Tanya with Rochel Schmukler

Tanya Chapter 12 part 2. The beinoni’s secret to strength and self-mastery… it’s your secret too

Tanya Chapter 12 part 1. Whether or not to struggle -- is it a choice we have?

Tanya Chapter 11 part 2. Does your Divine soul have a voice in the conversation?

Tanya Chapter 11 part 1. Basically: are you capable of repeating the same mistake?

Tanya Chapter 10 part 3. Reaching towards Heaven and the Heavenly response that is unleashed in return

Tanya Chapter 10 part 2. Can a person consumed with love for Hashem harbor any hatred?

Tanya Chapter 9 part 4, Chapter 10 part 1. If you can see through the evil inclination, it's rooting for you too

Tanya Chapter 9 part 3. Transforming the animal soul through Divine pleasurable love -- how the soul's delight reshapes our power of desire

Tanya Chapter 9 part 2. There's strategy involved and the prize is you. Two souls struggle to claim your identity

Tanya Chapter 9 part 1. It seems rational, but if you break it down, it's nothing more than a raw impulse

Tanya Chapter 8 part 3. Secular science and philosophy: the issues, the dangers and the incredible opportunities

Tanya Chapter 8 part 2. Purgatory: What does it really mean, and should you be afraid?

Tanya Chapter 8 part 1. Intentions are powerful and can turn the mundane into something holy, but some realities cannot be altered by intent.

What if someone unwittingly ate forbidden food with the intention of serving Hashem—and even used the energy derived from that food to fuel their Torah study and prayer? Can this energy rise to holiness and become clothed within the words of Torah and prayer? The vitality within forbidden foods is intrinsically tied to the three completely impure kelipot, meaning it cannot be elevated to holiness, no matter how pure one’s intentions. This reflects the Torah’s definition of assur—“tied up”—an obj...

Tanya Chapter 7 part 4. There's an effect on the self and an effect on the world, and they may be very different

Tanya Chapter 7 part 3. When the dam breaks and a torrent of love rushes through – the penitent’s tremendous transformative power

Tanya Chapter 7 part 2. Elevating even the luxurious to holiness, like a sacrifice on the altar

Exploring kelipat nogah, the luminescent husk within the realm of impurity, which contains a mixture of good and holds the potential to be elevated to holiness or dragged into the depths of the three completely impure kelipot. Its destiny hinges on our intentions when interacting with the material world. When our focus is on serving Hashem, even the most luxurious items can be elevated to holiness, like a sacrifice on the altar. But when self-indulgence drives our actions, these objects are pull...

Tanya Chapter 6 part 3, Chapter 7 part 1. Darkness has levels, and the question becomes - transform it or avoid it?

Tanya Chapter 6 part 2. Learning to discern between the Divine core of reality and the external structure that hides it

How could anything exist if it opposes its essential life force? This is the secret of the exile of the Shechina—the Divine Presence—which vivifies forces that oppose it. Looking at this physical world and understanding the nature of kelipah—the obscuring husk—we can understand why darkness seems so prevalent here. And still, the infinite light of G-d fills this entire world through its investiture in the ten holy Sefirot.

Tanya Chapter 6 part 1. The fight between good and evil has to be fair

Hashem created "one thing opposite the other." This means that all ten powers of the Divine soul have a corresponding counterpart in the animal soul, along with the three garments, or modes of expression. The emotional qualities of the animal soul are aligned with its intellectual nature. How do we identify a thought, word, or action as an expression of the animal soul? And how do we recognize what belongs to "sitra achra -- the other side"? Anything not directed towards Hashem is automatically ...

Tanya Chapter 5 part 2. When Divine wisdom becomes your own. Unreal!

Understanding the Torah offers an incredible advantage above all other mitzvot: the Torah we study literally becomes part of our very being, which is why it is called "bread." Firstly, it integrates into us; secondly, it provides nourishment and life energy to our soul. In this way, Torah is like food for the soul, while mitzvot are the garments that clothe it. Our Sages teach that Torah is equivalent to all the mitzvot because it not only sustains the soul but also acts as a garment as we striv...

Tanya Chapter 4 part 4 & Chapter 5 part 1. Reach beyond the cloak, you can embrace the Divine Essence.

Tanya Chapter 4 part 3. If you make the calculation, it will blow your mind. Compare one hour of Torah and mitzvot in this world with all of the life of the world to come

Tanya Chapter 4 part 2. When fear powers the ultimate fight against evil

Tanya Chapter 4 part 1. You love, but are you truly realizing that love?

The Divine soul has three garments through which it finds expression: thought, speech, and deed, specifically through the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. The intellect of the Divine soul is expressed through the garment of thought, while its emotions—love and awe—manifest through the garments of speech and action. Speech and action become the expression of emotions because the true fulfillment of the mitzvot is driven by love. Fear, on the other hand, is expressed by observing the prohibitive Divine c...

Tanya Chapter 3 part 3. You might grasp an idea mentally, but how does it affect you?

Returning to our experience with chochmah and binah: once awe and fear of Hashem are born, our hearts become ignited with a fiery passion for Him. Chochmah and binah are the father and mother that give rise to love and fear of Hashem. Indeed, all other emotions stem from this union, as every emotion is a derivative of these primary emotions of love and fear. Now, let’s consider the third "mother," the third intellectual faculty that gives rise to emotion: daat. Daat is not about acquiring new in...

Tanya Chapter 3 part 2. Chase after your inspiration until you grab it

Now let's look at the mechanism of the intellectual-emotional response. Every idea starts with a seminal point of inspiration, the point of chochmah. This point of inexplicable potential hovers just above our grasp, we don't own it and cannot explain it until we delve deeply into it, fleshing it out into its parts and particulars through the power of binah. When we apply this process to our intellectual appreciation of Hashem's astounding greatness, an awe of His transcendent majesty is born in ...

Tanya Chapter 3 part 1. Ten ways in which your soul manifests

Our soul has descended from the ten holy Sefirot. Let's examine how the Sefirot operate: there are three "mothers" and seven "doubles," the seven days of creation. The three highest sefirot activate the seven constructive sefirot, and this is how our soul manifests as well. The three highest faculties of our soul are the cognitive aspects of chochmah (inspiration), binah (understanding), and da'at (internalization). These three faculties of awareness give rise to and shape our emotional experien...

Tanya Chapter 2 part 4. Do parents get to choose their child's soul?

Now we comprehend how cleaving to Torah scholars is akin to attaching to the Shechina. By connecting with holy people who represent the level of the “brain,” we can experience and manifest G-dliness. But what about those who rebel against Torah scholars and defy them? Are they still connected? Yes, they are, but their spiritual nourishment originates from an external space, lacking intimacy and vitality. Another crucial aspect to consider is the influence of parents on the child’s soul. The Zoha...

Tanya Chapter 2 part 3. So many varying levels of souls, all from one Source. Why the differences?

All Jewish souls originate in the wisdom of Hashem, yet we observe a multitude of differences among them. Let's revisit the analogy of the seminal drop originating in the father's mind. Just as all parts of the body, from the brain to the toenails, stem from the same essence, so do Jewish souls originate from one Source. However, as the drop undergoes a nine-month gestation period in the mother's womb, it progressively descends from its source, eventually giving rise to even toenails. Similarly,...

Tanya Chapter 2 part 2. When it comes to the Divine Essence, there's absolutely nothing we can say to describe it. Let's pull this idea into our context

Now let’s look at the Kabbalistic teachings of the Arizal, who exposed supremely high levels of the Divine reality. How does Maimonides’ statement apply in this context? Only once the Infinite Light clothes itself in the highest sefirot of the world of Atzilut. Beyond that, there’s really nothing to say. In fact, the highest level of the known spiritual reality is exactly equal to the lowest level, that of material action, in this lowest physical world, relative to the Divine Essence.