Tanya, the Masterpiece of Hasidic Wisdom: Selections Annotated & Explained »

Tanya, "It Was Taught," is one of the most powerful and potentially transformative books of Jewish wisdom. Written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, Tanya, sets forth the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. While a focus of daily study by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, Tanya is little known outside the world of Jewish mysticism. Until now, its kabbalistic terms and esoteric language have made this essential text of Jewish spirituality inaccessible to most readers.

In this engaging volume, Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers a contemporary English translation of key selections of Tanya coupled with commentary designed to clarify and amplify the wisdom it contains. He also outlines the philosophical and spiritual framework on which Tanya is based-God's nonduality; the five dimensions of reality and their corresponding intelligences (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit); the purpose of mitzvot, the practices of Jewish life, as catalysts to God realization and the hallowing of all life through godliness-to help you understand the selected Tanya translations in a way that enhances your own spiritual development.

Now you can benefit from the wisdom of Tanya even if you have no previous knowledge of Judaism or Hebrew terminology. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the core teachings of Tanya, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that will deepen your understanding of the soul and how it relates to and manifests the Divine Source from which all life comes, in which all life lives and to which all life returns.

Foreword ix

Preface xvii

Introduction xix

Key Philosophical Ideas xxxiii

Core Spiritual Practices xliii

1 The Five Kinds of Humans 3

1 God, Wisdom, and Your Essential Nature 7

3 The Three Mothers: Wisdom, Reason, and Knowing 11

4 The Three Garments: Thought, Word, and Deed 13

5 Unity Beyond Thought 17

6 The Necessity of Opposites 21

7 Using the Body for Good 23

8 Using the Body for Evil 27

9 The Secret Yearning for the Good 31

10 The Purpose of Transformation 35

11 Redemption from Evil 39

12 Bringing Light into the Darkness 43

13 Internal Conflict 47

14 Becoming an Inbetweener 49

15 Serving God 51

16 The Essential Task 55

17 The Practice of Comprehension 57

18 The Nature of Wisdom 61

19 The Candle of God 65

20 The Unchanging One 69

21 God's Speech 71

22 Other Gods 73

23 Torah and God Are One 75

24 The Interplay of Opposites 77

25 Folly 79

26 The Profit of Sadness 81

27 Passive Restraint 85

28 Distracting Thoughts 89

29 A Dull Heart 93

30 Cultivating Humility 97

31 Working with Sadness 99

32 Love Your Neighbor 103

33 Attaining True Joy 105

34 Generosity 109

35 The Task of Self 111

36 No High or Low in God 113

37 Illuminating the World 117

38 The Necessity of Intent 119

39 Acting without Ulterior Motive 121

40 Revealing the Hidden God 125

41 Love and Awe 129

42 Your Inner "Moses" 133

43 Two Types of Awe 137

44 Higher Grades of Love 139

45 Compassion for God 143

46 Way of Friendship 147

47 Release from Bondage 149

48 The Finite and the Infinite 153

49 The Purpose of Creation 155

50 Run and Return 157

51 The Dwelling of God 161

52 Perceiving the One 163

53 The One Is within You 165

Notes 167

Glossary of Hebrew Terms 168

Books Cited in Tanya 173

Suggestions for Further Reading 177