Three reasons not to write the Tanya: 1) Not everyone is clear enough to understand what he reads without getting confused. 2) If a Sefer is only שכל אנושי it’s reach and appeal is limited. 3) Even when the Sefer is שכל אלוקי the complexity of הנסתרות makes it almost impossible to identify one’s part…

A Rebbe writes for his flock in a way that is not subjective: based on where they are at.

The stages of the process of creating חב”ד חסידות. Yechidus, what it was about. The first and second etc. Forty years, thirty years twenty five years (it depends on the perspective). The חדרים. Two and later a third. The spoken Tanya from 29 Elul 5549 until 9 Kislev 5552. The written Tanya, קונטרסים. The deliberate…

Packaging: how to bring it to people. The early version of Chassidus חסידות הכללית involved: 1) connection to the Tzadik, 2) Miracles, 3) warmth. The Alter Rebbe was instructed (through the Maggid) by the Ba’al Shem Tov to create a פנימיות חסידות where the Rebbe teaches but the Chossid inspires himself. The Alter Rebbe accomplished…

Introduction Part one. The precious stone that lies at the center of the King’s crown. Godliness is within and must be brought out from within, not added from without. The two key points: 1) Achdus Hashem. 2) The centrality of the Yid, Ahavas Yisroel. Yechida. The BeShT gave it to his time and to all…

מדות טובות בטבע כל ישראל בתולדותם continued. The word טבע is qualified here as being a fixed set of characteristics like the exoskeleton of an arthropod, a hard shell that is binding and unchanging.

מדות טובות בטבע כל ישראל בתולדותם Part one. 1) In Kabbalah goodness means altruistic goodness not self serving goodness (this is on the mystical level “evil”!). The idea that the Jewish animal soul has good is therefore quite remarkable. 2) The Rebbe points out that the Alter Rebbe only lists רחמנות וגמילות חסדים (compassion and…

The מדות של נפש הבהמית. In this class we explored the four elements Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth and the idea that in each person there’s a different tendency or מזג. Some are אש inclined, while others are מים inclined etc. We touched on each of the nine מדות רעות listed here: 1) anger, 2)…

The נפש הבהמית is in the לב ודם. The נפש האלוקית is in the מוח. These two compete for the whole גוף. We explain it’s need to speak the נפש הבהמית language to relate and vice-versa. The fight.

סטרא אחרא vs. צד הקדושה. On earth there are three levels and ideas: 1) חוב and 2) איסור, and 3) רשות. On the תורה שבשמים level, if it isn’t holy it is automatically anti-holy. This is why all that is not holy is סטרא אחרא וקליפה. In other words it is טומאה.