Tanya, the Masterpiece of Hasidic Wisdom: Selections Annotated & Explained
Tanya, "It Was Taught," is one of the most powerful and potentially transformative books of Jewish wisdom. Written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, Tanya, sets forth the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. While a focus of daily study by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, Tanya is little known outside the world of Jewish mysticism. Until now, its kabbalistic terms and esoteric language have made this essential text of Jewish spirituality...
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Tanya, "It Was Taught," is one of the most powerful and potentially transformative books of Jewish wisdom. Written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, Tanya, sets forth the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. While a focus of daily study by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, Tanya is little known outside the world of Jewish mysticism. Until now, its kabbalistic terms and esoteric language have made this essential text of Jewish spirituality inaccessible to most readers.In this engaging volume, Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers a contemporary English translation of key selections of Tanya coupled with commentary designed to clarify and amplify the wisdom it contains. He also outlines the philosophical and spiritual framework on which Tanya is based-God's nonduality; the five dimensions of reality and their corresponding intelligences (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit); the purpose of mitzvot, the practices of Jewish life, as catalysts to God realization and the hallowing of all life through godliness-to help you understand the selected Tanya translations in a way that enhances your own spiritual development.Now you can benefit from the wisdom of Tanya even if you have no previous knowledge of Judaism or Hebrew terminology. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the core teachings of Tanya, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that will deepen your understanding of the soul and how it relates to and manifests the Divine Source from which all life comes, in which all life lives and to which all life returns.
Foreword ixPreface xviiIntroduction xixKey Philosophical Ideas xxxiiiCore Spiritual Practices xliii1 The Five Kinds of Humans 31 God, Wisdom, and Your Essential Nature 73 The Three Mothers: Wisdom, Reason, and Knowing 114 The Three Garments: Thought, Word, and Deed 135 Unity Beyond Thought 176 The Necessity of Opposites 217 Using the Body for Good 238 Using the Body for Evil 279 The Secret Yearning for the Good 3110 The Purpose of Transformation 3511 Redemption from Evil 3912 Bringing Light into the Darkness 4313 Internal Conflict 4714 Becoming an Inbetweener 4915 Serving God 5116 The Essential Task 5517 The Practice of Comprehension 5718 The Nature of Wisdom 6119 The Candle of God 6520 The Unchanging One 6921 God's Speech 7122 Other Gods 7323 Torah and God Are One 7524 The Interplay of Opposites 7725 Folly 7926 The Profit of Sadness 8127 Passive Restraint 8528 Distracting Thoughts 8929 A Dull Heart 9330 Cultivating Humility 9731 Working with Sadness 9932 Love Your Neighbor 10333 Attaining True Joy 10534 Generosity 10935 The Task of Self 11136 No High or Low in God 11337 Illuminating the World 11738 The Necessity of Intent 11939 Acting without Ulterior Motive 12140 Revealing the Hidden God 12541 Love and Awe 12942 Your Inner "Moses" 13343 Two Types of Awe 13744 Higher Grades of Love 13945 Compassion for God 14346 Way of Friendship 14747 Release from Bondage 14948 The Finite and the Infinite 15349 The Purpose of Creation 15550 Run and Return 15751 The Dwelling of God 16152 Perceiving the One 16353 The One Is within You 165Notes 167Glossary of Hebrew Terms 168Books Cited in Tanya 173Suggestions for Further Reading 177
