וּבָזֶה יוּבָן לְשׁוֹן מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל (ברכות סא, ב): "בֵּינוֹנִים זֶה וָזֶה שׁוֹפְטָן״ [פֵּירוּשׁ, יֵצֶר טוֹב וְיֵצֶר הָרַע] דִּכְתִיב: "כִּי יַעֲמוֹד לִימִין אֶבְיוֹן לְהוֹשִׁיעַ מִשּׁוֹפְטֵי נַפְשׁוֹ״ (תהלים קט, לא).

On this basis, we can understand the language employed in the following statement of our Rabbis (Berakhot 61b): "The good inclination judges the righteous.… The evil inclination judges the wicked.… Beinonim are judged by both" [meaning, both the good and evil inclinations], as it is written,'For He stands at the right hand of the needy to deliver him from those who judge him' (Ps. 109:31)." After explaining at length the essential levels of tzaddik, rasha, and beinoni, the author of the Tanya returns to the questions he raised in the first chapter, quoting this very talmudic statement. The Hebrew word shofet used in the talmudic statement, often translated as "rule," actually connotes to judge. The plural usage of the word in the verse that the Sages quote, "to deliver him from those who judge him," introduces us to those individuals, the beinonim, who encounter two internal judges, not one.

וְלֹא אָמְרוּ זֶה וָזֶה מוֹשְׁלִים חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, כִּי כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ אֵיזוֹ שְׁלִיטָה וּמֶמְשָׁלָה לַיֵּצֶר הָרַע בָּעִיר קְטַנָּה, אֲפִילּוּ לְפִי שָׁעָה קַלָּה – נִקְרָא רָשָׁע בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה.

The Rabbis did not say that both this, the good inclination, and that, the evil inclination, rule over him, God forbid, employing the word moshel, because were the evil inclination to have any dominion and rule over the beinoni's "small city," even for a short while, he would be categorized as wicked at that time. The Sages use a word that connotes to judge, shofet, rather than the word moshel, which would connote dominion or dictatorship. When the evil nature holds sway over the "small city" – that is, the physical body, or the infrastructure of the self – even for a moment, he is no longer designated as a beinoni. In his outward conduct, the beinoni resembles the tzaddik, utterly without evil for even a moment, but once the evil inclination takes over, this definition can no longer apply.

אֶלָּא הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע אֵינוֹ רַק עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל כְּמוֹ שׁוֹפֵט וְדַיָּין הָאוֹמֵר דַּעְתּוֹ בַּמִּשְׁפָּט, וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה פְּסַק הֲלָכָה כָּךְ לְמַעֲשֶׂה מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֵּשׁ עוֹד שׁוֹפֵט וְדַיָּין הַחוֹלֵק עָלָיו,

Rather, the evil inclination acts, by way of analogy, only as a judge and jurist who expresses his opinion in a court case. Nevertheless, it may well be that his ruling is not final in practice, since there is another judge and jurist who contends with him. There can be only one ruler, but it is possible to have more than one judge. The dichotomy within the beinoni lies in the realm of his two inner magistrates and their respective beliefs. Yet each magistrate merely states his opinion. The final verdict need not be in agreement with the magistrate's view.

וְצָרִיךְ לְהַכְרִיעַ בֵּינֵיהֶם וַהֲלָכָה כְּדִבְרֵי הַמַּכְרִיעַ.

It is then necessary to arbitrate between them, and the verdict will follow the decision of the arbiter. It is an arbiter's task to decide the final verdict. Once he does, the preceding debate vanishes, never to be mentioned again. With regard to the person's inner struggle, the debate disappears from any subsequent thought, speech, or action.

כָּךְ הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע אוֹמֵר דַּעְתּוֹ בֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי שֶׁבַּלֵּב

Similarly, the evil inclination expresses his opinion in the left chamber of the heart, As noted earlier, the animal soul's dwelling place is the blood and, in particular, in the part of the heart filled with blood, its left chamber. In the spiritual context, it dwells in the emotional plane of one's consciousness where it expresses its likes and dislikes, its beliefs and wishes. This plane of consciousness is fully present in the beinoni, representing one of his inner magistrates.

וּמֵהַלֵּב עוֹלֶה לַמּוֹחַ לְהַרְהֵר בּוֹ,

and from the heart it rises to the mind for contemplation. The evil inclination generates an impulse, an evil desire in the heart and emotions. For it to be actualized and developed, there must be a degree of awareness and recognition of the desire in the mind.

וּמִיָּד חוֹלֵק עָלָיו הַשּׁוֹפֵט הַשֵּׁנִי, שֶׁהוּא הַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית שֶׁבַּמּוֹחַ הַמִּתְפַּשֵּׁט בֶּחָלָל הַיְּמָנִי שֶׁבַּלֵּב מְקוֹם מִשְׁכַּן הַיֵּצֶר טוֹב.

However, the moment the impulse reaches the mind, it is immediately disputed by the second judge, the divine soul that is in the brain, which extends to the right chamber of the heart, the abode of the good inclination. Although the divine soul's sphere of influence also extends to the heart, the arena where it challenges the animal soul is the brain. In sheer strength, the animal soul predominates in the emotions. The brain, on the other hand, possesses the "advantage of wisdom over folly" (Eccles. 2:13), and it launches the divine soul's instant counterresponse in this battle of wills, refusing to fall prey to the proclivities of the animal soul that rise from the left chamber of the heart.

וַהֲלָכָה כְּדִבְרֵי הַמַּכְרִיעַ, הוּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הָעוֹזְרוֹ לְהַיֵּצֶר טוֹב, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּּ ז״ל: "אִלְמָלֵא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עוֹזְרוֹ — אֵין יָכוֹל לוֹ״ (קידושין ל, ב).

The verdict must then follow the opinion of the arbiter, this being the Holy One, blessed be He, who assists the good inclination, in accordance with our Rabbis' statement "If not for the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, assists each person in battling his evil inclination, he could not overcome it" (Kiddushin 30b). When it comes to the beinoni, the verdict will always be in accord with the arbiter – with God. This is the implication of the verse cited by the aforementioned talmudic dictum to demonstrate that the beinoni is judged by both inclinations: "For He stands at the right hand of the needy," that is, the divine soul, which dwells in the right side of the heart, "to deliver him from those who judge him" (Ps. 109:31). The divine soul is referred to as "needy" since it regards itself as nothing, as if it itself does not exist as a separate entity in the presence of God. Due to its utter self-abnegation, God ultimately helps the divine soul in its ongoing struggle against the animal soul.

וְהָעֵזֶר הִיא הַהֶאָרָה שֶׁמֵּאִיר אוֹר ה׳ עַל נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית לִהְיוֹת לָהּ יִתְרוֹן וּשְׁלִיטָה עַל סִכְלוּת הַכְּסִיל וְיֵצֶר הָרַע, כִּיתְרוֹן הָאוֹר מִן הַחוֹשֶׁךְ כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.

This assistance constitutes the illumination that God's light casts upon the divine soul, so that it may possess an advantage and dominate the folly of the fool, the evil inclination, like the advantage that light has over darkness, as stated above (chap. 12). God's intervention on behalf of the divine soul should not be regarded as a miraculous reshuffling of the natural order. In the head-to-head confrontation between the souls, the divine light that illuminates the divine soul tilts the balance in its favor. This illumination is nothing supernatural but rather a logical consequence: Light always chases away the darkness. The illumination cast by the divine light on the divine soul is not extrinsic, but rather it is inherent within the very essence of the divine soul, an essence that is utterly nullified in the presence of the Divine. Without this illumination, neither side possesses an inherent advantage over the other. It is through God's intercession alone that the beinoni's ceaseless internal struggle yields positive results.

אַךְ מֵאַחַר שֶׁהָרַע שֶׁבֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי בַּבֵּינוֹנִי הוּא בְּתָקְפּוֹ כְּתוֹלַדְתּוֹ לְהִתְאַוֹּת תַּאֲוָה לְכָל תַּעֲנוּגֵי עוֹלָם הַזֶּה, וְלֹא נִתְבַּטֵּל בְּמִיעוּט לְגַבֵּי הַטּוֹב וְלֹא נִדְחָה מִמְּקוֹמוֹ כְּלָל, רַק שֶׁאֵין לוֹשְׁלִיטָה וּמֶמְשָׁלָה לְהִתְפַּשֵּׁט בְּאֶבְרֵי הַגּוּף, מִפְּנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הָעוֹמֵד לִימִין אֶבְיוֹן וְעוֹזֵר וּמֵאִיר לַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית,

Nevertheless, the evil in the left chamber of the beinoni 's heart maintains its innate potency to crave all the pleasures of this world and is not sufficiently minute that it is nullified by the good. Moreover, it is not banished from its place at all. It is only that the evil does not attain dominion or rule so that it may spread to the body's limbs. This inability is due to the Holy One, blessed be He, who "stands at the right hand of the needy," assisting and illuminating the divine soul. Though the arbiter's verdict blocked the animal soul's intentions, its power is neither negated nor diminished. Evil in full array persists in the beinoni no less than in the rasha, though it has no outlet for expression. This is in contrast to the tzaddik, in whom evil ceases to exist in the presence of overwhelming good. The only reason that the evil does not prevail in the beinoni as it does in the rasha is not because it is limited by the good inclination's restraining power but due to the assistance that the divine soul receives from above.

לָכֵן נִקְרָא "כְּרָשָׁע״, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל: "אֲפִילּוּ כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ אוֹמְרִים לְךָ צַדִּיק אַתָּה – הֱיֵה בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּרָשָׁע" (נידה ל, ב), וְלֹא רָשָׁע מַמָּשׁ, אֶלָּא שֶׁיַּחֲזִיק עַצְמוֹ לְבֵינוֹנִי,

The beinoni is therefore referred to as being "like a wicked person" in accordance with our Rabbis' statement "Even if the entire world says to you,'You are righteous,' consider yourself like a wicked person" (Nidda 30b), but not actually wicked. Rather, one should regard himself as a beinoni , The author of the Tanya returns to another question that he raised in the first chapter. He notes a nuance in this talmudic teaching that he quoted there: It states that one should view himself as being "like a wicked person." His evil inclination remains within him with the same lethal potential as the wicked person, yet the beinoni is regarded as being only like the wicked and not actually wicked, since he never sins in practice. By contrast, a truly wicked person is someone who commits evil and has evil thoughts. This particular emphasis, that the beinoni should regard himself as being like a wicked person, is important because one of the foundations of the beinoni's divine service is knowing his true place. This is crucial because the beinoni appears exactly like a righteous person: Neither ever commit a sin. It is imperative that the beinoni exercise caution and avoid deceiving himself by falsely thinking he has attained a spiritual rank that is beyond him. This concern, voiced a number of times throughout the book, is precisely the reason the author of the Tanya emphasizes this point.

וְלֹא לְהַאֲמִין לְהָעוֹלָם שֶׁאוֹמְרִים שֶׁהָרַע שֶׁבּוֹ נִתְבַּטֵּל לְגַבֵּי הַטּוֹב, שֶׁזּוֹ מַדְרֵגַת צַדִּיק. אֶלָּא יִהְיֶה בְּעֵינָיו כְּאִלּוּ מַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ שֶׁל הָרַע הוּא בְּתָקְפּוֹ וּבִגְבוּרָתוֹ בֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי כְּתוֹלַדְתּוֹ, וְלֹא חָלַף וְהָלַךְ מִמֶּנּוּ מְאוּמָה.

and he should not believe the people of the world who say that the evil within him has become nullified by the good, which is the level of a tzaddik. Rather, he should view his situation as though the essence and core of the evil has maintained its innate potency and strength in the left chamber of his heart and has neither gone nor left him in the slightest. While others might think the beinoni has attained a level of essential goodness, having eliminated evil like the tzaddik, he should not believe this about himself. He must consider himself a rasha whose internal reality remains unresolved.

וְאַדְּרַבָּה, נִתְחַזֵּק יוֹתֵר בְּהֶמְשֵׁךְ הַזְּמַן שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בּוֹ הַרְבֵּה בַּאֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּה וּשְׁאָר עִנְיְינֵי עוֹלָם הַזֶּה.

On the contrary, it has gained strength with the passage of time, because he utilized the animal soul extensively by eating and drinking and engaging in other mundane affairs. There is yet another reason that one should regard himself as a rasha. In our physical existence, in eating, drinking, and everything else, no matter how impeccably we act, we have to use our animal soul and physical body. Left to its own devices, the divine soul is unable to access this world. It cannot eat or drink. It cannot act or speak. It cannot even think. In all this, it needs an animal soul and a physical body in order to be effective. But with the passage of time, despite the mitzvot that the person performs, these pursuits give strength to the animal soul and reinforce it.

וְאַף מִי שֶׁבְּתוֹרַת ה׳ חֶפְצוֹ וְיֶהְגֶּה בָּהּ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לִשְׁמָהּ – אֵין זוֹ הוֹכָחָה כְּלָל שֶׁנִּדְחָה הָרַע מִמְּקוֹמוֹ, אֶלָּא יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שֶׁמַּהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ הוּא בְּתָקְפּוֹ וּבִגְבוּרָתוֹ בִּמְקוֹמוֹ בֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי.

Even with regard to one whose desire is God's Torah, which he studies day and night for its own sake, this does not at all prove that the evil has been banished from its place in the body. Rather, it may well be that the essence and core of the evil is at its utmost potency and strength in its place in the left chamber of the heart. Even if a person's life revolves around Torah study and the service of God, without even the slightest interest elsewhere, this is not evidence of a true inner transformation, the sea change we expect to find in a tzaddik. The fact that one acts only positively, doing, speaking, and thinking properly, is itself no proof of a no-evil zone inside. The surface oil can float calmly over the tempest raging in one's psychic basement, the impulses and darkness in a person's soul.

רַק שֶׁלְּבוּשָׁיו, שֶׁהֵם מַחֲשָׁבָה דִּבּוּר וּמַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁל נֶפֶשׁ הַבַּהֲמִית, אֵינָן מִתְלַבְּשִׁים בַּמּוֹחַ וְהַפֶּה וְהַיָּדַיִם וּשְׁאָר אֶבְרֵי הַגּוּף מִפְּנֵי ה׳ שֶׁנָּתַן שְׁלִיטָה וּמֶמְשָׁלָה לַמּוֹחַ עַל הַלֵּב. וְלָכֵן נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית שֶׁבַּמּוֹחַ מוֹשֶׁלֶת בָּעִיר קְטַנָּה, אֶבְרֵי הַגּוּף כּוּלָּם, שֶׁיִּהְיוּ לְבוּשׁ וּמֶרְכָּבָה לִשְׁלֹשָׁה לְבוּשֶׁיהָ שֶׁיִּתְלַבְּשׁוּ בָּהֶם, שֶׁהֵם מַחֲשָׁבָה דִּבּוּר וּמַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁל תרי״ג מִצְוֹת הַתּוֹרָה.

However, the garments of the evil inclination, which are the thoughts, speech, and actions of the animal soul, are not clothed in the brain, mouth, hands, and the rest of the body's limbs because of God, who granted the mind control and dominion over the heart. Therefore, the divine soul in the brain rules over the "small city," namely, all the body's limbs, so that they function as the garment and vehicle in which the divine soul's three garments, which are the thoughts, speech, and actions of the 613 commandments of the Torah, are clothed. Two souls coexist within the beinoni, one never being fully ousted by the other. Yet when the two sides collide, the divine soul prevails over the other since its abode is in the mind, which was given dominion over the heart. Since the mind rules the heart, one can always subjugate unwanted impulses. Moreover, as stated, God assists the divine soul in this struggle. The beinoni is thus empowered and equipped to constantly suppress the evil impulses that attempt to dominate him, to the extent that he may not even be conscious of evil's existence within him.

אֲבָל מַהוּתָהּ וְעַצְמוּתָהּ שֶׁל נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית – אֵין לָהּ שְׁלִיטָה וּמֶמְשָׁלָה עַל מַהוּתָהּ וְעַצְמוּתָהּ שֶׁל נֶפֶשׁ הַבַּהֲמִית בַּבֵּינוֹנִי,

But with regard to the beinoni , the essence and core of the divine soul exercises neither control nor dominion over the essence and core of the animal soul, Such control lies in the tzaddik's domain alone, and a tzaddik is someone else completely, the Jewish version of a superman. But not the iconic Superman character nor Nietzsche's Ubermensch. He is someone made of different stuff from the rest of us, someone to whom the boundaries and expressions that rule us do not apply. Yet this is not the Book of Tzaddikim but the Book of Beinonim. It is directed toward everyone, including those for whom the ideal of constant and essential control by the divine soul over the animal soul is unrealistic.

כִּי אִם בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאַהֲבַת ה׳ הוּא בְּהִתְגַּלּוּת לִבּוֹ בְּעִתִּים מְזוּמָּנִים, כְּמוֹ בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהּ.

with the exception of certain times when his love for God is revealed in his heart, such as during prayer and the like. The beinoni, like the tzaddik, studies Torah and performs mitzvot without interruption, and this service is certainly rooted in his love and awe of God. Yet these feelings are not the beinoni's predominant experience. Only occasionally and at set times, such as during prayer, does the beinoni have a breakthrough, an intense love of God that sears his emotions.

וְאַף גַּם זֹאת הַפַּעַם אֵינָהּ רַק שְׁלִיטָה וּמֶמְשָׁלָה לְבַד,

Yet even then, the divine soul exercises only temporary and superficial dominion and rule over the animal soul, Even when his love of God is manifest, when through self-refinement he senses the divine soul's dominion over his emotions, that moment is no more than a temporary subjugation of his animal soul. It does not mean that his animal soul has been converted into good.

כְּדִכְתִיב: "וּלְאוֹם מִלְאוֹם יֶאֱמָץ״ (בראשית כה, כג),

as it is written, "One nation will prevail over the other nation" (Gen. 25:23), meaning, when this one rises, the other will fall, and when the other one rises, this one will fall. The struggle between Jacob and Esau that began in their mother's womb, and ensues in the historical conflict between Israel and the nation of Edom, symbolizes the contest between the twin realities within each of us: the divine and animal souls. Just as the conflict with Edom will conclude only at the end of days, so will the struggle between the two souls continue unabated until that time. This never-ending struggle is embedded in the very fabric of the Jew, long before one's own personal existence. It is one in which "one nation" attempts to "prevail over the other nation," in which a greater exertion on the part of one meets a corresponding effort by its adversary. Even when one side overpowers the other, when one rises or falls depending on which force prevails, that can never produce a fundamental change, a banishment of the evil within.

שֶׁנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית מִתְאַמֶּצֶת וּמִתְגַּבֶּרֶת עַל נֶפֶשׁ הַבַּהֲמִית בִּמְקוֹר הַגְּבוּרוֹת שֶׁהִיא בִּינָה,

This means to say that the divine soul prevails over and overpowers the animal soul at the source of the forces of restraint, which is Bina , The divine soul cannot overpower the animal soul in the realm of the emotive attributes, since it is countered there by an equal yet opposing emotion of the animal soul. Moreover, the animal soul reigns supreme in the realm of the emotions, which are experienced in the heart, the abode of the animal soul, where its powers are most potent and indomitable. The potential for the divine soul to gain the upper hand over the animal soul is possible only at the root of the forces of restraint and strict judgment: Bina. In simplified terms, the sefirot are arranged in three arrays. The array on the right consists of the sefirot of Ḥokhma, Ḥesed, and Netzaḥ. The left comprises Bina, Gevura, and Hod. The middle contains Da'at, Tiferet, and Yesod. Accordingly, the source for Gevura is Bina, as the verse states, "I am understanding [Bina ]; might [Gevura ] is mine" (Prov. 8:14). Ḥokhma, Wisdom, does not generate the forces of restraint, but rather it generates kindness. Ḥokhma is the beginning, the state of nothingness that gives rise to countless realities and supplies the infinite energies to operate them. In other words, it creates ḥasadim, the forces of giving. On the other hand, the attribute of Gevura, restraint and constriction, can interact only with an already extant reality deriving from Bina. The same is true of the faculties of the human soul. The faculty of wisdom can produce that sense of astonishment and breakthrough, the streaming of energy that is kindness. The faculty of understanding, by contrast, creates the possibility for restraint and empowerment, because only a lucid and ordered understanding enables one to rule over his animal soul. This occurs through the concentration and contraction of the soul's powers to a workable scale, an application of Gevura, the power of restraint.

לְהִתְבּוֹנֵן בִּגְדוּלַּת ה׳ אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא,

by meditating on the greatness of God, Ein Sof , blessed be He, The work of prevailing over the animal soul at the source of the forces of restraint is accomplished through meditation, which entails directing one's thoughts toward one subject, in this case the greatness of God. Such contemplation evokes a love of God and subdues the sitra aḥara.

וּלְהוֹלִיד אַהֲבָה עַזָּה לַה׳ כְּרִשְׁפֵּי אֵשׁ בֶּחָלָל הַיְּמָנִי שֶׁבְּלִבּוֹ, וְאָז אִתְכַּפְיָא סִטְרָא אָחֳרָא שֶׁבֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי.

and thereby generating a love for God as fierce as sparks of fire in the right chamber of one's heart, whereupon the sitra aḥara in the left chamber is subdued. At certain times, the beinoni can also reach lofty heights. In those moments, when his understanding becomes crystal clear and his insight is heightened, his heart overflows with the love and awe of God and the evil inclination is subjugated. This not only entails the external control of his soul's garments but a deep and fundamental submissiveness, a lull in the battle.

אֲבָל לֹא נִתְבַּטֵּל לְגַמְרֵי בַּבֵּינוֹנִי, אֶלָּא בַּצַּדִּיק שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ: "וְלִבִּי חָלָל בְּקִרְבִּי״ (תהלים קט, כב),

But the evil is not completely nullified in the beinoni , only in the tzaddik, regarding whom the verse states, "My heart is hollow within me" (Ps. 109:22). The victory is only temporary and partial, far from a complete nullification and uprooting of evil. In a tzaddik, on the other hand, there is a total eradication of the animal soul's urgings. His heart can be emptied of them, "hollow" within him.

וְְהוּא מוֹאֵס בָּרַע וְשׂוֹנְאוֹ

The righteous person is repulsed by evil and despises it, The tzaddik's level precludes any enticements on the part of evil. Having no attraction to evil, he need not struggle against it. The desires of the body and the animal soul do not rise in his thoughts. If they do on occasion, it is only as an object of scorn.

בְּתַכְלִית הַשִּׂנְאָה וְהַמִּיאוּס אוֹ שֶׁלֹּא בְּתַכְלִית הַשִּׂנְאָה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, אֲבָל בַּבֵּינוֹנִי הוּא דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל כְּאָדָם שֶׁיָּשֵׁן, שֶׁיָּכוֹל לַחֲזוֹר וְלֵיעוֹר מִשְּׁנָתוֹ.

either with an utter hatred and repulsion or not with such an utter hatred, as discussed above (chap. 10). But with regard to the beinoni , the evil is analogous to someone who is sleeping and can be reawakened from his sleep. Whether the righteous person feels utter hatred toward the evil or not, whether completely righteous or not completely righteous, either way he is on the rank of tzaddik. Within the beinoni, by contrast, even during moments of spiritual revelation and elevation, such as during prayers, the evil has not been totally eradicated.

כָּךְ הָרַע בַּבֵּינוֹנִי הוּא כְּיָשֵׁן בֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי בִּשְׁעַת קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּתְפִלָּה, שֶׁלִּבּוֹ בּוֹעֵר בְּאַהֲבַת ה׳,

Similarly, the evil in the beinoni is regarded as if it were asleep in the left chamber of his heart during the recitation of Shema and prayers, or during any other time when his heart burns with love for God, Though the beinoni does not achieve an essential mastery of good, he can attain something comparable: an inundation of good, an experience of love and awe of God that permeates his entire soul. This is not a regular event but something that occurs during his service to God, in particular while reciting the Shema and other prayers that inspire this feeling. When it comes, it is no mere emotional peak; it is the blossoming of a true love for God. At that moment, it might appear that the evil inside him has died, that his heart is void of negative energy. The evil, though, is only slumbering and can ultimately be reawakened.

וְאַחַר כָּךְ יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת חוֹזֵר וְנֵיעוֹר.

in which case it can subsequently be reawakened. The beinoni, then, has a phase when evil can be asleep, when the internal war can pause, moments of holy intensity when the adversary does not challenge him in combat. A person who recites the Shema in his heart – not for five minutes but for three hours – can have a furlough from the war zone. If he studies Torah with dedication and enthusiasm, cleaving to the Torah's source, it may very well be that he will not sense the enticement of evil at all nor the need to fight it. He might even be a beinoni living out his days in the company of a somnolent sparring partner.

וְלָכֵן הָיָה רַבָּה מַחֲזִיק עַצְמוֹ כְּבֵינוֹנִי, אַף דְּלָא פָּסֵיק פּוּמֵּיהּ מִגִּירְסָא,

Therefore, Rabba regarded himself as a beinoni even though he never ceased studying Torah, The author of the Tanya returns here to another question that he asked in the first chapter. To explain what a beinoni is, Rabba said, "I, for example, am a beinoni " (Berakhot 61b). And the question was, how could someone of Rabba's stature be described as a beinoni? He never ceased studying Torah. His entire life consisted exclusively of Torah and mitzvot. If even the angel of death had no power over him, how could he consider himself a beinoni?

וּבְתוֹרַת ה׳ חֶפְצוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה, בַּחֲפִיצָה וַחֲשִׁיקָה וּתְשׁוּקָה וְנֶפֶשׁ שׁוֹקֵקָה לַה׳ בְּאַהֲבָה רַבָּה,

and his desire was God's Torah day and night with a desire, longing, and yearning, his soul yearning for God with a great love, Rabba's Torah study was not only uninterrupted but was also something he pursued with complete dedication, with a longing and yearning for God.

כְּבִשְׁעַת קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּתְפִלָּה. וְנִדְמֶה בְּעֵינָיו כְּבֵינוֹנִי הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל כָּל הַיּוֹם, וּכְמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל: "הַלְוַאי שֶׁיִּתְפַּלֵּל אָדָם כָּל הַיּוֹם כּוּלּוֹ" (ברכות כא, א).

such as that experienced when reciting Shema and praying. Rabba therefore regarded himself as a beinoni who prays all day, in accordance with our Rabbis' statement "If only a person would pray throughout the entire day" (Berakhot 21a). Even though Rabba's heart burned with the love of God and he resembled a tzaddik in every way, he followed the talmudic injunction quoted at the beginning of chapter 1: "Even if the entire world says to you,'You are righteous,' consider yourself like a wicked person" (Nidda 30b). As noted above, one should not consider himself as actually wicked but as though he were wicked, like someone with the full potential for evil but not at all sensing it. His waking hours, his entire consciousness, were wholly dedicated to Torah study with love and yearning for God so that there was no opportunity for evil to surface. Had Rabba paused in his studies and service of God for even a moment, perhaps his evil inclination might have instantly revealed itself. Rabba considered himself a beinoni, as one who was unaware of the evil within him because he prayed all day, fully caught up in an occupation that generates love and awe of God and effectively sedates evil. Yet his all-encompassing love of God, his lack of desire for anything else, does not indicate that any essential change had transpired within him. He neither knew nor was able to know whether he had been able to uproot the evil inside him and replace it with something altogether good. Perhaps the evil remained in the left side of his heart, blocked from self-expression.

וְהִנֵּה מִדַּת אַהֲבָה זוֹ הָאֲמוּרָה בַּבֵּינוֹנִים בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה עַל יְדֵי הִתְגַּבְּרוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית כו׳

This level of love attributed to beinonim during prayer through the divine soul prevailing over the animal soul and so forth, At times of prayer and other special moments, the beinoni attains a love of God that causes his other side to go into hiding. The love is deeply felt. It is not only manifest in his immediate awareness but encompasses his full reality. He loves God with all his heart without reservation, without misgivings.

הִנֵּה לְגַבֵּי מַדְרֵגַת הַצַּדִּיקִים עוֹבְדֵי ה׳ בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִיתּוֹ – מִמְּקוֹמוֹ, אֶלָּא יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שֶׁמַּהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ הוּא בְּתָקְפּוֹ וּבִגְבוּרָתוֹ בִּמְקוֹמוֹ בֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי.

when compared to the rank of the righteous, who serve God with absolute truth, this level of love achieved by the beinoni is not called "true service" at all since it is fleeting and is gone after the prayers, and it is written, "The language of truth will be established forever, but a tongue of falsehood is only for a moment" (Prov. 12:19). Here the author of the Tanya touches on a philosophical question that he seldom endeavors to address – a question about the truth of an experience. How we determine whether an experience is true, and how true, is not a simple matter, neither with regard to this subject nor any other. For this reason, the author of the Tanya broadens the question: What is truth? Truth has many definitions, but here the author takes the strictest viewpoint. His definition of truth is not about whether someone deceives others or even himself. Rather, truth constitutes that which is "established forever," that which endures. In that case, the level of love achieved by the beinoni during times of prayer is not considered "true service" because that love is fleeting and does not last. Truth is eternal. Something transient and given to change cannot be called true. The litmus test of truth is in its endurance, not only under particular conditions but perpetually. This concept of truth, incidentally, is rooted in the Hebrew language. The term naḥal akhzav, literally, a "deceptive stream," is so called because it does not always flow with water. The Mishna speaks of deceptive waters that fail to flow once in seven years. A single failing once in seven years places it outside the bounds of truth. Truth, then, is synonymous with the eternal. If it is not true forever, in every instance, in every dimension, it is not truth.

וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן לְגַבֵּי מַדְרֵגַת הַבֵּינוֹנִים נִקְרֵאת עֲבוֹדָה תַּמָּה בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִיתּוֹ שֶׁלָּהֶם, אִישׁ אִישׁ כְּפִי מַדְרֵגָתוֹ בְּמַדְרֵגַת הַבֵּינוֹנִים.

Nevertheless, in relation to the rank of the beinonim , it is deemed a perfect service in terms of their level of absolute truth, each one according to his level among the various gradations of beinonim . Though the expression "a perfect service in terms of their [level of] absolute truth," seems paradoxical, it bears great significance. Truth in the exact sense defined here does not change whatever the situation. It stands up under the objective scrutiny of eternity and allows no substitutes. The phrase "their absolute truth," on the other hand, implies relative, partial truth, the subjective outlook of a particular individual. Tomorrow it may not be true, but today it is absolute. Just as there is one truth, universal, constant, and unvarying in every situation, so too there is a truth that is valid in the present state of affairs, a situational truth that can and perhaps must change tomorrow. In this sense, the beinoni can also reach a personal truth in his subjective experience. It may be neither absolute nor eternal, but not because it is imaginary nor contrived but rather because the beinoni himself has not achieved in his soul the balance and wholeness that are imperative for perfect truth. If he could achieve this internal perfection, he would no longer be a beinoni but a tzaddik. The beinoni's truth, when he prays, when he feels something, is his subjective truth. It is not false, but it is strictly his own, each one according to his level as a beinoni.

וַהֲרֵינִי קוֹרֵא בְּאַהֲבָתָם שֶׁבִּתְפִלָּתָם גַּם כֵּן "שְׂפַת אֱמֶת תִּכּוֹן לָעַד״

Indeed, I consider their love achieved during their prayers also as "the language of truth that will be established forever," The beinoni's love, though inconstant, except for such times as prayer, is also called "the language of truth [that] will be established forever." It is not truth in its most absolute sense, yet it is a "language of truth," or literally, "the edge of truth." It is the tip or taste of truth, which for him is the absolute truth.

הוֹאִיל וּבְכֹחַ נַפְשָׁם הָאֱלֹהִית לַחֲזוֹר וּלְעוֹרֵר בְּחִינַת אַהֲבָה זוֹ לְעוֹלָם בְּהִתְגַּבְּרוּתָהּ בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה מִדֵּי יוֹם בְּיוֹם

since it is within the power of their divine soul to always reawaken this level of love by increasing its strength during prayers on a daily basis The truth test is constant: "The language of truth will be established forever." There is no room for concession, but there can be a slight broadening of the parameters. The beinoni's love, though it is only the tip of the truth, in its own way it too is "established forever." This love is no unexpected, sudden event reached by happenstance. It is there, available and accessible in his soul, ready to be reexperienced at any time. The issue is an inability to alter his innate nature, the essential design of his inborn desires. For that reason, he cannot maintain the experience continually. At the same time, while one cannot therefore label the experience absolute truth, from the standpoint of the beinoni, it is not possible to call it false because he can relive it. The fact that he can reexperience it, time after time, whenever he wishes, indicates that his soul possesses something steadfast, something forever and true, that can sustain it. But this definition of truth as well is not easy to live up to, since it does not forgo the stringent requirement that the definition of absolute truth sets forth. Though the uppermost human achievement is only relative truth, the core truth of that particular individual, there is a demand here for an almost scientific validation of the matter. Scientific proof can be repeated. An experiment that cannot be replicated is merely an isolated phenomenon and cannot enter the realm of truth. This replicable truth is what the author of the Tanya seeks from the beinoni. The experience of a soul that has been awakened to love of God can happen to anyone but not on demand, whenever he wishes. The author of the Tanya expects from the beinoni the attainment of truth, that he have the ability, at the least, to return to this experience anytime he exercises this desire.

עַל יְדֵי הֲכָנָה הָרְאוּיָה לְכָל נֶפֶשׁ כְּפִי עֶרְכָּהּ וּמַדְרֵגָתָהּ.

by means of the preparation befitting each soul, commensurate with its quality and level. The beinoni can reexperience love and awe of God, not automatically, but through the appropriate effort and preparation compatible with his soul's level. Some can reach this point in an instant; others require hours or even days. Still, when a person attains this level, it can be termed "the edge of truth [that] will be established forever."

כִּי הִנֵּה מִדַּת אֱמֶת הִיא מִדָּתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב,

Indeed, the attribute of truth is the attribute of Jacob, The triad of higher attributes – Ḥesed, Gevura, and Tiferet – are related to the three forefathers. Ḥesed is linked with Abraham, Gevura to Isaac, and Tiferet, which is also the attribute of truth, to Jacob, as the verse states, "You will give truth to Jacob" (Mic. 7:20).

הַנִּקְרָא בְּרִיחַ הַתִּיכוֹן, הַמַּבְרִיחַ "מִן הַקָּצֶה אֶל הַקָּצֶה״ (שמות כו, כח),

who is called "the central bar inside the boards from end to end" (Ex. 26:28). Three sets of bars secured the vertical beams of the Tabernacle: the upper bars, the lower bars, and a middle bar. Kabbala associates them with the three arrays of sefirot. The right array is that of Ḥesed, the kindness of Abraham; the left array is that of Gevura, Isaac's attribute; and the middle array is that of Tiferet, the attribute of Jacob. In the Tabernacle, the upper and lower bars were fastened onto the outer face of the beams. Each bar had two sections, each of which extended halfway across the wall. The middle bar, by contrast, passed through an opening inside the beams and extended the entire width of the wall. In the spiritual realm, as well, the middle bar – the attribute of truth – penetrates all levels "from end to end."

מֵרוּם הַמַּעֲלוֹת וּמַדְרֵגוֹת עַד סוֹף כָּל דַּרְגִּין, וּבְכָל מַעֲלָה וּמַדְרֵגָה מַבְרִיחַ תּוֹךְ נְקוּדָּה הָאֶמְצָעִית שֶׁהִיא נְקוּדַּת וּבְחִינַת מִדַּת אֱמֶת שֶׁלָּהּ.

This attribute passes from the loftiest ranks and levels to the lowest of all levels. It passes through the central point of each rank and level, which is the point and quality of that level's unique attribute of truth. On one hand, truth resides at the unattainable zenith, the quintessence of perfection. On the other hand, it penetrates "within the beams." Every point of reality contains an element of truth, which constitutes its own truth. This is why truth reaches from infinite heights to fathomless depths and penetrates reality's innermost dimensions. It is a line that is all-pervasive. From the uppermost level of reality to the lowest level, everything has its point of truth, whatever it may be.

וּמִדַּת אֱמֶת הִיא נַחֲלָה בְּלִי מְצָרִים וְאֵין לָהּ שִׁיעוּר לְמַעְלָה עַד רוּם הַמַּעֲלוֹת,

The attribute of truth is a boundless inheritance, with no upper limit, extending to the loftiest heights, The Talmud states that Jacob's portion is a boundless inheritance, as the verse states, "And you shall spread to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south" (Gen. 28:14). In contrast to other, more limited attributes, truth is boundless. In the aforementioned words of Rambam, quoting Jeremiah, only "my Lord God is truth." All other realities derive from the truth of God's being, and their truth is a mere reflection of His. The attribute of absolute truth, then, is God's attribute, a "boundless inheritance," since its boundaries are the borders of the infinite, extending without cessation.

וְכָל מַעֲלוֹת וּמַדְרֵגוֹת שֶׁלְּמַטָּה הֵם כְּאַיִן לְגַבֵּי מַעֲלוֹת וּמַדְרֵגוֹת שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה מֵהֶן.

and all lower ranks and levels are as nothing relative to the ranks and levels above them. Truth is in everything. But truth is boundless, and whatever the truth of something, there is always a higher truth, so that relative to that higher truth the former is not true at all. Truth has no upper limit. Only God's truth can be referred to as absolute truth, so anything that does not constitute this level of truth can grow toward this ultimate truth. When a person calls a table a table, this is truth. But tomorrow or next year, it will not be a table; it will be a ruin. It can be true for a year or a century, but even a million years' truth is ephemeral before God's truth. Since truth is infinite, one will never really be able to attain it. The best one can do is reach a level where one realizes that everything until then was untrue. As one rises higher, he reaches again and again the point where everything before is untrue compared to his present-day awareness. He advances by steps, moving in dimensions that dwarf whoever he was and whatever he has accomplished. Each time, once again, one stands at "Go," the starting point, in the face of God's truth.

[כַּיָּדוּעַ לְיוֹדְעֵי חֵן שֶׁבְּחִינַת רֹאשׁ וּמוֹחִין שֶׁל מַדְרֵגוֹת תַּחְתּוֹנוֹת הֵן לְמַטָּה מִבְּחִינַת עֲקֵבַיִים וְרַגְלֵי מַדְרֵגוֹת עֶלְיוֹנוֹת מֵהֶן, וּכְמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל: "רַגְלֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן״ (חגיגה יג, א)].

(As is known to those initiated in the esoteric wisdom of Kabbala, the head and intellects of the lower levels are beneath the heels and feet of the levels above them, in accordance with our Rabbis' statement "The feet of the divine creatures correspond in distance to all the firmaments" [Ḥagiga 13a].) The Sages teach that the distance from earth to heaven spans the course of five hundred years, and the expanse of each firmament in heaven is five hundred years, as is the distance from one firmament to the next. There are seven such firmaments, one above the other. Above the heavens are the holy angels called ḥayot, and "the feet of the divine creatures correspond to all [the firmaments]" – the feet of the angels, their lowest part, exceed in size all the worlds and heavens beneath them. This principle, with which the author of the Tanya concludes this chapter, is that the lower level of a higher world is always loftier than the higher level of the world beneath it. The sign of real development, then, is that one's previous level no longer holds true for him. When one genuinely grows, his current personal truth must surpass all his previous truths so that by comparison they are not true at all. The author of the Tanya is demanding that the beinoni pursue his individual truth at all times. Yesterday's heavens should be today's earth, and he must know: There is a truth still higher than this. In this chapter, the author of the