View source for Tanya (Judaism)

{{short description|Main work of the Chabad philosophy}}
{{italic title}}
{{Hatnote|[[Tanya Rabbati]], a 16th-century Italian code of [[halakha|Jewish law]], is an unrelated work with a similar name. For other uses, see [[Tanya (disambiguation)]].}}
{{More citations needed|article makes many statements without any references and|date=August 2009}}

[[File:Faid1.jpg|thumb|120px|right|Edition of the Tanya printed in [[RAF Fayid|Fayid]] from 1974. The 7th leader of [[Chabad]] encouraged new printings to be made in remote places.]]

The '''''Tanya''''' ({{Langx|he|תניא}}) is an early work of [[Hasidic philosophy]], by Rabbi [[Shneur Zalman of Liadi]], the founder of [[Chabad]] Hasidism, first published in 1796. Its formal title is  ''Likkutei Amarim'' ({{Script/Hebrew|ליקוטי אמרים}}, [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], "collection of statements") but is more commonly known by its first word (''tanya''), which in Aramaic means "it has been taught". Zalman is referring to a [[baraita]] in [[Niddah (Talmud)|"Niddah"]] chapter 3 in the word’s first usage. The  ''Tanya'' is composed of five sections that define Hasidic mystical psychology and theology as a handbook for daily spiritual life in Jewish observance.

The ''Tanya'' is the main work of [[Chabad philosophy]] and the Chabad approach to [[Jewish mysticism|Hasidic mysticism]], as it defines its general interpretation and method. The subsequent extensive library of the Chabad school, authored by successive leaders, builds upon the approach of the ''Tanya''. Chabad differed from mainstream Hasidism by its philosophical investigation and intellectual analysis of Hasidic Torah exegesis. This emphasised the mind as the route to internalising Hasidic mystical ''[[dveikus]]'' (emotional fervour), in contrast to general Hasidism's creative enthusiasm in faith. Consequently, Chabad Hasidic writings are typically characterised by their systematic intellectual structure, while other classic texts of general Hasidic mysticism are usually more compiled or anecdotal.

As one of the founding figures of Hasidic mysticism, Schneur Zalman and his approach in the ''Tanya'' are revered by some other Hasidic schools, although they tend to avoid its [[Jewish meditation|meditative methods]]. In Chabad, it is called "the [[Tanakh|Written Torah]] of Hasidus", with the subsequent Chabad corpus being the analogical [[Oral Torah]]. In it, Zalman brings the new interpretations of [[Jewish mysticism]] by the [[Baal Shem Tov]], founder of Hasidism, into philosophical articulation and definition. This intellectual form synthesises Hasidic concepts of divine omnipresence and Jewish soulfulness with other historical components of [[Rabbinic literature]], embodied in the [[Talmud]], [[Jewish philosophy]], [[Musar literature|Musar (ethical) literature]] and [[Lurianic Kabbalah]]. The ''Tanya'' has therefore been seen in Chabad as the defining Hasidic text and a subsequent stage of Jewish mystical evolution.<ref>[http://www.inner.org/kabbalah/beginner/five-stages-historical-development-kabbalah.php "Five Stages in the Historical Development of Kabbalah"] from www.inner.org. "''The Development of [[Kabbalah]] in Light of Its Main Texts''. In this lecture, the five [[Kabbalah: Primary Texts|major texts]] of Kabbalah ([[Sefer Yetzirah]], [[Zohar]], [[Moshe Cordovero|Pardes Rimonim]], [[Isaac Luria|Eitz Chayim]], and Tanya) are the focus of a summary of its development over the ages". Retrieved Nov. 2009</ref>

==Background to the Chabad approach==
{{Chabad sidebar}}
The ''Tanya'' deals with [[Jew]]ish [[spirituality]], [[psychology]] and [[theology]] from the point of view of [[Hasidic philosophy]] and its inner explanations of [[Kabbalah]] (Jewish mysticism). It offers advice for each individual on how to serve God in his daily life.

===Early Hasidic movement===
The first few generations of the Hasidic movement established the various approaches of its different schools. The third generation great students of [[Dov Ber of Mezeritch]], who spread out across Eastern Europe, became the leaders of [[Hasidism]] in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Russia. Among them, Schneur Zalman articulated a different approach to Hasidic philosophy from general Hasidism. The founding Hasidic mysticism of the [[Baal Shem Tov]], and subsequent Hasidic Masters, emphasised the emotions of [[dveikus]] to cleave to the Omnipresent Divine. The intellectual ("Chabad") approach of Schneur Zalman, continued by successive [[Lubavitch]] [[Rebbes]], emphasised the mind as the route to the inner heart. The Chabad school requires knowledge of Godliness, drawn from Hasidic philosophy, to establish Hasidic mystical faith. This enabled Schneur Zalman to take Hasidus to [[Lithuanian Jews]] from nearby [[Belarus|White Russia]], and aroused the opposition of their early leaders. In this, Chabad is a separate offshoot of general Hasidism, and to its students is the profound fulfillment of systematically articulating its inner depths. Therefore, in Chabad, the Baal Shem Tov and Schneur Zalman, who share the same birthday, are called the "two great luminaries" (after Genesis 1:16, according to the [[Midrash]]ic account, before the moon was diminished), representing heart and mind.

===Kabbalah and Hasidism===
The historical development of [[Kabbalah]] from the 12th century, and its new formulations in the 16th century, explained the subtle aspects and categories of the traditional system of Jewish [[metaphysics]]. [[Hasidic]] spirituality left aside the abstract focus of Kabbalah on the Spiritual Realms, to look at its inner meaning and soul as it relates to man in this World.<ref>[http://www.inner.org/chassidut/chassidut.htm Overview of Chassidut] from www.inner.org. Retrieved Nov. 2009</ref> The founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, brought the Kabbalistic idea of Omnipresent [[Divine immanence]] in Creation into daily Jewish worship of the common folk. This enabled the popularisation of Kabbalah by relating it to the natural psychological perception and emotional [[dveikus]] (fervour) of man. The mystical dimension of Judaism became accessible and tangible to the whole community. Outwardly this was expressed in new veneration of sincerity, emphasis on prayer and deeds of loving-kindness. The unlettered Jewish folk were cherished and encouraged in their sincere simplicity, while the elite scholars sought to emulate their negation of ego through study of Hasidic exegetical thought. [[Hagiographic]] storytelling about Hasidic Masters captured the mystical charisma of the [[tzaddik]]. The inner dimension of this mystical revival of Judaism was expressed by the profound new depth of interpretation of Jewish mysticism in Hasidic philosophy. Great scholars also followed the Baal Shem Tov as they saw the profound meanings of his new teachings. The Baal Shem Tov's successor [[Dov Ber of Mezeritch]] became the architect of the Hasidic movement, and explained to his close circle of disciples the underlying meanings of the Baal Shem Tov's explanations, parables and stories.

===Chabad===
'''Mind versus heart.''' Among Dov Ber's disciples, Rabbi [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi]] formed Hasidic philosophy into a profound intellectual system, called "[[Chabad]]" after the Kabbalistic terms for the intellect, that differs from mainstream Hasidic emotional approaches to mystical faith. This seeks inward Jewish observance, while seeing charismatic Hasidic enthusiasm as external and downplaying it. The mysticism of Schneur Zalman did not seek cold intellectual investigation. In common with all of Hasidism, it awakens joy and negation of self-awareness, from the Jew's perception of the Divine in all things. But Chabad, later to be called after its Russian village of Lubavitch, sees external emotional expression as superficial if devoid of inner contemplation. In this vein, it is related that the second Lubavitch Rebbe, [[Dov Ber Schneuri]], would pray motionless for hours. Emotional expression was replaced with inner, hidden emotional ecstasy from his intellectual contemplation of Hasidic philosophy during prayer. At the end of praying, his hat and clothing would be soaked in perspiration. Typically, he wrote one of the most personal mystical accounts in Judaism, his "Tract on Ecstasy", that instructs the Chabad follower in the levels of contemplation. This explains his father's concept of the Chabad articulation of Hasidism. While the Baal Shem Tov stressed the heart, Schneur Zalman stressed the mind, but it was a warm, fiery mystical intellectualism.

'''Intellect versus faith.''' By giving Hasidus philosophical investigation, the Chabad school explained the inner meanings of the "Torah of the Baal Shem Tov". Its systematic investigation enables the mind to grasp and internalize the transcendent spirituality of mainstream Hasidism. If the mind can bring the soul of Hasidism into understanding and knowledge through logic, then its effects on the person can be more inward. The classic writings of other Hasidic schools also relate the inner mysticism of Hasidic philosophy to the perception of each person. The aim of the Hasidic movement is to offer the Jewish mystical tradition in a new, internal form that speaks to every person. This would awaken spiritual awareness and feeling of God, through understanding of its mystical thought. Mainstream Hasidism relates this mystical revival through charismatic leadership and understanding based faith. The path of Schneur Zalman differs from other Hasidism, as it seeks to approach the heart through the development of the mind. Chabad writings of each generation of its dynasty, develop this intellectual explanation of Hasidic mystical ideas, into successively greater and more accessible reach. In recent times the last two Rebbes expressed the spiritual warmth of Chabad in terms of daily reality, language and relevance, in the Yiddish translations and memoires of [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], and especially the [[Likkutei Sichos]] of [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]].

'''Chabad Hasidus and other dimensions of Jewish thought.''' Because the approach of Chabad explains Hasidus in intellectual form, it can incorporate into its explanation the other aspects of historical Jewish thought. Complimentary or initially contradictory explanations of Jewish thought from [[Rabbinic Judaism]], [[Jewish philosophy]] and [[Kabbalah]] can become synthesised into one unity. It can connect the different disciplines of mysticism (Kabbalah) and [[Jewish philosophy]] (Hakira), by relating to a higher, essential unity in Divinity, that harmonises diverse ideas. This approaches classic questions of theology from a different route than Hakira. The Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages, such as [[Maimonides]], reconciled [[Judaism]] with [[Greek philosophy]]. Their explanations of the nature of the Divine, are related from man's independent understanding from first principles. Hasidic thought looks to the inner meaning of Kabbalah, a conceptual system of [[metaphysics]] from mystical encounters with [[revelation]]. The insights it brings to theological questions, brought out in its Chabad explanation, are related from a mystical, higher reality "from above". When Hasidic thought addresses traditional questions, such as [[Divine providence in Judaism|Divine Providence]], [[immanence]] and [[transcendence (religion)|transcendence]], it offers "Inner Torah" explanations of spirituality, that can also be harmonised with the explanations of the "Revealed Torah". It is the ability of Hasidic thought to bring the abstract, esoteric systems of Kabbalah into conscious perception and mystical faith, by relating them to man's inner psychological awareness. The ideal of the Chabad approach is to articulate this spiritual perception in terms of man's understanding and knowledge.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=oin9oOVLTz0C&dq=Habad+Hasidism&pg=PA381 Overview of recent academic study of Habad philosophy] ("Contemporary Habad and the Paradox of Redemption" by [[Naftali Loewenthal]], in ''Perspectives on Jewish thought and mysticism'') Google books. Retrieved Nov. 2009</ref>

==Structure==
According to legend, Rabbi Shneur Zalman published his ''Likkutei Amarim'' anonymously in 1797. Later editions incorporated additional writings by Shneur Zalman. The latest version of this work, dating from 1814,{{citation needed|reason=This section has no secondary sources given, Apr.2016|date=April 2016}} consists of five parts:

# ''Sefer shel Beinonim'' ("The Book of the Average Men"). This book is a Hasidic guide to the psychological drama of daily Jewish spiritual life. It describes how contemplating the mystical greatness of the Creator and the union that a Jew has with Him through the Torah's commandments, can achieve the love and fear of God necessary for sincere worship. This approach is the fundamental theme of Chabad teaching: to achieve emotional refinement during prayer and Jewish observance. However, in the path offered, this emotion must stem from intellectual understanding of Hasidic mysticism. That is why this approach and the movement are called Chabad, after the three intellectual [[Sephirot]] (God's emanations in Kabbalah): [[Chochmah]] (Wisdom), [[Binah (Kabbalah)|Binah]] (Understanding), [[Da'at]] (Knowledge). A Hasidic psychology of a Jew's two [[Soul#Judaism|souls]]<ref>''and souls [which] I have made'' {{bibleref|Isaiah|57:16|JPS}}</ref> is investigated, the Divine soul and the Natural soul. The Divine soul is a true "part of God", a historic emphasis in Jewish thought, though based on earlier sources. The book's guidance is for the intermediate person who is tempted by natural instincts, while the service of the true [[tzaddik]] in mystical thought is transcendent and only involved with holiness.
# ''Sha'ar ha-Yichud ve'ha'Emunah'' ("The Gateway of Unity and Belief"). This book outlines the theological background to the first section's Hasidic life. It is an investigation of the meaning of God's Unity in Hasidism. The [[Panentheism]] (all creation takes place "within God") taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]] is systematically articulated in Kabbalistic philosophy. God is all, but all is not God. Two levels of God's Unity are both paradoxically true, based on the Kabbalistic doctrine of the [[Tzimtzum]]. In the "Lower Unity" all Creation is nullified to God. In the "Higher Unity", Creation is an [[acosmism|acosmic]] illusion as only God truly exists. The apparent plurality in Creation is only an effect of the concealments of Divinity. The origin of everything is nullification within the Divine Unity.
# ''Iggeret HaTeshuvah'' ("Letter of Repentance"). This gives the Hasidic interpretation and Chabad method of [[Teshuvah]] (Return to God). This section is also known as the "Tanya Katan" ("Brief Tanya") as it is the gateway to all personal spiritual redemption. It describes the mystical return that not only leads to forgiveness for the sins but can fully enable the repenting person to be elevated to a spiritual place that is higher than where they were before the sin. In Hasidism any spiritual descent is only a preparation for a higher ascent. Two levels of Teshuvah are described, based on their meanings in Kabbalah. The "Lower Teshuvah" redeems sin. The "Higher Teshuvah" brings constant elevation unconnected to sin. Because of this, the founder of Hasidism taught that even saintly [[tzadik]]im are able to be inspired to do Teshuvah.
# ''Iggeret HaKodesh'' ("Letter of Holiness"). This section was not published until 1814, after Rabbi Shneur Zalman's passing. It is a collection of letters which the author wrote to his disciples and different Hasidic communities, in which he talked about mystical aspects of certain commandments, such as charity, Torah study, or in general all commandments concerned with physical deed. Today it is used as a source of certain in-depth concepts of the "Written Hasidism" not concerned specifically with emotion felt during service or repentance. It is a more esoteric and detailed work of Kabbalistic commentary than the previous sections. Schematically it would relate to a person who had internalised the fundamental first three sections, and could progress higher.
# ''Kuntres Acharon'' ("Last Thesis"). This section was not published until 1814. It is also a series of letters in which the author resolved certain seeming controversies in Kabbalah. This section is an even more in-depth investigation of profound mystical notions than the previous one. Like the fourth section, it can be seen as an addition to the first three fundamental sections.

In general, the first book is a universal Jewish guidebook to ''avodah'', everyday Divine service, through Schneur Zalman's innovative system, applying [[Jewish mysticism]] step-by-step to the internal drama of human psychology. As a formative approach guidebook in Judaism, the English translator of the first section, in his introduction, compares its position with Maimonides' [[Guide for the Perplexed]], but contrasts the spiritual guidance aim of Tanya with the philosophical aim of Maimonides. The second section's philosophical exposition of Hasidic mystical [[Panentheism]] is the underlying foundation for [[Jewish meditation|contemplation]] methods in the first part, and gives the theoretical definition of Hasidism's theology of God. The third section guides individuals in a Habad Hasidic approach to [[Teshuvah|repentance]], to be able to prepare more deeply for the first part's guidance. The last two added sections give more complicated and in-depth [[Hasidic thought|Hasidic]] exposition of [[Kabbalistic]] concepts, the author uniting abstract ideas with the importance of everyday service and an emotion that must accompany it. These discourses are similar to the exegetical commentaries of Schneur Zalman in his other works, though here they sometimes take the form of letters to his followers, with more direct advice.

==Subject matter==
Most of the work's first part, "The Book of the Average Man", the ''beinoni'', serves as a fundamental and basic guide to the spiritual service of [[God]].

Unlike other early Hasidic works, this book is not a collection of sermons or stories, but rather a [[:wikt:systematic|systematic]] exposition of Shneur Zalman's [[philosophy]]. Lubavitcher Hasidim are enjoined to study from this work each day as part of [[Chitas]] - an acronym for [[Chumash (Judaism)|Chumash]], [[Book of Psalms|Tehillim]] and Tanya. The Rebbes of Chabad taught that it is a sacred duty to publish and distribute this book as widely as possible.

The Tanya seeks to demonstrate to the "average" Jewish man or woman that knowledge of God is there for the taking, that spiritual growth to ever higher levels is real and imminent, if one is willing to engage in the struggle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.steinsaltz.org/dynamic/content.asp?id=70#Radical|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194343/http://www.steinsaltz.org/dynamic/content.asp?id=70#Radical|url-status=dead|title=The Aleph Society, promoting the educational efforts of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. &#124; Preface to Rabbi Steinsaltz's Commentary on Tanya<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=September 27, 2007}}</ref> Although many view the Tanya as a work of explanation on Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism, its approbations make clear that Tanya is first and foremost a book of advice in the practical service of God.

===Levels of divine service <!-- "Beinoni" links to this section -->===
The Tanya describes five levels:
*The complete ''[[tzadik|tzaddik]]'' ("righteous person") has transformed his animal soul completely, to the point that it is able to reach intense Godly delight in its connection to Godliness, and is averse to all worldly pleasures.<ref name="LikkuteiAmarim10">Tanya, ''Likkutei Amarim'', ch. 10</ref>
*The incomplete ''tzaddik'' no longer desires evil in a way that will be externally expressed, even on the level of thought; however, a minute amount of desire for very subtle evil remains.<ref name="LikkuteiAmarim10"/>
*The ''beinoni'' (lit. "intermediate one") possesses an animal soul that still desires evil, but he succeeds at constantly restraining himself from sin in action, speech, and even thought; this, however, requires ongoing tension and struggle. This struggle is not simply the confrontation between good and evil, but rather the ongoing encounter between one's two [[Soul (spirit)|soul]]s - the animal and the divine - the soul that draws downward toward the earth, and the soul that aspires upward toward [[Hashem]].<ref name="LikkuteiAmarim12">Tanya, ''Likkutei Amarim'', ch. 12</ref>
*The incomplete ''rasha'' ("evil person") will commit sins, however depending on the level of good in the incomplete rasha he will either repent or merely thoughts of repentance will enter his thoughts.<ref name="LikkuteiAmarim11">Tanya, ''Likkutei Amarim'', ch. 11</ref>
*The complete ''rasha'' has sinned so frequently that none of his thought, speech, or action are controlled by the divine soul (though it remains in an "external" state of [[makkif]] attached to him), and he is exclusively controlled by his animal soul.<ref name="LikkuteiAmarim11"/>

==Jewish criticism==
{{Main|Jews as a chosen people#Alternative Kabbalistic and philosophical views}}
The ''Tanya's'' hypotheses that every Jew has two souls and that the souls of non-Jews are fundamentally different from those of Jews (with non-Jewish souls originating from the realm of evil) have been controversial. More precisely, the ''Tanya'' states that Jewish people have two souls: the ''[[Divine soul|nefesh elokis]]'' (or divine soul) and the ''[[Animal soul|nefesh behamis]]'' (or animal soul), which is not inherently evil but basic. It states that non-Jews have only the latter. In [[Israel Shahak|Israel Shahak's]] book ''Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years'', he states that many Orthodox communities today hold this belief, and gives various examples of where they get this belief from. In reference to Gentile intercourse, the [[Halakha]] says that Gentiles have the "flesh of asses(donkey)" and whose "issue(semen) is like that of horses". This attitude of treating Gentiles and their behavior as animalistic is furthered upon in the Talmud tractate [[Berakhot (tractate)|Berakhot]], where it's stated that sex between a Jewish person and a Gentile is the same as [[Zoophilia|bestiality]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shahak |first=Israël |url=http://archive.org/details/jewishhistoryjew00isra |title=Jewish history, Jewish religion : the weight of three thousand years |date=1994 |publisher=London ; Boulder, Colo. : Pluto Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7453-0818-0 |pages=87}}</ref> Another prominent example is in [[Maimonides|Maimonides's]] book [[The Guide for the Perplexed]], which is regarded as the greatest work of Jewish religious philosophy ever by most Orthodox communities. There is a passage near the end of the third book that clarifies who is and is not capable of reaching the true worship of God. Some of those who aren't capable are:

{{blockquote|Some of the Turks [i.e., the Mongol race) and the nomads in the North, and the Blacks and the nomads in the South, and those who resemble them in our climates. And their nature is like the nature of mute animals, and according to my opinion they are not on the level of human beings, and their level among existing things is below that of a man and above that of a monkey, because they have the image and the resemblance of a man more than a monkey does.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shahak |first=Israël |url=http://archive.org/details/jewishhistoryjew00isra |title=Jewish history, Jewish religion : the weight of three thousand years |date=1994 |publisher=London ; Boulder, Colo. : Pluto Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7453-0818-0 |pages=25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maimonides |first=Moses |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.csl.8809 |title=The guide for the perplexed |date=1947 |publisher=George Routledge and Sons, London |pages=384}}</ref>}}

Shahak explains in his book ''Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel'', that several of the most revered people in Orthodox communities confirmed this belief. [[Abraham Isaac Kook]], the founder of [[Religious Zionism]], once stated:<blockquote>“The difference between a Jewish soul and souls of non-Jews – all of them in all different levels – is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle.”<ref>{{Cite book |last=Israel Shahak |first=Norton Mezvinsky |url=http://archive.org/details/israel-shahak-norton-mezvinsky-jewish-fundamentalism-in-israel-new-introduction- |title=Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel |year=1999 |pages=xix}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rachlevsky |first=Seffi |title=חמורו של משיח |pages=104 |language=he}}</ref></blockquote>Kook was heavily influenced by [[Isaac Luria]], who is the founder of the Lurianic school of Kabbalah, which is the most influential school of Kabbalah. Israeli scholar Isaiah Tishby quoted Luria's chief interpreter in his book ''The Theory of Evil and the (Satanic) Sphere in Lurianic Cabbala,'' who explained that Gentile souls are evil because:<blockquote>“Souls of non-Jews come entirely from the female part of the satanic sphere. For this reason souls of non-Jews are called evil, not good, and are created without [divine] knowledge.”<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Shahak |first=Israel |url=http://archive.org/details/israel-shahak-norton-mezvinsky-jewish-fundamentalism-in-israel-new-introduction- |title=Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel |last2=Mezvinsky |first2=Norton |year=1999 |pages=58}}</ref></blockquote>Also in Shahak's book ''Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel,'' [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], who was the seventh head Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty and one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century, is quoted as saying:<blockquote>The difference between a Jewish and a non-Jewish person stems from the common expression: “Let us differentiate.” Thus, we do not have a case of profound change in which a person is merely on a superior level. Rather, we have a case of “let us differentiate” between totally different species. This is what needs to be said about the body: the body of a Jewish person is of a totally different quality from the body of [members] of all nations of the world ... The Old Rabbi explained that the passage in Chapter 49 of Hatanya: “And you have chosen us” [the Jews] means specifically that the Jewish body was chosen [by God], because a choice is thus made between outwardly similar things. The Jewish body “looks as if it were in substance similar to bodies of non-Jews,” but the meaning ... is that the bodies only seem to be similar in material substance, outward look and superficial quality. The difference of the inner quality, however, is so great that the bodies should be considered as completely different species. This is the reason why the Talmud states that there is an halachic difference in attitude about the bodies of non-Jews [as opposed to the bodies of Jews]” “their bodies are in vain.” ... An even greater difference exists in regard to the soul. Two contrary types of soul exist, a non-Jewish soul comes from three satanic spheres, while the Jewish soul stems from holiness. As has been explained, an embryo is called a human being, because it has both body and soul. Thus, the difference between a Jewish and a non-Jewish embryo can be understood. There is also a difference in bodies. The body of a Jewish embryo is on a higher level than is the body of a non-Jew.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shahak |first=Israel |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt18fs6vt |title=Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel |last2=Mezvinsky |first2=Norton |date= |publisher=Pluto Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-84964-213-2 |pages=59-60}}</ref></blockquote>Writers such as Shahak and Raphael Josep have asserted that this idea has the potential to develop into or to provide support for racism<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HSmD4UmF9bsC&q=racism+in+the++tanya&pg=PA118  |title= Paradigms in Jewish philosophy Pg 118|author= Raphael Jospe  |year=  1997|publisher= Associated University Presses, Inc |isbn= 9780838637265|access-date=16 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Israel Shahak |first=Norton Mezvinsky |url=http://archive.org/details/israel-shahak-norton-mezvinsky-jewish-fundamentalism-in-israel-new-introduction- |title=Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel |year=1999 |pages=105-112}}</ref>, and Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis explains that it endorses a kind of "metaphysical racism".<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ojl_wsv0x3QC&q=racism+in+the+Jewish++tanya&pg=PT270|title= The encyclopedia of Jewish myth, magic and mysticism Pg 254|author= Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis |year= 2007|publisher=  Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd |isbn= 9780738709055|access-date=16 August 2011}}</ref> Some Orthodox Jews have spoke against and protested the teaching of the Tanya, such as the community of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue in London, England.<ref name=":1" />

==Exposition==
In Chabad, the ''Tanya'' is said to be the [[Tanakh|Written Torah]] of Hasidic philosophy, for it is the first work of Hasidic philosophy recorded by its own author, in contrast to the works of the [[Ba'al Shem Tov]] and the [[Maggid of Mezritch]], whose words were transcribed by their disciples.<ref>See the Holy Letters of Rabbi [[Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn]], Vol. IV, p. 261 ff.</ref> This implies that the teachings of Hasidic philosophy in general are all an exposition of the ''Tanya'', just as the [[Torah]] teaches that the entire purpose of the [[Oral Torah]] is to elucidate the [[Tanakh|Written Torah]].

In his preface to the ''Tanya'', the author writes that anyone with questions about the meaning or application of the ''Tanya'''s guidance should approach "the great ones in his city." In Chabad Hasidic parlance such a guide is known as a [[Mashpia]]. Such a person is trained by his predecessors in correct application of the ''Tanya''.

Many works have been written explaining the ''Tanya'', in particular: the Lubavitcher Rebbe's ''Reshimos'' on the ''Tanya'', ''HaLekach VehaLibuv'', ''Shiu'rim BeSefer HaTanya'' (in its English translation, known as  "Lessons in Tanya"),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=6237|title=Lessons in Tanya |author=Shneur Zalman of Liadi |website=Chabad.org }}</ref> ''Maskil Le'Eisan'', ''Biurei Ha'Tanya'', and "Opening The ''Tanya''", "Learning the ''Tanya''", and "Understanding the ''Tanya''" by [[Adin Steinsaltz|Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz]].

The Tanya had a great influence upon Rabbi [[Kalonymus Kalman Shapira]] of Piaseczno who quotes it many times in his works. In his "Mevo HaShearim" he contrasts the approach of the Tanya to that of Karliner Hasidism.

==Aphorisms==
*"Our understanding in ''Tanya'' is like a goat looking at the moon"--Rabbi [[Sholom Dovber Schneersohn]].<ref>''Shemu'os Vesippurim'', Refoel Kahn, vol. 1, p. 96</ref>
*"It is a wonder that Schneur Zalman of Liadi has managed to put such a great God into such a small book"--Rabbi [[Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev]]
*"With the ''Tanya'' the Jewish people will go to greet the Messiah"--Rabbi [[Zusha of Hanipol]]

==Criticism==
The ''Tanya's'' negative statements about [[gentile]]s are controversial in contemporary Jewish scholarship due to their alleged conflict with modern moral concepts.<ref name=":1">{{cite web | url=https://www.thejc.com/judaism/is-the-lubavitch-book-tanya-really-racist-bo8guw3f | title=Is the Lubavitch book Tanya really racist? | date=30 October 2008 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2025}}

==See also==
* [[Devekut]]
* [[Jewish meditation]]
* [[Judah Loew ben Bezalel#Influence|Judah Loew ben Bezalel]] articulated Kabbalah in philosophical forms
* [[Sholom Dovber Schneersohn]] advocated the use of [[pilpul]] in expounding Hasidic thought
* [[Dovber Schneuri]] differentiated between general Hasidic emotional "enthusiasm" and the Habad ideal of intellectually formed "ecstasy"
* [[Isaiah Horowitz#Works|Shene luhoth ha-berit]] influenced Hasidism and is echoed in the Tanya
* [[Torah study #Study cycles]]
* [[Chayenu]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* HaRav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, ''Tanya: Likutei Amarim: Sefer Shel Benonim'' (It was taught, Collected Sayings: Book of Intermediates) with added notes explaining the Mystical concepts by Rabbi Nissan Mindel PH.D.& Rabbi Ya'acov Immanuel Schochet, Bi-Lingual Hebrew-English edition, Kehot Publishing.com

== External links ==
*[https://lessons.myjli.com/success/index.php/2016/12/01/the-two-souls/]
*[http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/665464/jewish/Watch-Live-Tanya-Class.htm Watch Live Tanya Class]
* [http://www.hitbonenut.net Hitbonenut-Paths of the Tanya series] - Dr. Yehiel Harari
*[http://www.lessonsintanya.com/ Kabbalah and the Psychology of the Soul] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413010151/http://www.lessonsintanya.com/ |date=2008-04-13 }}
*[https://www.academia.edu/18643942/The_Sacred_Writ_of_Hasidism_The_Tanya_and_the_Spiritual_Vision_of_R._Shneur_Zalman_of_Liady The Sacred Writ of Hasidism: The Tanya and the Spiritual Vision of R. Shneur Zalman of Liady]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/369431/jewish/page.htm Hebrew full-text]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=6237 ''Tanya'' in translation with commentary (Lessons in Tanya)]
*[http://www.he.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.htm Daily Tanya Study in Hebrew]
*[https://heb.centernyc.com/ Tanya Learning]
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*[http://www.sichosinenglish.org/essays/66.htm The printing of ''Tanya'']
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*[http://www.worldwidetanya.com/tanya-editions  The printing of ''Tanya''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220081029/http://www.worldwidetanya.com/tanya-editions |date=2016-12-20 }}
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*[http://web.nli.org.il/sites/NLI/Hebrew/library/Blogs/Pages/Blog-3000xTania.aspx 3000+ copies of ''Tanya'' at the National Library of Israel]

{{Chabad philosophy}}
{{Chabad}}

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