Daily Tanya

Upon honest reflection, one may come to notice that their actions have been less than desirable. In matters that may seem minor, one may have been less diligent in paying attention to the details of the law.

True, on account of his body and his animal soul, he is utterly remote from G-dliness. Yet, he has within him a divine soul, veritably a part of G-d. This soul, in exile within the body and the animal soul, is to be greatly pitied. One should therefore strive constantly to release it from this exile and to return it to its divine source through engaging in the Torah and the mitzvot . Such a return...

While the methods previously may effectively dispel timtum halev , they would seem to have an undesirable side effect—depression. These next chapters will deal with this issue and offer direction.

When one studies Torah only as much as his natural inclination or habituated diligence dictates, he requires no effort or struggle at all. But in order to match the struggle of the kal shebekalim , one must study far, far more than he would by nature or habit.

Even the most dispassionate and cloistered of men must often engage in battle with his evil inclination, both in the area of “doing good” and in that of “turning away from evil,”

A great way to combat Timtum Halev is through humility. After coming to a genuine appreciation of the struggles of another human being, we become to realize the potential of our strength and determination, that we certainly can attain even higher. We gain an appreciation for the victories of our peers.

When the light of his soul does not penetrate his heart, it is merely due to the arrogance of the sitra achara , which will vanish as soon as he rages at it.

Even one who cannot call to mind any past sins can humble his spirit by contemplating how often he has become a vehicle for impurity through his thoughts, words, and actions which, though not sinful, were still of the realm of the sitra achara —since they were not directed toward G-dliness.

The difficulties in his divine service and the timtum halev serve as an impetus so that he will call forth greater resources from within himself and repent more deeply.

The Alter Rebbe now proceeds to suggest various lines of reasoning that the beinoni may use in order to humble and crush his spirit—and thereby the sitra achara of his animal soul. The first of these follows from the point just concluded, that the personality of the beinoni is, in fact, an expression of the sitra achara —the animal soul.

The Alter Rebbe now proceeds to explain how this is accomplished. He points out that the personality of the beinoni is his animal soul. (When a beinoni says “I,” he is referring to his animal soul.) Thus, by crushing his own spirit, he crushes the sitra achara and thereby enables the light of the soul and intellect to penetrate himself.

In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe will discuss means of dealing with “dullness of heart” ( timtum halev) after describing this state more clearly.

The two souls battle over jurisdiction over the mind. Therefore, if a Beinoni experiences feelings or thoughts that do not stem from holiness, rather than grapple with them, he should try to avoid them at all costs. Contending with such thoughts would only drag him down further. Instead, one should beseech G-d for mercy and to come to his aid.

“Sanctify yourselves…,” applies only to beinonim , not to tzaddikim . For the intention of the commandment is that even one’s personal, permissible, and mundane matters should not be attended to out of the desire of one’s animal soul but for the sake of G-d. This directive cannot apply to tzaddikim , who are unencumbered by desires of the animal soul

The subjugation of the sitra achara and the consequent Divine pleasure are brought about not only by one’s struggle against the sitra achara when it attempts to lead one to sin (as in our case, where the lack of a struggle against evil thoughts, and the continued meditation on them, would constitute a sin). Rather, one produces the same effect by struggling with one’s nature in abstaining from per...

One type of offering we can give to G-d is one of sweetness, of pure righteousness. Another type is when the naturally wicked, overcome the evil inclination, thus making the bitter into sweet.

The Alter Rebbe explained there that the evil in the soul of the beinoni remains vigorous; his task is to prevent it from expressing itself in thought, speech, and action. Thus, he has no control over the occurrence of evil thoughts in his mind, but only over his acceptance or rejection of these thoughts. A tzaddik subjugates his animal soul to such a degree that it is unable to arouse temptation...

In this chapter and the next, he will discuss another type of melancholy, caused by concern over one’s sinful thoughts and desires. This category itself may be further subdivided into two: (1) where these thoughts occur while one is occupied with his material affairs and (2) where these thoughts disturb his service of G-d in Torah study, prayer, and the like. In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe discu...

In the coming chapters, the Alter Rebbe will discuss means of overcoming possible obstacles in the path of one’s service to G-d. In the first instance, he shows how one may overcome the sadness and dullness of heart, whereby the heart becomes insensitive to feelings of love and fear of G-d.

We see that the union of the soul with G-d that is affected through the mitzvot is eternal. When one considers that he would gladly give up his life so as not to be (even momentarily) parted from G-d by practicing idolatry, he will realize that he surely ought to exert himself in performing the mitzvot which bind him to G-d forever.

This details how the mitzvot effect a bond between man and G-d. The Alter Rebbe will now go on to explain why this bond is eternal.

No created being can possibly consider itself separate from G-d unless the Divine will is concealed from it. Since the inner aspect of this will stands revealed in one’s performance of a mitzvah, it does not permit any sense of separation.

One could, after all, submit to coercion and practice idolatry and rely on teshuvah to save him from a lasting separation from G-d. Yet no Jew would take advantage of this resource; the love of G-d innate in every Jew dictates that he sacrifice his life rather than bear the temporary separation caused by idolatry. Additionally, the Alter Rebbe shows how one could utilize his hidden love of G-d in...

In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe concludes the discussion, stating that every Jew, at any time, is able to dispel the “spirit of folly” and to arouse his hidden love for G-d. Thus, when he is tempted to sin, he will actually feel how the sin would tear him away from G-d, and he will therefore resist the impulse. Similarly, when he is required to perform a mitzvah , he will feel his love for G-d di...

A transgression has exactly the opposite effect of a mitzvah. Whereas a mitzvah joins one to G-d, a transgression severs one from Him; whereas a mitzvah attests to G-d’s unity, a transgression implies idolatry.