This class covers Chapters 1, 2, 3 and the beginning of 4. The Alter Rebbe begins the Tanya by defining Tzadik, Beinoni, and Rasha on a niglah (revealed) level and then moves to the nistar (hidden) level – including comments on the wisdom of moving from one dimension of Torah to another. He explains that on the level of nistar the Beinoni is a person that never sins but has the capacity to sin. The concepts of nefesh habehamis (animal soul) and nefesh Elokis (G-dly soul) are introduced and discussed in some detail. The last section of the class addresses the Tanya’s description of the 3 dimensions of the neshama (soul): essence, form, and expression. The essence is the neshama’s connection to G-dliness. Its form is a conbination of the objectivity of the mind and the subjectivity and personalization associated with the heart. The neshama’s expression refers to the tools and vehicles through which one expresses what is going on inside: the garments of thought, speech and deed.
