The word Tfisa bothers us. Because having Atzmus through Mitzvos is Him draping us and not the other way around. He introduces the answer by discussing ideas, that they are simultaneously holding the ideas and the ideas are holding them. He will argue that Torah (as opposed to Mitzvos) are “Makif AND Mukaf”.

This class we began discussing דעת. דעת is התקשרות that what you are involved with matters and is personal. It is a tool that is ours to use at will just like חכמה ובינה etc.

חושים (Three). A) חושים not only take in, they give out very deep things. But in and of themselves they could be very deep and have no connection to the essence of what is real which is why they are called in קבלה with the name הבלים. B) חוש המישוש according to the רמב”ם is…

חושים (Two). Introduction thought for the convention. חושים help a person go from the most removed to the closest very quickly, but very fleetingly. Some חושים are quicker than others (like ראי’ה vs. שמיעה) but the quicker they are the more fleeting is the affect on the person.

חושים (One). חושים are not discuss in Tanya at all. A system that is very superficial on the one hand and it touches the essence on the other. The problem with no work. The difference between כחות and חושים. The difference between חוש and כשרון. The letters of the Frierdike Rebbe to his daughter הרבנית…

This class moves right into studying the Shaar Blaat (Title Page), Haskomos (Approbations), and Hakdama (Introduction) to the Tanya. Some of the topics covered include: why Haskamas were written, the practical function of Haskamas, who wrote them, and stories associated with this period in Chabad history. Rabbi Paltiel explains his view on the role of…

מלכות (Class Two). מלכות is the lowest ספירה so it has the highest source. Two ideas: A) The רוממות of מלכות and its טבע להיות נמשך אל השפל must be from the deepest in עצומ”ה where the זולת is also included. B) קבלת עול מלכות שמים is rooted in עצמות, because only from there will…

מלכות. It’s inner dimension is רוממות and it’s outer dimension is עשי’ה. Explanation.

נה”י continued. נצח and הוד fight with an opponent. יסוד does what needs to be done and has no opposition. The idea that the lower the level of the נפש, the higher its source, and in this case it is the idea that נה”י are connected to the עצם הנשמה more than חב”ד וחג”ת. This…

This class explored נה”י. Here too, נצח is outer, הוד deeper, and יסוד deeper still. A) נצח is aggression and taking on an enemy by being forward thus: it is קו הימין. B) הוד is stubbornness, hunkering down against all comers without giving an inch, but it is passive not aggressive. C) יסוד is drawing…