Hamilakate. It's the the compiler's forward the altar. ABBA wrote this also a forward to to his book and he he's opening the book. It looks like this is probably all we're going to get through today again, but God willing, it will still leave you with a lot of food for thought. He writes a Ford explaining what his goal was in writing this book. And just to summarize in two sentences before we dive in, because we're going to I am going to go off on tangents. So I want to just summarize his goal was he says here he's expressing attention. OK, on one hand, he's exploring why write a book? Why why should I write a book? Because the written word isn't really good enough. It doesn't suffice his guidance. So he he explores that. And then on the other hand, he explains why Despite that, he still wrote it. OK, so I'm going to dive in, but I just want you to keep that's the big picture. He he explains on one hand how the written word is challenging versus, you know, one-on-one mentorship. And yet Despite that, he explains and still I wrote this book. So he begins just something little beautiful. I wanted to point out. He he begins addressing all of us, all the readers, and he calls us. He says, you know, I'm writing this letter Lechlos Anchee Shlomenu to all the members of our fellowship. Many of you are familiar with the term Anash, right? Anash is Anchee Shlomenu, which means our community, the people of our fellowship. Now it's something I noticed that in the English translation, it just translated it simply as his Hasidim, meaning his followers. But the Rebbe had a much broader view of reading this word of of how do we just who, who who falls under this term? Anash. And just for, you know, just to point out, I'm going to be quoting the Rebbe a lot because I really find it so beautifully that, you know, the rebel just has such a a beautiful heart centered way of reading everything and explaining everything and seeing everything. So here in this particular point, the Rebbe points out, he says the teachings of Hasidas and he's quoting the author of the Tanya himself. He says the teachings of Hassidis are not for one particular type of Jew. They apply to every single Jew. And therefore when he says Anash, he's addressing every single Drew, even the people who whose only Jewishness is the fact that they're called Jew. In other words, there's nothing outwardly observant about them. Even internally they don't identify. But the fact is they're called a Jew. And so he's addressing them. He they too are members of our fellowship. So in other words, it's, it's it's a, a letter to all of us, to those of us who feel like we belong to those who feel like we don't belong to those of us who aren't yet sure. Why Written Texts Can Be Misunderstood and Misinterpreted Now here he goes. Like I said, he's exploring this, this core tension, how personal guidance from a teacher is much more effective than reading guidance in a book. Right. Imagine you have the opportunity to either go to Barnes and Nobles and pick up a self help book, or you have the opportunity to have a few sessions with the author. Which one are you going to choose? I know for sure I'd, I'd pick the private sessions because there's a challenge with the written text. And this is what he's exploring. He says a written text is absorbed according to each person's mindset, each person's emotional state, each person's individual bias. Like I had said last week, you know, I said that my capacity to teach Tanya, I, I made a big disclaimer and I'll repeat it again here. It's obviously being filtered through my bias to my emotional state, to my mindset, right? Which leaves us with this immediate issue, especially, especially when it comes to self help books, because in the most basic terms, we know this idea that Hiktemerfour Lamaca, you know, God prepared the healing for every ailment even before he created an ailment. There's a solution, right? So I know for a fact the solution for my problem and the clarity for my confusion is out there. But we have a challenge. We're walking around confused. We're walking around unclear even about our own faults, our own hasrinis, our own issues. We all have blind spots, so the solution to my problem could be staring at me in my face in the pages of this book and I'll have no idea how it applies to me And on even more profound level, when a person is confused in their service of God. OK, we're we're walking around confused. We don't we either we relate to the things that we learn, we relate to our value system or we don't. It means something. I do it because my parents did it. I'm still not sure of it when we're walking around in in confused in that and we start reading this book from a dysregulated state, from the survival state, from a victim mindset. The altar of it says this straight up. He says you might fail to perceive the light that's hidden in these holy books, even when the light is healing and truly, and I'll use his exact words, he says Akima Toka or even though the light is sweet, lay 9 to our eyes. Umira PE la nephesh. The words of the Tanya are light and sweet to the eyes and healing for the soul. Those are his words. And I actually before I I, I looked at this page to teach it. I never even noticed these words before. And from my experience, so many people do not hear soothing words when they read the Tanya. It sends some people into a further state of inner criticism, a further state of inner judgement, a further state of inner shame. Because I mean, on the most basic, simple level, I noticed this with my kids and I noticed it with not only with my little 'cause I noticed this with my older kids as well. I could be using a calm voice. It's a, it's maybe an assertive voice, but it's calm. Like, you know, I'll tell my 8 year old, don't drop your, your, your clothes there. Run it to the laundry room and she'll respond with, you don't have to use such a mean voice. She's already feeling guilty about the fact that she just dropped her clothes there. So she's assuming that I'm yelling at her. You might know this in your own experience, your spouse could say an innocent, he can make an innocent comment or an innocent observation about the the dinner. But because you're not feeling calm or confident about it or not dinner about anything. OK, because you're not feeling calm and confident about it or self assured in that you're going to take their their their just simple objective observation. You're going to hear it as criticism. My point being that when we're already in survival mode, when we're already not feeling very secure about the way we're showing up to life, we're already full of self judgement. We're already full of a little bit of shame, full of a little. You hear what I did there, then? Reading a book on moral guidance is likely going to land as criticism. It's very possible for it to land as criticism. And so I really feel like there's this big disclaimer that we have to make here or I shouldn't say I have to meet the author. The the author of the Tanya is making a big disclaimer in the first paragraph. He's saying to us, if you do not hear these words as sweet, soothing and healing to your soul, then that's a red flag that you're misunderstanding or misinterpreting the words of the Tanya. I can't state that loudly enough. It is such a critical introduction to the Tanya. If we don't hear these words as sweet and soothing and healing to our soul, then we're misunderstanding it. I know many people for a very long time, again by no fault of their own, but because perhaps the Tanya was mistaught to them, because perhaps their teachers misunderstood it. They were indeed misperceiving the words of the Tanya. You know, just just last week or two weeks ago, I did AI did a short podcast episode on chapter 29, because that is a chapter that the, the Altaraba uses kind of harsh words there, very sharp, harsh words about our survival mechanisms and our coping strategies. And that potentially could be misread. And so I did a, a full episode on that just because again, if you're not hearing those words as sweet and soothing, then you're misreading it. And again, I just want to point out, we don't have to feel shame or judgement about this fact either. The fact that we may have misread because here again, the Altaraba is telling us, it makes a lot of sense that that could happen. The Limits of Books and the Power of Personal Guidance So I want to just read, I'm just going to read in English, 1 little paragraph. You don't even have to see this inside, but I'm reading straight from the English translation because I, I feel like I want, I don't want you to take my word for it. These are straight from the, the words of the of the author. It is well known that all Anash are are want to say that hearing words of moral guidance from a teacher addressing his students individually and directly is not the same as seeing and reading such guidance in a book which are impersonal and addressed to the reading audience at large. In other words, the spoken word will have far greater effect than the written word for two reasons. And here he goes on to say the two reasons. The first one for the reader who gained such instruction in his books will read it after his own manner and his own mind, and will absorb the written messages according to his mental grasp and according to his comprehension at that particular time. Therefore, if his intellect and mind are confused and wander about in darkness in ideas, especially in ideas pertaining to service of God, he's going to find it difficult to see the beneficial light hidden in these books, even though the light is pleasant to the eyes and healing for the soul. And actually, by the way, something I just remembered, I'm remembering this now as I say it, all the light that's hidden in the books of moral guidance. I remember reading this somewhere how when, when God created light, he created light on the first day and he saw it was too much, right? But he, you know, he clear, he created light and he saw it was too much and he hit some of it away. He realized, if it's this bright and this light and my goodness and kindness and divine reality is right here in front of our eyes, nobody's going to have free choice. And then then the whole purpose of creation and the whole purpose of having a relationship with us is not, it's going to be faulty. It's going to be on faulty grounds. So he had to hide some of this light. This is the light that we find in the books of Torah. This is the, the light that we find in holy books. So this light that the, the, the altar I was referring to, he's talking about that light. It was hidden away and it's being revealed to us here. Anyway, that was a side note, but it felt too beautiful to, to, to not share. So to go on in his writing, I'm reading again. In the case of personal guidance, on the other hand, a mentor can ensure that his message is understood fully and correctly. When you are sitting face to face with your mentor, with your teacher, with your Rebbe, with your therapist, with your your, your Mushfiya, when they are offering you guidance, if there's a misunderstanding, you can ask and they can check in and make sure you fully understood. But when you're reading a book and you misunderstand, you absorb that as the final message. Why is this? And again, going back to his words, for not all intellects and minds are alike, and the intellect of one mind is not affected and aroused by that which effects and arouses the intellect of another's. We all think differently, We all perceive differently. And I actually want to spend a few moments on these words here. One man's knowing, one man's intellect is not affected and aroused in the same way another's is. I want to focus on this idea that everything we know is meant to be moving, inspiring, and affecting us in some way. You know, I remember during COVID, remember guys remember COVID. I remember listening to a podcast, not a podcast. I remember listening to podcast after podcast after podcast. I used to read book after book after book. I was 100% sure that all my growth is going to come from from knowing more, gathering more information, more ideas. I was I was in the pursuit of knowledge. And like Brocky said last week, though, Brocky, you had popped up and said something like information is not transformation, right? And I finally realized one day that my growth is not going to come from more and more and more, but rather from going deeper and deeper and deeper. You know, some days I'll have a realization. I'll have this like sudden download. I'll have this awareness that honestly could feel like the winning entry in in the book of the most obvious things. And yet it lands in my bones with such clarity, with such like an embodied knowing with us because why? Because it just dropped the layer deeper. And that's I think what the Friedrich Greba's pointing out here. Sorry that the altar ABBA writes this, but the Friedrich Greba makes a comment on this one sentence. He says 1's man intellect is not affected and around aroused the way another's is. He says it's because the whole point of our safe home, the whole point of everything we learn is to motivate us is for transformation. The whole point of all our information is for transformation and to affect us people in actuality, in practice, in action. And so if we're just chasing information and it's not making a a big shift in us, we have to start working on clearing the blockages. More knowing and more knowing and more knowing is not going to, is not going to, to. It's not our growth. It's not where the growth is going to come from. We actually, we absolutely must strengthen our values. But if we're not noticing it have an inspiration and an effect in a transformation in us, then we know that we need to be focusing our work in a, in a bit of a different corner, but back on track. How Chesed and Gevurah Shape Our Perceptions and Relationships So we made it clear that a reading again, we we said reading guidance rather than sitting in conversation with our mentor could be a challenge. And now the altar of it goes on to say that this is true not only in self help books, not only in the holy books written by specific authors, but also in the books of Torah, also in the book, in the Torah itself, in the holy books itself. He explains, and he goes on to explain that all of us are so inherently different. He says our minds are different, our temperaments are different, and he says our soul roots are different, and therefore no single written work is going to impact each of us equally, even though the Torah itself, we know that the Torah itself contains guidance for every single Jew. And still not every individual can easily look inside and recognize what is my personal place here. And when I'm feeling challenged, it's not always easy to extract what's my specific instruction here? How is this relevant to my own inner life? And he goes on to see that we see this even in matters of halacha, the way that Jewish law is decided. There's so many different opinions when it comes to something that you would think is so objective. Either this is kosher or it's not kosher. Either this is permissible or it's not permissible. And and yet you have, he says, the Tana in the Amarayam. The sages were arguing once as it's forbidden, once as it's allowed. And the altar EB attributes us to the different soul roots. One soul root is a is is rooted in one soul is rooted in Khsad, which is inclined towards kindness and one and therefore they're going to dictate that a specific object is permissible. While a sage whose soul is rooted in Vora, which is the divine channel for discipline. He's going to dictate that this is much more stringent here. We have to follow a more stringent halafic guidance here. And it's it's he's going to say this is forbidden. And and by the way, later on in the Tanya, he's going to the the author of applies this principle. We we see this in the arguments between the school of Hilo and the school of Shami. The school of Shami was very stringent because their spiritual source was in the divine expression of Gura, discipline, restraint. Whereas the school of Hilo, he was usually very lenient, not very. He was lenient because his source, his root was his soul was rooted in the attribute of kindness. Now it happens to be that in certain decisions, they, they, they actually switched bases. One was in, you know, Hilo would, would rule stridently. Xiaomi would rule permissively and that is because within the realm of Kedusha, all of it, there's, there's incorporation, there's inclusiveness. Kindness contains elements of discipline and severity and vice versa. Gura contains elements of kindness. Now, again, I want to go off on a tangent here because I really feel that this is a super important topic. I want us, I want to offer each of us a challenge, OK, to keep our own eyes open to this. I know I myself went through this phase of awareness when someone I was working. I was working with in very close proximity and they had such a different tone. They had such a different perspective than I did. And it was very jarring to me. At first they would say something just matter of fact. But because it was so different than the way I was used to giving directions or the way that I was used to giving feedback, it would, I would hear their tone and it would sound like just so blunt and so cold. And it took me a little time to come to this awareness that it's not good and bad. It's not like mine is better, hers is worse, or hers is better and mine is worse. We might just have different soul roots. And, and I think indeed that this is what the algebra is saying here. He's saying that the way we perceive inward and the way that we project outward is going to be filtered from where our soul is rooted. And again, one's not good, one's not bad. But sometimes we do assume that because someone is so different than the way I do it, it, it just feels off and they must be doing it wrong. Or maybe I'm doing it wrong. You know, I'm going to give you just simple real life scenarios. OK? Say you're holding a gathering and one person shows up very late and they look maybe a little bit upset. They're they're late, they're late to the party, they're late to the meeting. A soul who's rooted in facet kindness versus a soul rooted in guru, each is going to react a little differently. The one with facet is instinctively, there's more expansiveness, there's more warmth, there's more inclusion. Likely they will make space emotionally for this person. They're going to assume the best. They're going to focus on connection rather than correcting. And they might say something like, are you OK? Is everything OK? You must be having a hard day, right? Even if I was inconvenienced, the sole rooted and trusted is going to have the instinct to give, to give attention, to give patients, to give understanding. There's, there's, there's this outward flow. There happens to be a shadow side to that. Sometimes somebody in that with that kind of personality, we'll call it for now is over giving. They have weak boundaries. They have a difficulty saying, you know, they give kindness even when restraint would be the healthier approach right now. Let's look at somebody whose soul is rooted in Vora. Vora. Again, discipline, severity boundaried there. Internally. There's more discernment, there's more structure, there's more boundaries here. So in practice, they are going to notice the lateness and they're going to notice the impact that it had and they're going to respond with in a measured way. They might say something like, I'm so glad you're here, but next time message us if you're running late. In other words, they're not less curing. They're just expressing themselves through order, through responsibility, through truth, right? Unfortunately, they might look, you know, again, this is the shadow side. They might appear to be a little distant, a little overly critical. And by the way, that could happen internally also. They're over critically with over critical with themselves. Again, there's an emotional restraint here. The shadow side to that could be warmth might be needed here. And they're holding back, you know, in it. Take for example, in in the midst of getting stucco. OK, the giving charity, someone whose soul is rooted in a cassette is quicker, more generous, but sometimes more impulsive. They feel the other person's need and they respond emotionally. The sole rooted in vuora also gives more thoughtfully, more calculated, probably more sustainably. OK, they are going to set limits. They're going to have budgets. They're going to their their giving is going to be a little more structured. It's not less kindness, it's just boundaried. OK, let's try a parenting example. The parent who's rooted in vuora versus classes. OK, we'll talk about the classes first. There's there's comfort comes first to this parent. They soothe with the emotions. They prioritize the emotional safety. The guru parent might set expectations, teaches responsibility, prioritizes not necessarily the emotion, but the growth through structure, through responsibility. Again, one is not better, one is not worth. Both have their shadow side. There's obviously an, A, a, a beautiful tapestry of both of them. We do have the, the next meter, which we're not going to spend a lot of time on today, but we are going to spend a lot of time on that When we bump into it in the, in the coming chapters to Ferris, that's the harmony of both of them. It brings the Hesse and Vora together. In short, I would say that a soul that's rooted in Hesse, their work lies in having to learn healthy restraint. And the soul that's rooted in Vora, their work, their growth is going to come in, in emotional expansion. And that's where we're going to find, that's where they'll find that middle ground anyway. I, I wanted to focus on this because I think this framework is so important in our relationships. When we have this awareness, we're so much more open to another person having another perspective. Even if we don't agree, even if they do not agree with me, it's not because they are intentionally undermining me. It's because they're wearing completely different lenses. They're coming from a completely different perspective. I'm not kidding when I tell you I was this many years old when I finally realized one day that I can have a perspective and my my husband could have a completely different one. And we're both right and neither of us are wrong, even though our opinions completely oppose each other. Now, if that doesn't make sense in your brain, I promise you it can make sense in your heart. Think about it. Sit with it. Finding Tranquility and Counsel in the Everlasting Written Word So back again. We're going to go back to our back into the text of Latonya, back to what the the author was saying. If one individual's spiritual tendencies, in other words, we're their soul root affects the way that we view the Torah affects the way that halacha is determined. How much more so he goes on to say how much more So halacha we would think is it's intrinsically objective and yet the soul root affects the way we see that. How much more so will we have subjective differences? Will each person's nature and each person's nurture is going to affect the way that we experience matters of emotional connection. And here we're talking about our emotional connection to God, the love and the awe that we have for God, which is going to be a very deeply subjective experience and is so unique to every single person's own heart and own mind. In other words, if our differences affect the way we perceive things in our mind, how much more so will our biases affect the way we're going to perceive things in our heart? And again, this the reason he's bringing this is just to reiterate the challenge in writing a book, writing a book of guidance. The altar of a quotes a verse from we're all familiar with. I think it's from Asia sky. All right, no double Sha Arim Byla. She knows her husband's by by the gates. Her husband is known to her by the gates. We we are the her our husband is God. We know him by the gates. Each of us gets to know God through the gates, through the shower, through the measurement of our own heart, through the measurement to each person's individual capacity. We each have a very subjective capacity to know God, to get to know God and the terms that shower is it could the translation of shower is gate the translation of she or is measure an estimation. OK, So we we have these these gates around our heart, which is what is going to determine our capacity. And so again, like I said, he's just reiterating how this is such a subjective experience and therefore books present a challenge to individual growth. And yet, despite the challenges that he just elaborated on, he still went ahead and wrote the book because the fact of the matter was that it was. He goes on to explain it was becoming logistically impossible to meet individually with everyone who wanted his guidance. And meeting also has his shortcomings. Not only is it becoming hard to meet everyone, but even when we meet, he says, the guidance that you hear could be forgotten. The written word, on the other hand, is going to be here forever. It's guidance that's everlasting. And he reassures us, He emphasizes that this book was founded on the meetings that he had with so many people who opened up the every recess of their heart before him and they outlined all the nuances of their mind struggles. And he says we there was affectionate words exchanged between them. In other words, he had a very close, intimate relationship with the people who who brought him their questions. And so he's reassuring every single reader that every one of us will find. I'm using quoting his direct words. We'll find tranquility for his soul and true counsel on everything that he finds difficult in the service of God. His heart will be firmly securing God from reading this book. Whoever who from God who completes and perfects everything for us. In other words, we have to start. We make the effort, we try, we do the work and God completes the effort for us. Seeking Guidance and the Benefit of Light Emerging from Darkness I, I want to again, I, I, I told you I'm going to keep quoting the rabbit because I just loved his approach on these. You know his his point of view. The rabbit says the words BI day. Hold on. I want to go back to where those words are. You will find tranquility for his soul. Margola Lenafshay. Margol Lenafshay is the words Margola comes from. He borrowed a term from the Maimonides when he talks about the times of Mashiach, when when Mashiach comes, the calm and tranquility that we are going to experience from every just from, you know, those that time period. He says he uses that exact word when he's describing the calm that we can have from studying Tanya because as, as we know from Hasidis, that the teachings of Hasidis and especially the Tanya, which is the written work of Hasidis, they are known as a taste of the Torah of Mashiach. But I, I, I wanted to bring in what the rabbit says here. I, I skipped around a second. The altar rabbit was talking to each one of us. It's known that he had an Hashema Kalas, a Collective Soul, a comprehensive soul, and therefore he was able to understand and intuit the soul. I think it says this about Yeshua as well When when Moshe Point anointed Yeshua as a new leader, he was a man who knew the spirit of every single Jew. And so the rubber reassures us that even though the Alta Rabbit is addressing the book to Biyodai Umakirai, those who know me well, he says this title is every single person who studies the Tanya. So even though when we open the book, we are experiencing what we said earlier, we we might be experiencing darkness, we might be going about in confusion, but just the fact that we open this book, learning the book of the Tanya is going to have the sought positive impact on us. Another point that he makes here, he says he clarifies it. If someone cannot properly derive guidance from this book, like we said earlier, if the book does not feel sweet and pleasant to your eyes and it does not feel soothing to your soul, if it leaves you feeling confused, then the altar of it says you should go and seek explanation from teachers and from mentors. And he puts out a heartfelt request that teachers should not withhold teaching. If you can know if you know it, you should teach it. He says don't be too, don't be humble. Don't be falsely humble. Teach the Tanya if you know it. And he blesses the teachers. He blesses the students as well. He says may ear a nation, Ahem. Hashem is going to enlighten the eyes of both of them. And I again just pointing out what the rebel writes her. He says may air any schneehem. It doesn't says he will enlighten the the eyes of the teacher and the student that he will enlighten the eyes of the Mushvi and the Macabil. He says Schneehem both of them together that when you sit and you study, it's going to be both of you will be enlightened that you won't even know the difference between who's who. You no longer will know who's a teacher and who's a student because both in this exchange, in this transaction are benefiting equally. And he says he, he asks for teachers to step forward until the day when Mashiach comes And we're no longer going to need each other to teach the, the knowledge that is taking mala arath Hashem, the knowledge of God is going to fill the earth. The knowledge of God, knowing God is going to become so, so obvious to us. When you see something in front of your eyes, OK, when you are witnessed in experience, no one has to explain it to you. No one has to prove it to you. No one has to rationalize it for you. It's no longer a discussion. You saw it with your own eyes today. We don't see godliness with our own eyes. There's why? Because something's blocking our view, our animal soul, which we're going to learn all about in the coming chapters. It's blocking our perception, the stories of our narrow consciousness, of our small mindedness. They're blocking us from perceiving divine reality, which is right in front of our face. When Mashiach comes, it's going to be so obvious to us because our animal soul is going to calm down and quiet down. Well, it will be so obvious to us. We'll see it with such clarity that we won't need teachers to teach it to us. And finally, this is, I think this is my last point that I want to make. Second to last point, he notes that earlier, this is the final part in the in the forward, he says that earlier handwritten parts, handwritten copies had a lot of errors and the work was being therefore properly published and corrected so that the teachings could treat could be transmitted without any mistakes. And this is what the final part where he says this is going to print, this is going to final publishing because before and it was just like handwritten transcripts that were being passed around. Mistakes were there. And he you know, he puts out a kind of like a publishers copyright warning. Now some of these mistakes, some of the mistakes were actually not accidental. They were intentional mistakes that were inserted by the misnogna, by the people who opposed these teachings. And that was another that was the big motivation to go through a, the very costly effort of properly publishing the transcripts. And the rabbit points out that this is a perfect example, This story or this incident is a perfect example of a very well known Hasidic aphorism. We all have heard this over and over and over, Yisran, that there's great benefit to light that emerged from darkness, right? This comes from a very well known saying. It's from Shama, he says, I've seen that wisdom has an advantage over foolishness, like the advantage of light over darkness. Now anybody who reads that will ask, you know, you don't need the wise King Solomon to point that out that light is greater than darkness. We would all choose light over darkness, right? But in Khasidas, this phrase is understood as it's much deeper. It's not just a light is greater than darkness. It's understood that the deepest light emerges specifically from darkness. Yezrun Haarmina Haisha. Light is great when it has emerged from darkness. The growth that emerges from a challenge, the repair in a relationship that emerges after working through a rupture, the desire for connection that emerges from distance again and has it is the oil that emerges when the olive is crushed, the state of about shuva that is so much greater than when it's hard that could reach. These are all examples of how light that emerges from darkness is greater than light that just stands on its own. And the rabbit points out here, he says. This is a great example how because of the dark and negative experience, a great light emerged. The books that were formerly sorry, the books here, they're being formally, properly printed. That's the great light that emerged. In other words, at the moment when the news spread that the transcripts of the Tanya are being mishandled and mistakes are being inserted intentionally to define the alteretta. I am sure that when that happened, it was a very disappointing, very disheartening dark experience for all the for the altar of all alone. But that darkness led to the formal publishing of the Tanya. So this was again, you read a letter. There was a descent for the sake of an ascent. This is a situation where the darkness where there was darkness which then brought much greater light. Transforming Internal Darkness Through the Tanya's Long Short Way And I want to, I want to conclude today's lesson with the same idea of how the Reba applies this to internal challenges. OK, This is not just about external circumstances like the challenge with Titania. It's but or you know what? We started the class today. We're talking about an external challenge that our entire nation is facing, right? I want to talk about how this is a hugely applied idea. This, this, this idea, this Hasidic. It's a synophorism. It's a quote. It's a Pisgum yeastrunha Armani. It's a It is a critical lesson to our own internal darkness. In last week's, in last week's class, we we had outlined, I had concluded with the idea that the entire of either the work in Natania is the long short way. So just as a brief reminder, we talked about how the work that we do could be quick. We could have quick inspirational fixes, right? We get inspired by a teaching someone shared, something we read or we heard an experience we had. It's a quick fix of inspiration, but it doesn't last long. The short way is something that goes straight to the heart. It's almost like that. It's the work that inspires the Nefeshali kiss. It inspires our godly soul. But like I explained last week from the rabbit's teaching, he said our work here must include what we came here for, which is inspiring. Also, our animal soul, of bringing our animal soul on board, not only through our actions, not only when we push it to go and do things that we know is aligned with truth, but even the values of our animal soul. The fears of our animal soul need to be updated. The values of the animals are meant to come on board, and that work is the work that Titania cuts out for us. That's the long way, taking the long path. Like I had said, it's going to bring us to the city. It's going to bring us into the main gate. It's going to bring us into our heart, but we're going to have to do a lot more work and we're going to cover more ground. But eventually we're going to get inside. We're we're going to study, we're going to contemplate, we're going to internalize, we're going to clear our blockages. And the rabbit decide. The rabbit describes this also as Yisran Haarmin, Hajef. The short way brings you quick light. The long way brings greater light because it emerged from darkness. The longer route is the route that transforms us. The short way is going to get us there faster, but the long way forces us to confront all the obstacles. It forces us to expose the internal darkness so that it could come up for clearing, and it forces us to refine it. It forces us to bring it up so that we can refine all of our emotional impulses, all of our, you know, personality traits that are less than ideal. We have to take the long route because that's what's going to give us the capacity to steadily and consistently rise above what does get in the way. It's not about unnecessary hard work, 'cause I do hear this, I hear this, I hear this, this steady argument from people who are like, what? What's the point of all this? It's a distraction from your mitzvahs. It's a distraction from doing good. If you want to bring mashiach, go do another mitzvah. Go cheer someone else up. And that's absolutely a necessary part of our work. It goes straight to the godly soul. That's the idea of the Nefeshaliakis. Bringing the Nefesha Bahamas on board requires the long path. It's not a distraction from the short route. It's the depth that we have to do to create long term change. And that the rabbit points out is this is the light that comes specifically because you walked through it and you transformed what was standing in the way. That's the entire point of what's going to be up ahead in Natania. Practical Takeaways, Book Recommendations, and Purim Wishes And I am so grateful that you're here to join me on that journey. I conclude my words with that and I am happy to answer any questions if anyone has. Ladies, I I can absolutely. I just want to remind you the question part, you know, maybe I could, I can even stop the recording and start a new one. If anybody wants to ask question I can. These are edited and can be edited out. I'm staring at the at the faces that are on the screen. So thank you. Hey, Sarah, and no questions, but just thank you for this class. It was great. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Sarah, thank you. It was beautiful. Thank you so much, City. Thanks for coming again. If we want to purchase the book, I it does it come in volumes. You know what? Send me, send me a send me a message and I will send you a good a link for to a few different ones. I could send you one that I personally use. I did see that on kiba.org. There's a really great. It's new, so it doesn't have all the chapters there yet, but it's called the Tanya project and it's a really, really smooth read. I, I happen to have like peeked at chapter 1. I didn't even look ahead. So maybe you know, but it, it's really easy to read and understand. It's like, almost like you're in conversation with the author of a, with the author of the Tanya. OK, thank you. Absolutely. What what is your favorite one? What's the one? I, I use the Schneissel Tanya. It is in five volumes, though. It's big and fat and thick. I, I, I appreciate it. This is probably my third year learning the Tanya from him. He he taught. He breaks down every single Hasidic concept that the author quotes every quote that the author shares from the Zohar, from the Rambam, from from the Arizol. He he gives a full background. So you're not left with any question marks like he really he he just gives you the background of everything that's that's being referenced. OK, thanks. It's. Speaker 2 Sorry. Speaker 1 Sorry, was somebody just going to speak up? Speaker 2 Yeah, I was going to ask if there were online resources. Speaker 1 So the kebab.org, that's an online resource that I would recommend kebab.org, the Tanya project, look that up and you'll you'll see there. And like I said, I think so far there were like 8 or 9 chapters, but I guess it's being worked on as we speak. Speaker 2 Thanks, Sibi. Speaker 1 My pleasure. Speaker 2 Sibi, it's Brachi. Speaker 1 Hey. Speaker 2 That was very soothing. I had to like just to put it in perspective of to hear such a fresh, soothing, possible calming, redemptive other way to hear and see something that is a gift waiting to be given and has not been given to me, particularly because of maybe the way I had experienced Tanya previously. So it was very soothing. That's the word that comes to mind. And my question is, you gave so much, so much beautiful content. However, I, you know, ADHDADDI don't care what you call them. My brain can only contain so much. I want to know from you, from what you shared, what would be my take away, my tool, my take away from what you shared today so that I can take what you gave so beautifully and implemented right now, today in my life. Speaker 1 So first of all, thank you for for the Part 1. Thank you because I feel like that's my goal accomplished. So thank you for that. As far as the two things, things that popped in right when you asked that. So #1 is this, this knowing that everything in Torah, it's the light that God had hidden and is now being given to us to recognize and realize that if you, if the, if it doesn't feel soothing and beautiful and calm and nurturing, then not to, not to be repelled from it or to reject it, but to recognize and realize that clearly I'm a misunderstanding it. And then so to, to look again and to, to ask and to seek help and guidance. If you're, if you are having a, a feeling that pushes you away from anything Jewish, from from any words, any observances, any values, any like any teaching that repels us, it means we're misunderstanding it because it's the light that God has hidden and is now being gifted back to us. And so if we have that kind of a reaction, it means we're misreading it. And so we should try to notice what's the resistance, what's the fear? What's blocking me from being able to absorb this in the beautiful way that it's being gifted to me and to keep coming back until it feels soothing and warm. The other thing I would say it when I talked about perspectives, when we realize that somebody has an opposing, what feels like and seems like an opposing viewpoint to us, again, to pause and realize and think they, you know, to first of just immediate acknowledgement they're coming from a different place and therefore what they're saying sounds very different than what I'm saying. Can we have space for both? I think that when we have room, it's it's two things happen when we have the capacity inside our own hearts to hold our own paradoxes. Like I said all the way in the beginning about the situation in Israel, I can really believe in God and still have a part of me that doubts and is afraid. When I can carry that paradox in my own heart. There's room for paradox outside of me. Also, when I can acknowledge inside of my own heart that I of course, I believe in God, and yet I have a part of me that goes into fear when a bomb falls, you know, I'm not able to see the good right away or whatever it is. I'm, I don't have to use extreme examples of, of, of bombs. But when we go into a space of mistrust and doubt technology, there is still a part of me that feels that. And when we are able to welcome every part of us into our own heart and hold it and soothe it until it's updated, we begin to be able to do that for the people outside of us as well. That's how World Peace is created. When I have internal coherence, that's when there's going to be coherence in my community. That's when there's going to be coherence in my city, and that's when there's going to be. This is the ripple effect that they talk about. The internal coherence is going to leave to the the Shalom outside of me as well. Speaker 2 That's that's beautiful to me. But I do have a follow up question. Go ahead. However that is like, wow, if we could put that in a pill and I can take that. Oh my gosh, yay. However, the instinct, the instinct and the reactive, the reactiveness to circumstance because of where my interpretation, my perception, how I understand the situation. That's very that's the most, I think the most difficult point in the shift because instinct is instinct is is, you know, I've developed my instincts and from from however many years I'm here, it what happens from the instinct or the reaction to a choice action to a pro pro. Speaker 1 Action I I love this. Thank you. Thank you for being 100% honest. This is where you're this is where the internal coherence begins to notice. Wow, that defensive part just got on. Came on that the person who just said that has hurt me in the past, so their words immediately trigger hurt inside of me. To notice, to pause, to hold the pain, to not let it drive your car. Don't repress it either. Coherence internally means that I notice the pain, I notice the hurt, I notice the fear. I hold it, I process it, I contain it, I update it. I don't let it drive my car. I will not make choices based on the narrative of this part. But I won't either shame that part I will. I internally, will be the parent who attunes to it. That's internal coherence. Does that make sense? Speaker 2 Yes, yes, it it makes more than sense. It's like the necessary pause. Speaker 1 You know that that the very the famous, you know, the one attributed to Viktor Frankel, right? I think that I feel like even said that last week, like that's the pause that we're. Speaker 2 Talking about stimulus in action. Speaker 1 There's, there's stimulus here, of course I'm having a reaction, an internal reaction, but the the outward action is what we're very weary of the outward action. When we let the parts that hold fear, doubt, shame, criticism, anxiousness, and we let them get into the driver's seat, that's when we're that's when they're in we're, we're going to be in trouble. Something we're, we're going to do something that's out of alignment with our truth. And yet those parts need a lot of attention. So internally I hold them. Internally, I witnessed their experience. Speaker 2 It sounds, it sounds so, so right and, and sounds like the the right path in which to create a different outcome. I just, I want to add also that because I'm trying to do that and I don't always do it and I fall right back into habit and instinct like the, the, the hard part is drop the judgement, no judgement. Speaker 1 So first of all, everyone here can raise their hand if that happens to them too. When we have thank you, thank you when we have group, group witnessing and we welcome the part that keeps, that keeps slipping, that keeps going down that slippery, slippery slope where we react too quickly. We recognize our nails. This is another human part. No judgement, no judgement. Hold that part. That part probably is very eager and, and I'm just just by guessing that part wants justice, that part wants to be understood. That part wants wants clarity, that part wants resolution. And so it rushes into action. What the part doesn't know is oftentimes its reaction doesn't bring the desired outcome. And that's why that's when it, you know, that's when the mess gets bigger. So internally we have to slow it down. See, I know you, you're so desperate for resolution. You're so desperate for justice. Let me hold you. Let me hold your impulse. Take a walk, breathe, you know, track, track the impulsive sensation because it's moving through you. And, and this the safest, easiest thing is to act on it. But long term, we know that that's always going to backfire. Speaker 2 I guess that's what it means, the long and short. Speaker 1 That's it. That's the long and short. I think we're going to be able to apply that a lot now. Speaker 2 Thank you. Speaker 1 You're so welcome. Does anyone else we have We have 3 minutes if anybody else has a comment on what Brockie was saying or their own question. Well ladies, I wish you all a beautiful Purim. A joyous Purim, a perm where we can take the masks off and see our true self and see our true God. No masks and no concealment. Thank you so much. I'll see you same place, same time next Monday, God willing. Speaker 2 Thank you Savi, happy forum to you.