Opening the Tanya: Discovering the Moral and Mystical Teachings of a Classic Work of Kabbalah »

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is a scholar, teacher, scientist, writer, mystic, and social critic, and is internationally regarded as one of the most brilliant and influential rabbis of our time. Best known for his monumental commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Steinsaltz is the recipient of the Israel Prize, which is that country’s highest honor. He has been a resident scholar at major academic institutions including Yale University, the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, N.J., and the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He has been described by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar."

Written by the great Hasidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi in the late eighteenth century, the Tanya is considered to be one of the most extraordinary books of moral teachings ever written.
A seminal document in the study of Kabbalah, the Tanya explores and solves the dilemmas of the human soul by arriving at the root causes of its struggles. Though it is a classic Jewish spiritual text, the Tanya and its present commentary take a broad and comprehensive approach that is not specific to Judaism nor tied to a particular personality type or time or point of view.
Opening the Tanya is a groundbreaking book that offers a definitive introduction, explanation, and commentary upon the Tanya. As relevant today as it was when it was first written more than two hundred years ago, the Tanya helps us to see the many thousands of complexities, doubts, and drives within us as expressions of a single basic problem, the struggle between our Godly Soul and our Animal Soul.

Library Journal

Rabbi Steinsaltz has written an inspiring and illuminating introduction to the Tanya, a fundamental work of Hasidism and one of the greatest books of moral teaching (mussar) of all time. He presents overviews of its broad philosophical and spiritual messages as well as a point-by-point commentary on the text, originally written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745- 1812). Steinsaltz's commentary, which covers only the introduction and the first 12 chapters of Tanya, includes explanations of basic Hasidic concepts, theoretical background, metaphors and parables from daily life, and stories from the past and present lives of the Hasidim. A glossary defines and expounds on various terms and concepts. Best known for his monumental commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, Steinsaltz is the recipient of the Israel Prize and a resident scholar at academic institutions, including Yale. No library should be without the complete Kehot Publication Society bilingual edition of the Tanya, and Steinsaltz's commentary will help to make a significant part of the original text better understood. Also helpful is Nissan Mindel's Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi: A Biography of the First Lubavitcher Rebbe. Recommended for large public, Jewish, and religion libraries and university libraries hosting Jewish studies departments.-David B. Levy, Beth Abraham Synagogue Lib., Baltimore Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Acknowledgments.
A Note About Gender.
Preface.
Introduction.
THE TANYA.
The Title Page.
The Approbations.
Compiler's Preface.
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10.
Chapter 11.
Chapter 12.
Glossary.
Notes.
The Author.
Index.