אַךְ עוֹד אַחַת צָרִיךְ לָשִׁית עֵצוֹת בְּנַפְשׁוֹת הַבֵּינוֹנִים, אֲשֶׁר לִפְעָמִים וְעִתִּים רַבִּים יֵשׁ לָהֶם טִמְטוּם הַלֵּב,

However, those who possess the soul of a beinoni must internalize yet another piece of advice: that at times, and perhaps even frequently, they experience a dullness of the heart, Sometimes a person's mind closes down, and he finds himself unable to absorb information, unable even to grasp the obvious, to absorb what he is seeing and hearing. There is also an emotional type of shutting down, an internal blockage that the author of the Tanya refers to as a "dullness of the heart." This is an emotional deadness, an inability to experience feelings and to develop emotional relationships. A blocked mind and a dull heart do not have to come hand in hand. Sometimes a person's emotional numbness stands in stark contrast to his mind's comprehension of a particular matter. A person's mind may be sensitive and open so that he understands a topic fully, yet it makes no emotional impression on him. Both conditions interfere with a person's life, including his service of God. But since this is the Book of Beinonim, and a beinoni is by definition someone who is in control of his mind, the Tanya's focus will confine itself to the problem of a dull heart.

שֶׁנַּעֲשֶׂה כָּאֶבֶן וְלֹא יָכוֹל לִפְתּוֹחַ לִבּוֹ בְּשׁוּם אוֹפֶן לַעֲבוֹדָה שֶׁבַּלֵּב זוֹ תְּפִלָּה.

so that it becomes stone-like, and he is unable, under any circumstances, to open his heart to engage in the service of the heart, which is prayer. This imagery of the heart of stone actually appears in Tanakh: "I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 11:19). Although one with a dull heart, with the "stone-like" heart, may thoroughly understand the liturgy in the prayer book that discusses God's greatness, his heart is not moved. There is no change in his emotional life because of this understanding. He remains as he had been, unchanged, as though he were a stone. A dull heart is chiefly an obstruction to one's spiritual work in the realm of prayer, described by the Sages as the "service of the heart." This service refers primarily to the deep, inner devotion required of the one praying. Mechanically reciting the words in the prayer book, even if one knows their meaning, is a far cry from the deep spiritual work required of one truly engaged in prayer. One must profoundly know what he is saying and feel it in his heart. It follows that dullness of the heart is not necessarily an obstacle to one's performance of mitzvot or Torah study, but it does, by definition, constitute an utter impediment to the service of the heart, to prayer.

וְגַם לִפְעָמִים לֹא יוּכַל לְהִלָּחֵם עִם הַיֵּצֶר, לְקַדֵּשׁ עַצְמוֹ בַּמּוּתָּר לוֹ, מִפְּנֵי כְּבֵדוּת שֶׁבְּלִבּוֹ.

Also, there are times when one is unable to wage war against the evil inclination and to sanctify oneself through that which is permitted to him due to the heaviness in his heart. The same deep, inner spiritual work necessary to succeed in prayer is required in any area of divine service wherein one struggles to overpower the wiles of his evil inclination. Engaging in divine service by simply relying on habit or even on one's knowledge that this is "the right thing to do" is doomed from the outset. The ingredient for success is the heart's thirsting and yearning to engage in such work. Such divine work entails "sanctifying oneself through that which is permitted." We must bear in mind that the Tanya speaks to the beinoni, who has already mastered the art of refraining from prohibited behavior. His rank is such that he need not struggle, at least too intensely, with the evil inclination. He lives his life in strict compliance with the dictates of the halakha. But to curb permissible behavior, he needs to overcome his nature, transcend his habits, and go beyond the letter of the law. This is a difficult battle that cannot be won if his heart is not fully engaged, fully present, but is instead stone-like and unreceptive to the fear and love of God. This battle can be waged only by one who is buoyant and vibrant, so it is essential that he overcome the pitfalls of sadness and a dull heart.

וְזֹאת הִיא עֵצָה הַיְּעוּצָה בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (חלק ג קסח, א): דְּאָמַר רַב מְתִיבְתָּא בְּגַן עֵדֶן: "אָעָא דְּלָא סָלִיק בֵּיהּ נְהוֹרָא – מְבַטְּשִׁין לֵיהּ כו׳. גּוּפָא דְּלָא סָלִיק בֵּיהּ נְהוֹרָא דְּנִשְׁמְתָא – מְבַטְּשִׁין לֵיהּ״ כו׳.

This is the recommended counsel that the holy Zohar (3:168a) offers: "The president of the academy in the Garden of Eden said,' A beam of wood that cannot catch fire must be broken into smaller pieces. Similarly, a body that the light of the soul cannot penetrate must be broken….'" A person with a dull heart is emotionally dead. Instead of feeling, instead of being moved and responsive, he is apathetic and torpid. This dullness is like a large log that will not catch fire. But if one chops it down into smaller pieces, they will easily burn. Similarly, a person must break his sense of perfection, the feeling that he has no need to strive, because it is only when this feeling is splintered that the soul's light can penetrate those broken pieces and ignite them.

פֵּירוּשׁ, נְהוֹרָא דְּנִשְׁמְתָא – שֶׁאוֹר הַנְּשָׁמָה וְהַשֵּׂכֶל אֵינוֹ מֵאִיר כָּל כָּךְ לִמְשׁוֹל עַל חוֹמְרִיּוּת שֶׁבַּגּוּף. וְאַף שֶׁמֵּבִין וּמִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּשִׂכְלוֹ בִּגְדוּלַּת ה׳, אֵינוֹ נִתְפָּס וְנִדְבָּק בְּמוֹחוֹ כָּל כָּךְ שֶׁיּוּכַל לִמְשׁוֹל עַל חוֹמְרִיּוּת הַלֵּב, מֵחֲמַת חוֹמְרִיּוּתָן וְגַסּוּתָן.

The "light of the soul" refers to the light of the soul that illuminates the intellect, which does not shine to the extent that it governs the corporeality of the body. Although one may use his intellect to understand and contemplate the greatness of God, his understanding is not grasped and embedded in his brain to the extent that it can govern the corporeality of the heart, because of the brain and heart's crudeness and coarseness. The light emitted by the soul that illuminates the intellect is the initial revelation of the soul in the body. Note that the author of the Tanya distinguishes between the intellect and the brain. The intellect is a spiritual faculty that the human soul possesses, while the brain is a physical organ with which a person thinks, in much the same way that he walks with his legs. Like the brain, the heart is also a physical organ, and with it a person feels the faculties contained in the soul. Rooted even more deeply than the spiritual faculties of the intellect and the emotions is the light of the divine soul itself. This light that is rooted in the soul unites it with the Divine above. When a person experiences dullness of the heart, the light of the soul does not shine directly into the limbs of his body, unable to be absorbed by the physicality of the brain and heart and exert an influence on them. Even when the light of the soul shines into a person's mind, his understanding is muddled, so that the divine light is prevented from being grasped by the physical brain. The soul's light does not shine at its fullest capacity so that the brain cannot transfer this understanding to the emotions of the physical heart.

וְהַסִּיבָּה הִיא גַּסּוּת הַקְּלִיפָּה שֶׁמַּגְבִּיהַּ עַצְמָהּ עַל אוֹר קְדוּשַּׁת נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית וּמַסְתֶּרֶת וּמַחְשִׁיכָה אוֹרָהּ.

The cause of the dull heart is the coarseness of the kelippa , which raises itself above the light of the holiness of the divine soul, utterly obscuring its light. The reason that the heart is closed off is not only because there is kelippa in a person – in every beinoni there is some trace of kelippa that never disappears completely – but because the kelippa is very coarse. To be able to absorb abstract topics and be moved by them, the soul must be refined. To apprehend subtle matters, even outside the realm of holiness, one must have not only the intellectual capacity but also the emotional capacity. This is something that a person dominated by a coarse kelippa, whose senses are obscured and whose light is concealed, cannot attain.

וְלָזֹאת צָרִיךְ לְבַטְּשָׁהּ, וּלְהַשְׁפִּילָהּ לֶעָפָר,

For this reason, one must crush the kelippa and cast it to the dust. Kelippa is essentially the idea of something that regards itself as an independent entity, expressed by the author of the Tanya as "raising" itself up in arrogance, casting a shadow over the divine light of the soul. As the author of the Tanya proceeds to explain, one must crush this arrogance by humbling himself and lowering the conceited sense of self "to the dust," that is, until it is no longer recognizable as an independent entity.

דְּהַיְינוּ לִקְבּוֹעַ עִתִּים, לְהַשְׁפִּיל עַצְמוֹ לִהְיוֹת "נִבְזֶה בְּעֵינָיו נִמְאָס״ (תהלים טו, ד), כַּכָּתוּב.

This means that one must fix specific times to humble himself so that he is "despised and repugnant in his own eyes" (Ps. 15:4), as it is written. The individual suffering a dull heart is temporarily under the influence of kelippa, but kelippa is too abstract a concept to tackle directly. One cannot relate to it or affect it with feelings or actions. One can overcome it only by facing it within himself. The way to do this is by humbling himself. He must lower himself and shatter his perfect self-image and haughtiness. As soon as he feels that his self is lowered and yielding, his heart will open, and the flame of his soul will enter and burn brightly.

וְלֵב נִשְׁבָּר רוּחַ נִשְׁבָּרָה הִיא הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא,

A broken heart leads to a broken spirit, which is the sitra aḥara . When a person's heart is broken, the spirit of impurity within him is also broken; his ego is shattered.

שֶׁהִיא הִיא הָאָדָם עַצְמוֹ בַּבֵּינוֹנִים. שֶׁנֶּפֶשׁ הַחִיּוּנִית הַמְּחַיָּה הַגּוּף הִיא בְּתָקְפָּהּ כְּתוֹלַדְתָּהּ בְּלִבּוֹ, נִמְצָא הִיא הִיא הָאָדָם עַצְמוֹ.

In the case of beinonim , that constitutes the very person himself, for the vital, animal soul that gives life to the body is at its full innate potency in the heart of the beinoni . It follows that the animal soul constitutes the very person himself. Initially and naturally, a beinoni is identified with the perspective of the animal soul. In order to break the coarseness of that animal soul, which is the sitra aḥara within, the beinoni must in a sense break his ego.

וְעַל נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית שֶׁבּוֹ נֶאֱמַר: "נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַתָּ בִּי טְהוֹרָה הִיא״ – "שֶׁנָּתַתָּ בִּי״ דַּיְיקָא, מִכְּלָל שֶׁהָאָדָם עַצְמוֹ אֵינֶנּוּ הַנְּשָׁמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה,

As for the divine soul within him, it states in the prayer book, "The soul that You gave me is pure." The phrase "that You gave me" is precise, implying that the person himself is not synonymous with the pure soul. Since on a conscious level this person is identified with his animal soul, the divine soul is "the soul that You gave me," implying a distinction between his self and his soul.

כִּי אִם בְּצַדִּיקִים, שֶׁבָּהֶם הוּא לְהֶפֶךְ, שֶׁ׳נְּשָׁמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה׳ שֶׁהִיא נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית – הוּא הָאָדָם, וְגוּפָם נִקְרָא ‘בְּשַׂר אָדָם׳.

Yet for the righteous, with them the opposite is the case: The "pure soul," that is, the divine soul, is synonymous with the person, while their body is referred to as "the flesh of man." The tzaddik identifies himself with his divine soul, not with his body and his animal soul. For him, the body is mere material, flesh and bones – the "flesh of man." It belongs to him, but it is not identical to him, just as his clothes and his house belong to him but are not actually him.

וּכְמַאֲמַר הִלֵּל הַזָּקֵן לְתַלְמִידָיו, כְּשֶׁהָיָה הוֹלֵךְ לֶאֱכוֹל הָיָה אוֹמֵר שֶׁהוּא הוֹלֵךְ לִגְמוֹל חֶסֶד עִם הָעֲלוּבָה וַעֲנִיָּה, הוּא גּוּפוֹ, כִּי כְּמוֹ זָר נֶחֱשָׁב אֶצְלוֹ. וְלָכֵן אָמַר שֶׁהוּא גּוֹמֵל חֶסֶד עִמּוֹ בַּמֶּה שֶׁמַּאֲכִילוֹ, כִּי הוּא עַצְמוֹ אֵינוֹ רַק נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית לְבַד, כִּי הִיא לְבַדָּהּ מְחַיָּה גּוּפוֹ וּבְשָׂרוֹ.

This is illustrated by a statement of Hillel the Elder to his disciples. When he went to eat, he would say that he was going to bestow kindness on the "scorned and impoverished one," meaning his body, because he regarded his body as a foreign entity in relation to him. He therefore said that he was bestowing kindness on it by giving it something to eat, because he himself was nothing but the divine soul, for that alone animated his body and flesh (see chap. 9). Hillel regarded his body as some other being with which he had a relationship and for which he was responsible, but he did not identify himself with it.

שֶׁהָרַע שֶׁהָיָה בַּנֶּפֶשׁ הַחִיּוּנִית הַמְּלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּדָמוֹ וּבְשָׂרוֹ נִתְהַפֵּךְ לְטוֹב, וְנִכְלַל בִּקְדוּשַּׁת נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית מַמָּשׁ בַּצַּדִּיקִים.

That is, in the righteous the evil that was within the vital animal soul, which is clothed in his blood and flesh, has been transformed into good and is literally subsumed in the holiness of the divine soul. In general, a person identifies himself with the animal soul that is clothed within the body and animates it. But the tzaddik, who has perfected his animal soul to the extent that it is absorbed into his divine soul, identifies with his holy divine soul. He relates to the desires of the body, and even its needs, from a distance, as though they belong to someone else.

אֲבָל בַּבֵּינוֹנִי, מֵאַחַר שֶׁמַּהוּתָהּ וְעַצְמוּתָהּ שֶׁל נֶפֶשׁ הַחִיּוּנִית, הַבַּהֲמִית, שֶׁמִּסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא, הַמְּלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּדָמוֹ וּבְשָׂרוֹ – לֹא נֶהֱפַךְ לְטוֹב,

As for the beinoni , since the essence and being of the vital animal soul, which stems from the sitra aḥara and is clothed in his blood and flesh, has not been transformed into good, The beinoni controls his animal soul, but he does not rectify it. That control is thus only superficial, because it does not express the animal soul's inner will. His vital soul's essence remains the animal soul, the soul connected to physicality. Since its wants and desires are still drawn after the sitra aḥara, so are those of the beinoni.

הֲרֵי הִיא הִיא הָאָדָם עַצְמוֹ.

it is synonymous with the very person himself. The person's self, his simple, natural, initial awareness, is identified with the animal soul.

וְאִם כֵּן הוּא רָחוֹק מֵה׳ בְּתַכְלִית הָרִיחוּק, שֶׁהֲרֵי כֹּחַ הַמִּתְאַוֶּה שֶׁבְּנַפְשׁוֹ הַבַּהֲמִית יָכוֹל גַּם כֵּן לְהִתְאַוּוֹת לִדְבָרִים הָאֲסוּרִים, שֶׁהֵם נֶגֶד רְצוֹנוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ.

If so, he is utterly distant from God, since the faculty of desire in his animal soul is also capable of desiring things that are prohibited, which are contrary to God's will. Above, the author of the Tanya explained that a person's animal soul can have desires that run counter to God's will, a feat that even the sitra aḥara itself cannot achieve. Such an individual is identified with his animal soul and its whims, both antithetical to God's will. Ironically, it is the divine will that gives life to this individual and the entire world at the very moment that his desires are utterly distant from that divine will, forming an unparalleled remoteness between himself and God.

אַף שֶׁאֵינוֹ מִתְאַוֶּה לַעֲשׂוֹתָם בְּפוֹעַל מַמָּשׁ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם,

Although he does not desire to actually and literally act on them, God forbid, The beinoni is not a person who overcomes evil only fitfully. He is someone who has profoundly worked on himself. Though he may desire things that are prohibited, he does not actually plan to act on them. They remain mere fleeting thoughts, an opinion that the body occasionally expresses and that the beinoni unequivocally rejects.

רַק שֶׁאֵינָם מְאוּסִים אֶצְלוֹ בֶּאֱמֶת כִּבְצַדִּיקִים, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר לְעֵיל [פֶּרֶק יב].

they are nevertheless not truly repugnant to him as they are to the righteous, as explained above (chapter 12). The difference between a tzaddik and a beinoni is usually not apparent to the eye, neither to others nor even at times to the tzaddik himself. Still, in one respect, they are demonstrably different, and that is in how they relate to that which is prohibited. Although the beinoni would never think of committing sins, he still does not find them completely repugnant, since he still has a covert attraction toward them. On the other hand, the forbidden never even enters the tzaddik's mind. In his eyes, the temptation to sin is a perversion that disgusts him.

וּבָזֶה הוּא גָּרוּעַ וּמְשׁוּקָּץ וּמְתוֹעָב יוֹתֵר מִבַּעֲלֵי חַיִּים הַטְּמֵאִים וּשְׁקָצִים וּרְמָשִׂים כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל,

In this regard, he is inferior, more detestable, and more abominable than impure animals, detestable things, and crawling creatures, as mentioned above (chap. 24), Impure animals and even the kelippa itself are incapable of transgressing God's will and even of wanting to do so. The most loathsome crawling creatures do exactly what God programmed them to do. In this regard, a person can be their inferior. If a person eats an impure animal, food that is prohibited, or simply craves to eat it, he has become its inferior. In fact, by eating it, he does the animal an injustice. The purpose of eating is to elevate food spiritually, and when he eats that impure creature, he casts it downward.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וְאָנֹכִי תוֹלַעַת וְלֹא אִישׁ״ וגו׳ (תהלים כב, ז)

as it is written, "But I am a worm and not a man…" (Ps. 22:7). The worm is a worm, as it should be. But a person who disgraces himself is "a worm and not a man" – a worm, although he was meant to be a man. As a worm, a worm does God's will; as a worm, a man transgresses God's will. A worm is incapable of defying God. But a person, even a beinoni, can flout the divine will, and then, as he descends to evil, he is more base than the worm.

[וְגַם כְּשֶׁמִּתְגַּבֶּרֶת בּוֹ נַפְשׁוֹ הָאֱלוֹקִית, לְעוֹרֵר הָאַהֲבָה לַה׳ בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה,

(Even when his divine soul prevails over him to awaken the love for God during prayers, Although the beinoni is capable of desiring prohibited things, at other times, such as prayer, he can be inspired toward holiness. Then his divine soul rules his entire being, his wants, thoughts, and senses, until his self at its core identifies with the divine soul, its purposes and wishes.

אֵינָהּ בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִיתּוֹ לְגַמְרֵי, מֵאַחַר שֶׁחוֹלֶפֶת וְעוֹבֶרֶת אַחַר הַתְּפִלָּה, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל סוֹף פֶּרֶק יג.]

this identity with holiness is not completely, absolutely true, since it vanishes and passes immediately the prayer, as mentioned above at the end of chapter 13.) after If that inspiration were completely genuine, if it were carved into the core of the beinoni's soul, it would not disappear as soon as his prayers are done. Even after he has closed his prayer book, the wellsprings of his soul would continue to flow. Had he achieved true awareness, he would have lit a flame that does need not be reignited. When a person realizes he is sitting next to a venomous snake, he does not need to contemplate his plight in efforts to continuously reawaken feelings of fear and panic within himself. But if, after the spiritual height of prayer, the beinoni quickly forgets how the flame of love for God had burned within him, the authenticity of his love for God is in question. It is not that he consciously deceives himself. Rather, his soul is unable to authentically, appropriately, and perfectly incorporate that love within himself.

וּבִפְרָט כְּשֶׁיִּזְכּוֹר טוּמְאַת נַפְשׁוֹ בְּחַטַּאת נְעוּרִים,

One can also humble himself when he recalls, in particular, the spiritual impurity caused to his soul as a result of the sin of his youth, The author of the Tanya now recommends another technique that the beinoni can use to fulfill the words of the Zohar that one should so thoroughly humble himself that he considers himself despicable and contemptible. That technique is to look upon himself as he had been in the past. Although it may be that at present he does not find any faults or deficiencies within himself, a mature self-assessment of his past self, after years of soul work, will undoubtedly reveal that he was in a lower spiritual state in his youth. Usually, as a person matures into adulthood, he leaves this problem behind. But a person can maintain a clear awareness of that phase of his life and the negative consequences of his actions. The "sin of [his] youth" in particular refers to sexual misconduct, most notably the wasting of seed.

וְהַפְּגָם שֶׁעָשָׂה בָּעֶלְיוֹנִים.

and the blemish he wrought in the higher worlds. From the person's subjective point of view, past events, which may have occurred thirty or forty years ago, have little relevance in the present. He has left them behind, and they do not touch him now. But each sinful deed creates a blemish in the higher worlds, and at times in this world as well, which generates its own set of problems.

וְשָׁם הוּא לְמַעְלָה מֵהַזְּמַן, כְּאִלּוּ פָּגַם וְנִטְמָא הַיּוֹם חַס וְשָׁלוֹם מַמָּשׁ.

There, a realm that transcends time, it is as if he literally caused the blemish and defiled himself this day, God forbid. The existence of time begins on the spiritual plane of Malkhut, from which this physical world stems. Everything above that plane transcends time. If someone sinned ten or twenty years ago, in the higher worlds it is as though he committed the sin at this very moment. From the perspective of the higher worlds, there is no past. There is only today, only the present. Just as the effect of a mitzva in the higher worlds is eternal, transcending time, so is the blemish caused by a sin.

וְאַף שֶׁכְּבָר עָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה נְכוֹנָה,

Even if he has repented properly, This is speaking of a beinoni, who has repented and rectified everything that required rectification, as explained in Iggeret HaTeshuva.

הֲרֵי עִיקַּר הַתְּשׁוּבָה בַּלֵּב,

repentance is primarily accomplished in the heart, As the author of the Tanya explains in Iggeret HaTeshuva, the essence of repentance is not a specific action. It is not a recipe that one follows: so much charity, so many self-afflictions, so many fasts. Essentially, repentance is a feeling in the heart, constituting regret over the past and a resolution for the future, where one resolves to henceforth act properly.

וְהַלֵּב יֵשׁ בּוֹ בְּחִינוֹת וּמַדְרֵגוֹת רַבּוֹת, וְהַכֹּל לְפִי מַה שֶּׁהוּא אָדָם וּלְפִי הַזְּמַן וְהַמָּקוֹם, כַּיָּדוּעַ לַיּוֹדְעִים.

and the heart contains many facets and levels, all depending on the person, time, and place, as is known to those who are knowledgeable in the esoteric wisdom of Kabbala. In the human heart there are many degrees and facets; it is home to a broad range of depths. At every stage of life, according to one's personal development and depending on the time and place in which he lives, the society and the environment, he will experience a different layer of his heart. Each time, the events of his life will take on a new form and weight, which will also require of him to reevaluate his relationship toward them. These matters are not known to everyone because only the person himself can recognize the state of his heart, and even then, only when he can assess himself honestly at every moment and in every circumstance. When a person views his soul in this way, so that he knows it and senses it, the heartfelt sentiments of regret and repentance that had been enough at an earlier age and at a different level of being will now seem superficial and unsatisfactory. The deeper he delves into his own mind, and the more developed his personality, the more clearly the person can recognize his problems and the more profoundly he can see each deficiency. Then his previous repentance may no longer seem to be enough. It may be that his previous repentance had not been able to reach the deeper levels of imperfections.

וְלָכֵן עַכְשָׁיו, בְּשָׁעָה זוֹ, שֶׁרוֹאֶה בְּעַצְמוֹ דְּלָא סָלִיק בֵּיהּ נְהוֹרָא דְּנִשְׁמְתָא, מִכְּלָל שֶׁהַיּוֹם לֹא נִתְקַבְּלָה תְּשׁוּבָתוֹ, וַעֲוֹנוֹתָיו מַבְדִּילִים,

Consequently, now, at this moment, when one observes about himself that the light of the soul does not permeate him, it is evident that his repentance was not accepted today, and his past sins are still separating him from God, His past repentance no longer suffices now, today. Although he has already rectified his sins and even forgotten them, they are like an old fracture, which can begin to hurt again even years after it healed. No matter how well the bone was set, the reconstruction cannot be perfect. With a change of conditions – a different age or a stormier climate – the pain can return.

אוֹ שֶׁרוֹצִים לְהַעֲלוֹתוֹ לִתְשׁוּבָה עִילָּאָה יוֹתֵר מֵעוּמְקָא דְּלִבָּא יוֹתֵר.

or it is desired that he be elevated to a higher level of repentance, deriving from a deeper place in his heart. It is possible that an individual truly has committed no sins that separate him from God, and it is not on account of past sins that he is now required to repent. Rather, it was decided on high that this person be elevated to a higher spiritual rank and achieve a greater degree of perfection through an awakening from above. In truth, this individual's soul already shines into him from that higher level of its own accord, yet it cannot take permanent hold of the person's corporeal body and fully permeate it since the body does not share the refinement and level of the soul. In order for this to occur, the individual is required to repent from a deeper level in his heart.

וְלָכֵן אָמַר דָּוִד: "וְחַטָּאתִי נֶגְדִּי תָמִיד״ (תהלים נא, ה).

For this reason, David said, "My sin is always before me" (Ps. 51:5). King David was constantly ascending in holiness, from one level to the next. Whenever he arrived at a higher level, he realized that his previous repentance had been incomplete, that his sin was before him still, and that he must repent anew.

וְגַם מִי שֶׁהוּא נָקִי מֵחַטֹּאות נְעוּרִים הַחֲמוּרִים יָשִׂים אֶל לִבּוֹ לְקַיֵּים מַאֲמַר זֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (חלק ג קעח, א) לִהְיוֹת מִמָּארֵי דְּחוּשְׁבְּנָא, דְּהַיְינוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת חֶשְׁבּוֹן עִם נַפְשׁוֹ מִכָּל הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת וְהַדִּיבּוּרִים וְהַמַּעֲשִׂים שֶׁחָלְפוּ וְעָבְרוּ מִיּוֹם הֱיוֹתוֹ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה, אִם הָיוּ

Even one who is innocent of egregious sins of his youth should resolve to fulfill the teaching of the holy Zohar (3:178a) to become a master of introspection. That is, he should make an accounting with his soul of all the thoughts, words, and actions that transpired from the day he came into existence

כּוּלָּם מִצַּד הַקְּדוּשָּׁה אוֹ מִצַּד הַטּוּמְאָה רַחֲמָנָא לִיצְּלָן.

until this day, ascertaining whether they were all from the side of holiness or from the side of impurity, may the Merciful One save us. Even one who has not committed sins during his youth and cannot therefore crush the haughtiness to which the beinoni is susceptible should still make an accounting of his behavior. We should remember that the author of the Tanya is not speaking of a sinner or even an average man. His words are directed at people of great spiritual stature, whether they are actual beinonim or at the least have some connection to that exalted spiritual plane. When they examine themselves, such people will not always find sins and blemishes. They will have nothing to contemplate that can help them shatter their spirit and break their heart. Therefore, they must be "master accountants" and take the trouble to keep a precise accounting of their lives over the course of many years.

דְּהַיְינוּ, כָּל הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת וְהַדִּיבּוּרִים וְהַמַּעֲשִׂים אֲשֶׁר לֹא לַה׳ הֵמָּה וְלִרְצוֹנוֹ וְלַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ, שֶׁזֶּהוּ פֵּירוּשׁ לְשׁוֹן "סִטְרָא אָחֳרָא״ כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל [בְּפֶרֶק ו].

This, the side of impurity, includes any thoughts, words, or actions that are not directed to God, His will, or His service. This is the meaning of the term sitra aḥara , as mentioned above (in chapter 6). The sitra aḥara, or the other side, is not limited to a carefully delineated, isolated provenance, of outright prohibited and detestable things. It also incorporates any thoughts, words, or actions unrelated to holiness. Broadly speaking, the other side has no relationship with the side of holiness. As the author of the Tanya stated above, there is no middle ground between holiness and impurity. Whatever is not holy is, by default, impurity and kelippa. A person is either on one side or the other. When a person takes stock, he will discover that many areas in his life had no relationship with holiness. They were not necessarily outright sins but were occasions when he did not direct his actions solely to God, His Torah, and His service.

וּמוּדַעַת זֹאת כִּי כָּל עֵת שֶׁהָאָדָם מְחַשֵּׁב מַחֲשָׁבוֹת קְדוֹשׁוֹת, נַעֲשֶׂה מֶרְכָּבָה בְּעֵת זוֹ לְהֵיכָלוֹת הַקְּדוּשָּׁה שֶׁמֵּהֶן מוּשְׁפָּעוֹת מַחֲשָׁבוֹת הַלָּלוּ.

It is known that every time a person thinks holy thoughts, he becomes a vehicle, at that moment, for the sanctums of holiness from which these thoughts issue forth. Similarly, when one acts and speaks in a holy manner, he becomes a vehicle for the emanation of holiness. At that moment, his body and soul become the instruments through which that holiness is revealed in this world.

וְכֵן לְהֵפֶךְ, נַעֲשֶׂה מֶרְכָּבָה טְמֵאָה בְּעֵת זוֹ לְהֵיכָלוֹת הַטּוּמְאָה שֶׁמֵּהֶן מוּשְׁפָּעוֹת כָּל מַחֲשָׁבוֹת רָעוֹת, וְכֵן בְּדִבּוּר וּמַעֲשֶׂה.

Conversely, when one thinks unholy thoughts, he becomes an impure vehicle, at that moment, for the sanctums of impurity from which all evil thoughts issue forth. The same applies to speech and action. The reckoning that the "master of introspection" makes is not merely a weighing of good deeds and sins. It also takes into account the so-called middle ground that contains neither explicit sin nor unqualified good deeds but permissible activities that are attached to the sitra aḥara because they are not directed toward God's service. After a precise accounting, even a person who cannot find within himself sinful blemishes in thought and deed that contravene the will of God and His Torah will surely discover many instances in his life that were not dedicated to the service of the Divine. He can use these to attain the broken heart, the feeling of humility, that is the key to breaking open the dull heart.

עוֹד יָשִׂים אֶל לִבּוֹ רוֹב חֲלוֹמוֹתָיו, שֶׁהֵם הֶבֶל וּרְעוּת רוּחַ,

Moreover, one should consider his dreams, which are mostly futile and baseless, Here the author of the Tanya offers another means of breaking a dull heart. When the beinoni is awake and engaged in Torah and mitzvot, he may sense nothing untoward in himself. The author of the Tanya advises him to pursue humility and a broken heart when he is asleep, in his dreams, which are mostly "futile and baseless," and some are downright repugnant. In his waking hours, a beinoni can fully suppress the aspects within himself that remain "other." He can impose a framework on them and restrict their expression. But in a dream, when he does not wield complete control over himself, these aspects of his character are no longer contained. They break forth and express themselves freely, whether to reveal his hidden desires or as a perverse caricature of his inner being.

מִשּׁוּם שֶׁאֵין נַפְשׁוֹ עוֹלָה לְמַעְלָה. וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "מִי יַעֲלֶה בְהַר ה׳ נְקִי כַפַַּיִם״ וגו׳ (תהלים כד, ג-ד).

because his soul does not ascend on high while he sleeps, as it is written, "Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Ps. 24:3–4). If his soul rose upward as he slept, it would not experience such dreams. The soul of a person who has "clean hands and a pure heart" rises when he sleeps, and his dreams are connected solely to holiness. But when his dreams are "futile and baseless," his soul is not rising upward. This demonstrates that he does not have a pure heart, that he is not a tzaddik, perfect in everything, but blemished and deficient.

וְ״אִינוּן סִטְרִין בִּישִׁין אָתְיָין וּמִתְדַּבְּקָן בֵּיהּ וּמוֹדְעִין לֵיהּ בְּחֶלְמָא מִילִּין דְּעָלְמָא וכו׳.

Moreover, " those evil aspects come and attach themselves to him and inform him of mundane affairs in his dreams…. When a person's dreams do not originate from the side of holiness, the forces of the sitra aḥara cling to him in his dreams, speaking to him of the mundane world. When he is awake, he is involved only in holy matters, but that does not prove that he has "clean hands and a pure heart," that all the chambers of his soul have been cleansed of the evil inclination, that he is a tzaddik whose "heart is dead within him." In his dream, the parts of his inner being that he has cast to the edges of waking consciousness come to the fore and let him know that although they are usually concealed, they are still part of who he is.

וּלְזִמְנִין, דְּחַיְיכָן בֵּיהּ וְאַחֲזִיאוּ לֵיהּ מִילֵּי שֶׁקֶר וְצַעֲרִין לֵיהּ בְּחֶלְמֵיהּ״ כו׳, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר וַיִּקְרָא [דַּף כה עַמּוּד א וְעַמּוּד ב], עַיֵּין שָׁם בַּאֲרִיכוּת.

Sometimes they mock him and show him false things and torment him in his dream…," as it is written in the Zohar on Vayikra (25a–b). See there at length. A person is not responsible for his dreams, and he does not have to atone for them. But they do serve as a measure of his inner being. They can show him aspects of himself that he would not otherwise see. On a conscious level, the beinoni functions in a familiar realm of perfection that he constructs within certain limited parameters, within a life marked by definite boundaries. But in a dream, he sees a different image, one that contains falsehood, perversion, and worse. Still, his dreams are useful, because they provide him with a rough representation of his true spiritual state.

וְהִנֵּה כָּל מַה שֶּׁיַּאֲרִיךְ בְּעִנְיָינִים אֵלּוּ בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ,

The longer one considers these matters, that is, the advice offered here to humble oneself, by contemplating them in one's thoughts, Each person must contemplate these matters in light of his own state of being. It is not enough to read about such things in books. As the author of the Tanya explained in his introduction above, no text, including this one, can teach a person how to transform his traits and emotions. Only "the heart knows the bitterness of itself" (Prov. 14:10). No one knows a person's imperfections as well as he does, and only he can reflect on them properly. As for this book, it presents no more than a general prescription meant to inspire a person to think on his own.

וְגַם בְּעִיּוּנוֹ בִּסְפָרִים,

as well as by perusing books written on the subject, This is a reference to ethical works that describe the gravity of sin and the blemishes that exist in all things that are not directed toward God. Even after a person recognizes his imperfections, he is not always impacted by his knowledge until he reads such works.

לִהְיוֹת לִבּוֹ נִשְׁבָּר בְּקִרְבּוֹ וְ״נִבְזֶה בְעֵינָיו נִמְאָס״ כַּכָּתוּב (תהלים טו, ד), בְּתַכְלִית הַמִּיאוּס וּלְמָאֵס חַיָּיו מַמָּשׁ,

in order for his heart to be broken within him and be "despised and repugnant in his own eyes," as stated in Psalms (15:4), to the extent that he is utterly repulsive in his own eyes and literally despises his life, This self-introspection must be carried out with great precision and acceptance of responsibility, so that even if a person has not committed obvious sins, he will be "despised and repugnant in his own eyes."

הֲרֵי בָּזֶה מְמָאֵס וּמְבַזֶּה הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא,

the more he thereby repulses and despises the sitra aḥara , The beinoni must despise and degrade himself because in so doing he despises and degrades the sitra aḥara. This does not mean that he devalues himself or makes nothing of the holiness he possesses within. On the contrary, he is downgrading the sense of self, the ego, that permeates him, and in so doing, he overcomes and crushes the sitra aḥara, so that the light of holiness may still shine.

וּמַשְׁפִּילָהּ לֶעָפָר וּמוֹרִידָהּ מִגְּדוּלָּתָהּ וְגַסּוּת רוּחָהּ וְגַבְהוּתָהּ, שֶׁמַּגְבִּיהַּ אֶת עַצְמָהּ עַל אוֹר קְדוּשַּׁת נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית לְהַחֲשִׁיךְ אוֹרָהּ.

throwing it to the dust and lowering it from its self-proclaimed greatness, arrogance, and haughtiness with which it exalts itself above the light of the divine soul's holiness to obscure its radiance. Dullness of the heart is an impure sheath enveloping a person's heart. It is made of self-satisfaction and an egotistical sense of being. It so completely covers the heart that it prevents the divine soul from shining brightly within it, and then the heart does not receive its life force and vitality from holiness. A person must crack this sheath, and he does so by humbling himself and shattering the gestalt of self-satisfaction.

וְגַם יַרְעִים עָלֶיהָ בְּקוֹל רַעַשׁ וְרוֹגֶז לְהַשְׁפִּילָהּ,

He should also thunder at it with a loud and raging voice in order to humble it, At times, a person must relate to his spirit, his being, as if it were something outside of himself. He must shout at it as he would shout at another person.

כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל (ברכות ה, א) : "לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז אָדָם יֵצֶר טוֹב עַל יֵצֶר הָרַע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ‘רִגְזוּ׳ וגו׳ (תהלים ד, ה)״. דְּהַיְינוּ לִרְגּוֹז עַל נֶפֶשׁ הַבַּהֲמִית שֶׁהִיא יִצְרוֹ הָרַע

in accordance with our Rabbis' statement (Berakhot 5a) "One should always incite his good inclination against his evil inclination, as the verse states,'Rage, and do not sin' (Ps. 4:5)." That is, he ought to rage against his animal soul, which is his evil inclination, A person must rouse himself and rage against the dull heart, the painful lack of feeling, the inability to arouse emotion despite one's prayers and performance of mitzvot, and confront the sly impurity that conceals the divine vitality and causes it to slumber. He cannot allow himself to sink but must set his good inclination against his bad.

בְּקוֹל רַעַשׁ וְרוֹגֶז בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ,

with a loud and raging voice, in his mind, He does not have to speak aloud. It suffices to shout in his thoughts. The author of the Tanya emphasizes that this raging shout take place in the mind because this anger is directed toward oneself. It is no great feat to express feelings of bitterness and anger by screaming at another person (even if that person cannot hear those vitriolic words). But to direct such intense anger inward in the hope of proving efficacious in helping the individual make a genuine self-assessment, he must confine that voice to his mind.

לוֹמַר לוֹ: אַתָּה רַע וְרָשָׁע וּמְשׁוּקָּץ וּמְתוֹעָב וּמְנוּוָּל וכו׳, כְּכָל הַשֵּׁמוֹת שֶׁקָּרְאוּ לוֹ חֲכָמֵינוּ ז״ל,

telling it, "You are evil, wicked, despicable, loathsome, vile…," using all the epithets our Sages called it, When a person faints, we slap him in the face in order to rouse him. A dulled heart is similarly immobile. The heart had been smothered beneath kelippot that have made it unable to respond. It requires a strong shock to awaken it and break its complacent air. The kelippot conceal and hide this person's heart because he identifies with them and views them as being part and parcel of himself. In order to shake the person, to break through bland smugness, to crack his veneer of perfection, we must shout and insult. The evil inclination disguises itself in beauty so that we will feel a kinship with it. To overcome that, and expose it for what it truly is, we must call it by every foul name that our Sages have used, and even add our own: evil, wicked, disgusting, and so on.

בֶּאֱמֶת.

feeling this in truth. One must feel the truth of this statement, telling one's evil inclination, "You are truly evil, truly wicked," and so on. At its root, it may possess an entirely different quality, as indicated in the parable of the harlot that the author of the Tanya relates at the end of the chapter, which teaches that at its core, even evil is good. But here the person must focus on the present reality, and in the present, the evil inclination is truly pernicious. One who possesses a deep understanding and sense of the true essence of evil, that at its core it is good, will not be motivated to destroy it by berating it vehemently, nor for that matter will he be motivated to achieve a greater degree of holiness. In order to successfully crush the evil inclination, one must feel the truth of what he is saying.

עַד מָתַי תַּסְתִּיר לְפָנַי אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא הַמְּמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין, הָיָה הֹוֶה וְיִהְיֶה בְּשָׁוֶה, גַּם בְּמָקוֹם זֶה שֶׁאֲנִי עָלָיו, כְּמוֹ

He must confront it, saying, "How long will you conceal from me the light of Ein Sof , blessed be He, which permeates all worlds, which was, is, and will always be the same, even in this place

שֶׁהָיָה אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְבַדּוֹ קוֹדֶם שֶׁנִּבְרָא הָעוֹלָם בְּלִי שׁוּם שִׁינּוּי. כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "אֲנִי ה׳ לֹא שָׁנִיתִי״ (מלאכי ג, ו), כִּי הוּא לְמַעְלָה מֵהַזְּמַן וכו׳.

where I am, just as the light of Ein Sof was alone, utterly unchanged, before the world was created, as it is written,'I the Lord did not change' (Mal. 3:6), for He transcends time, and so on? The divine light does not exist in some other place but resides within all the worlds, here and everywhere. The same applies to time. Time does not change God. He is the same today as He was yesterday and as He was before the world was created. The divine light that filled all of existence before the creation of the world fills it now to an equal extent. From God's point of view, the existence of the world does not conceal His light. Such concealment exists only from the human perspective. A human being does not see the Divine but the world. Rather than seeing the One who acts, he sees only what has been acted on.

וְאַתָּה מְנוּוָּל וכו׳ מַכְחִישׁ הָאֱמֶת הַנִּרְאֶה לָעֵינַיִם, דְּכוֹלָא קַמֵּיהּ כְּלָא מַמָּשׁ בֶּאֱמֶת, בִּבְחִינַת רְאִיָּיה חוּשִׁיִּית.

But you, animal soul, vile one, and so on, deny the truth that is plainly evident: that everything is literally and truly as nothingness in His presence, a truth that can be tangibly seen." It is possible to see directly with our own eyes the existence of God in the world, how His glory completely fills the world, and how it is He alone who gives life and sustains all the entities of the universe. This world and everything it contains therein is something we can see with our physical eyes, not to mention our other physical senses. It follows that meditating on the divine source, the fact that God constantly brings the world into existence, is essentially a truth experienced through our physical sense of sight.

וְהִנֵּה עַל יְדֵי זֶה יוֹעִיל לְנַפְשׁוֹ הָאֱלֹהִית, לְהָאִיר עֵינֶיהָ בֶּאֱמֶת יִחוּד אוֹר אֵין סוֹף,

Through this he will help his divine soul, by enlightening it with the truth of the unity of the light of Ein Sof When a person shouts at himself – that is, at the animal soul – in order to humble it and reveal its falsehood, its perverseness, its false appearance, and deceit, it will prove beneficial in helping his divine soul perceive the truth of divine unity. That truth is that He is one and unique, that He is now and will be in the future no different than He was before the world was created, for He never changes at all.

בִּרְאִיָּיה חוּשִׁיִּית וְלֹא בְּחִינַת שְׁמִיעָה וַהֲבָנָה לְבַדָּהּ,

with tangible sight and not merely through hearing or cognitive understanding. The difference between seeing and hearing is in a sense the difference between a direct relationship and one maintained via one or two intermediaries. We have heard of the unity of the light of Ein Sof, and to some degree we even comprehend it. However, to see it and relate to it directly, we must destroy the complex structure that shields us from that awareness. When we remove that obstacle, we arrive at a direct understanding of it, one corresponding to sight. This is not a mystical state or an elevated experience of an extraordinary nature that can be reached only after study and preparation. It is the simplest, most generalized awareness of even an untutored Jew, to whom it is starkly obvious that God exists.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר שֶׁזֶּהוּ שֹׁרֶשׁ כָּל הָעֲבוֹדָה.

As explained elsewhere (chap. 36), this clear perception of the unity of the divine light is the root of all divine service. There are two aspects to serving God. The first is to do His will. The second, which we are discussing here, is to work on oneself in order to be able to see the Divine as fully as one is able to see it. A person achieves this by overcoming the images created by the senses of the body and animal soul. He must conquer and cast down the animal soul, breaking down and removing the sensory images that prevent him from seeing the divine light. When a person successfully overcomes this structure of falsehood, of the world's illusions and its material nature, his divine soul can perceive the divine light even within the animal soul with a vital and genuine feeling that will remain active within him at every moment of existence.

וְהַטַּעַם, לְפִי שֶׁבֶּאֱמֶת אֵין שׁוּם מַמָּשׁוּת כְּלָל בַּסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא, שֶׁלָּכֵן נִמְשְׁלָה לְחֹשֶׁךְ שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ שׁוּם מַמָּשׁוּת כְּלָל

The reason this shouting is effective is because in truth, there is no substance to the sitra aḥara whatsoever, which is why it is analogous to darkness, which also possesses no substance at all Why should shouting at oneself be effective although one says nothing new? How is it that simply breaking the evil without any active, positive work brings a person to a fresh and true apprehension of holiness? It is because in truth we do not believe in the existence of an independent power that stands in opposition to holiness. The entire existence of the sitra aḥara is darkness, without substance and so, as the author of the Tanya goes on to say, it dissipates when faced with that truth.

וּמִמֵּילָא נִדְחֶה מִפְּנֵי הָאוֹר.

and is therefore automatically dispelled by light. Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, since it is no more than the absence of light. It cannot battle against light in order to defend itself and protect its existence, because when there is light, there cannot be darkness. When one merely uncovers the divine light, the sitra aḥara ceases to exist and so ceases to obscure it. The Hebrew word for created, bara, implies the formation of a vacuum, like a clearing in the forest. Related words are bor, pit, and be'er, well. In light of this, one can understand the verse that states that God "fashions light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates evil" (Isa. 45:7). God "creates darkness" by making a vacuum within light. Similarly, He "creates evil," which results from a vacuum made within the divine light. However, there can be no true vacuum in the divine and infinite light. The reality of the sitra aḥara is an illusion, a mirage. When it dissipates, the divine light is revealed and the imaginary matrix of evil disappears.

וְכָךְ הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא, אַף שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ חַיּוּת הַרְבֵּה לְהַחֲיוֹת כָּל בַּעֲלֵי חַיִּים הַטְּמֵאִים וְנַפְשׁוֹת אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, וְגַם נֶפֶשׁ הַבַּהֲמִית שֶׁבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, מִכָּל מָקוֹם, הֲרֵי כָּל חַיּוּתָהּ אֵינָהּ מִצַּד עַצְמָהּ חַס

Likewise, although the sitra aḥara possesses an abundance of life force to give life to all impure animals, the souls of the gentile nations of the world, and the Jew's animal soul, as mentioned above (chaps. 6, 7, 24), its entire life force is nevertheless

וְשָׁלוֹם אֶלָּא מִצַּד הַקְּדוּשָּׁה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.

not its own, God forbid, but rather derives from the side of holiness, as mentioned above (chaps. 6, 7, 24). Apparently, the sitra aḥara in one form or another seems to give life to the majority of the world. In truth, it possesses no inherent power of life. It is only the element of holiness within it that empowers it to create and build. In this sense, evil is a perversion, the exploitative misuse of holiness. This creates an illusion, a false world that misuses the force of life and the truth of holiness to support its existence. Complete falsehood is an abstract concept. To exist, a lie must possess a grain of truth, not only to be persuasive but also so that one will be able to express it. It is akin to a shadow that cannot exist without the light that surrounds it. In this sense, the existence of evil is not its own, not intrinsic, but drawn from holiness.

וְלָכֵן הִיא בְּטֵלָה לְגַמְרֵי מִפְּנֵי הַקְּדוּשָּׁה, כְּבִיטּוּל הַחֹשֶׁךְ מִפְּנֵי הָאוֹר הַגַּשְׁמִי.

Therefore, it is completely nullified in the presence of holiness, just as darkness is nullified in the presence of physical light. The existence of darkness depends on the existence of light. When light is concealed, a world of shadows is created, a world whose entire existence ceases to exist the moment the light shines once more. Light has no need to battle against darkness. When it appears, the darkness dissipates. That being the case, why does evil continue to exist within a person who possesses holiness?

רַק שֶׁלְּגַבֵּי קְדוּשַּׁת נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית שֶׁבָּאָדָם – נָתַן לָהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא רְשׁוּת וִיכוֹלֶת לְהַגְבִּיהַּ עַצְמָהּ כְּנֶגְדָּהּ

It is only with regard to the holiness of the divine soul within a person that the Holy One, blessed be He, granted the sitra aḥara the permission and ability to raise itself against it Evil in man is totally different from evil in the rest of existence, and that is due to man's unique status as a "portion of God from on high." Man has the ability to choose freely between good and evil. This ability is a divine and almost unbounded gift, unchained by the laws of cause and effect, and the source from which the evil in man receives its existence. In order that man may exercise free will, for the "portion of God from on high" to make moral choices, evil is given the power to constantly challenge the divine soul.

כְּדֵי שֶׁהָאָדָם יִתְעוֹרֵר לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עָלֶיהָ

in order that the person will be awakened to overpower it If the evil in man would melt in the face of the good within him, there would be no struggle. As explained above at length, our human existence and greatness flourish in the soil of the battle between good and evil. Our goodness gains strength as a result of its unending struggle against the sitra aḥara and its ultimate victory over it. This victory, whether it is in the realm of the emotions or the intellect, and no matter to what degree, propels the victor to ever loftier spiritual levels, essentially far beyond his known limits. Despite the apparent insignificance of the victor's successes below, his resultant ascent to the Divine demonstrates man's advantage over the rest of God's creations, which can never push beyond their God-given limitations.

לְהַשְׁפִּילָהּ עַל יְדֵי שִׁפְלוּת וּנְמִיכַת רוּחוֹ, וְ״נִבְזֶה בְּעֵינָיו נִמְאָס״ (תהלים טו, ד).

and to humble it through the humility and abnegation of his spirit and by being "despised and repugnant in his own eyes" (Ps. 15:4). That a person must humble himself does not mean that he humbles his divine holiness. Rather, he humbles his perception of himself as a separate, independent being. In doing so, he humbles the animal soul, or the sitra aḥara, within him and thus opens the possibility for his divine soul to shine.

וּבְאִתְעֲרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא – אִתְעֲרוּתָא דִּלְעֵילָּא,

The awakening from below causes a reciprocal awakening from above, A person needs to do what he can, even he is not able to vanquish his animal soul completely. He should humble himself to the best of his ability right now and trust that God will do the rest. As the Ba'al Shem Tov comments on the verse "The Lord is your shadow by your right hand" (Ps. 121:5), God acts as our shadow, as it were. When a person lifts his hand, the shadow of his hand also rises. Similarly, when a person acts kindly, God correspondingly acts kindly. When a person acts to the fullest capacity of his ability, although he is unable to completely nullify his being, God completes his efforts, in their entire breadth and fullness.

לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: "מִשָּׁם אוֹרִידְךָ נְאֻם ה׳״ (עובדיה א, ד). דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁמְּסִירָהּ מִמֶּמְשַׁלְתָּהּ וִיכָלְתָּהּ וּמְסַלֵּק מִמֶּנָּה הַכֹּחַ וּרְשׁוּת שֶׁנָּתַן לָהּ לְהַגְבִּיהַּ עַצְמָהּ נֶגֶד אוֹר קְדוּשַּׁת נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית, וַאֲזַי מִמֵּילָא בְּטֵילָה וְנִדְחֵית כְּבִיטּוּל הַחֹשֶׁךְ מִפְּנֵי אוֹר הַגַּשְׁמִי.

fulfilling the verse "If you raise yourself like the eagle, or place your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down – the utterance of the Lord" (Obad. 1:4). That is, God strips the sitra aḥara of its dominion and power and removes from it the strength and authority He originally granted it to raise itself against the light of the divine soul's holiness. Then it is automatically nullified and repelled, similar to the nullification of darkness in the presence of physical light. The battle between good and evil within man rages to the extent that God permits it. Evil that continues to exist in the presence of good is an anomaly, yet God allows that anomaly to exist because it is the true means of spiritual advancement. In a certain sense, just as light defines darkness, so does darkness define light: "Good delineates evil, [and] evil delineates good" (Sefer Yetzira 6:4). Oneg, or delight, is the highest level of holiness, yet its letters, when reversed, spell nega, plague. The polarities of good and evil, of black and white, define each other, making up a single, interdependent construct. God allows this structure to exist as long as it is needed. The moment that it is no longer needed it will cease to exist. To return to the previous analogy, from the moment a person is immunized against a virus, the virus no longer has a function and so ceases to exist within him. The same applies to the function of evil in the world. When a person fulfills his destiny as best he can, God brings the rest to fruition. When one proves that he has withstood the test, the test ceases to be meaningful, and there is no reason for it to continue. There is no need for the continuation of the drama; the show comes to an end and the lights come on. This is not something that a person can accomplish by himself, but the moment he fulfills his obligation, God withdraws the freedom that He had given to the sitra aḥara, which thus ceases entirely to exist, like darkness retreating before light. The battle between good and evil begins in the realm of shadow, where the precise locations of good and evil are not clearly recognizable. The moment certainty exists, the moment there is a face-to-face confrontation and a person cries out upon recognizing the evil, "You are evil, wicked, disgusting, loathsome, and abhorrent!" the battle has been decided, the lamp has been lit, and the shadows fade. The moment a person pushes through the illusions, God completely removes the sitra aḥara's power of misdirection. When it ceases to mold itself into the shapes of the world, it no longer possesses form and immediately dissipates before the divine light.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ דָּבָר זֶה מְפוֹרָשׁ בַּתּוֹרָה

We find this matter stated explicitly in the Torah The author of the Tanya finds it necessary to bring support for his thesis, since it is such a striking claim, that simply by shouting at himself, without attaining any new awareness, a person can cause a new light to shine on his soul, which can completely change his behavior.

גַּבֵּי מְרַגְּלִים, שֶׁמִּתְּחִלָּה אָמְרוּ: "כִּי חָזָק הוּא מִמֶּנּוּ״ (במדבר יג, לא).

with regard to the spies, who, upon their return from the Land of Israel, initially said, "We will not be able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are [ mimenu ]…" (Num. 13:31). Our Sages state, "Do not read the phrase as'stronger than we are,' but rather read it as'stronger than Him'" (Sota 35a) – meaning that they did not have faith in God's ability to bring them into the Land of Israel. The Hebrew word mimenu in the verse cited bears two possible interpretations. It can be read either in the first-person plural form, in which case it means "than us." Alternatively, it can be read in third-person singular and so means "than Him." The Sages understood mimenu in the latter sense, as though the spies were saying that God Himself was incapable of removing the other nations from the Holy Land. This was a profoundly blasphemous statement, since the spies were claiming that the inhabitants of the land were stronger than God.

וְאַחַר כָּךְ, חָזְרוּ וְאָמְרוּ: "הִנֶּנּוּ וְעָלִינוּ״ וגו׳ (במדבר יד, מ).

Subsequently, they retracted their statement and said, "Here we are, and we will go up…" (Num. 14:40). From where did their faith in God's ability return to them? A few verses later, after Moses expressed his anger toward them, the spies retracted their blasphemous words, eager to demonstrate their newfound trust in God and enter the Land of Israel. Initially, they felt that they were unable to accomplish anything, that not even God could help them. Yet now they were filled with such self-confidence that they were prepared to rise and enter into battle even without God.

הֲרֵי לֹא הֶרְאָה לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם שׁוּם אוֹת וּמוֹפֵת עַל זֶה בֵּנְתַיִים,

Moses, our teacher, may he rest in peace, had not shown them any sign or miracle with regard to this, with God's ability to bring them to the land, in the interim. Moses showed the spies no signs or wonders, no new creations, as in the case of Koraḥ and his company, no fire descending from God, as in the case of Elijah on Mount Carmel. He did not even tell them anything they had not previously known.

רַק שֶׁאָמַר לָהֶם אֵיךְ שֶׁקָּצַף ה׳ עֲלֵיהֶם וְנִשְׁבַּע שֶׁלֹּא לַהֲבִיאָם אֶל הָאָרֶץ. וּמַה הוֹעִיל זֶה לָהֶם אִם לֹא הָיוּ מַאֲמִינִים בִּיכוֹלֶת ה׳ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם לִכְבּוֹשׁ ל״א מְלָכִים וּמִפְּנֵי זֶה לֹא רָצוּ כְּלָל לִיכָּנֵס לָאָרֶץ?

He merely told them how God was angry with them and had sworn not to bring them into the land. Of what benefit was this to them if they lacked faith in God's ability, God forbid, to vanquish the thirty-one kings who ruled the land and on account of which they had absolutely no desire to enter the land? After the spies expressed their doubts about God's ability to vanquish the inhabitants of the land, God seemed to prove them right by stating, "As I live – the utterance of the Lord – surely as You spoke in My ears, so I shall do to you. Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness…" (Num. 14:28–29). They should have drawn the logical inference and declared their intention to return to Egypt. Yet it was precisely at this point that they changed their minds and declared, "We will go up!" (Num. 14:40). What caused them to change their minds so radically?

אֶלָּא וַדַּאי מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עַצְמָן הֵם "מַאֲמִינִים בְּנֵי מַאֲמִינִים״ (שבת צז, א),

Rather, it is certainly because the Jewish people themselves are "believers, descendants of believers" (Shabbat 97a). It is only because the sitra aḥara clothed in their bodies raised itself, in its arrogance and haughtiness, against the light of the holiness of their divine souls, with inexplicable audacity. It was because of the influence of the sitra aḥara that the Jewish people said, "They are stronger than Him." The sitra aḥara' s entire power rests in the fact that it has no need to explain itself. It can make statements without logic, mock and doubt without reason. From the very start, it does not possess true power but only haughtiness, pride, and arrogance, which have no tangible basis.

וְלָכֵן מִיָּד שֶׁקָּצַף ה׳ עֲלֵיהֶם וְהִרְעִים בְּקוֹל רַעַשׁ וְרוֹגֶז: "עַד מָתַי לָעֵדָה הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת״ וגו׳ (במדבר יד, כז), "בַּמִּדְבָּר הַזֶּה יִפְּלוּ פִגְרֵיכֶם״ וגו׳ (פסוק כט), "אֲנִי ה׳ דִּבַּרְתִּי אִם לֹא זֹאת אֶעֱשֶׂה לְכָל הָעֵדָה הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת״ וגו׳ (פסוק לה). וּכְשֶׁשָּׁמְעוּ דְּבָרִים קָשִׁים אֵלּוּ נִכְנַע וְנִשְׁבַּר לִבָּם בְּקִרְבָּם, כְּדִכְתִיב: "וַיִּתְאַבְּלוּ הָעָם מְאֹד״ (פסוק לט),

Therefore, immediately afterward God became angry at them and thundered loudly and angrily, "How long will it be with this evil congregation…?" (Num. 14:27); "Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness" (Num. 14:29); "I am the Lord, I have spoken; surely I will do this to this entire evil congregation…" (Num. 14:35). When they heard these harsh words, their hearts became subdued and broken within them, as it is written, "And the people mourned greatly" (Num. 14:39). The spies were great men and outstanding leaders. As such, they did not realize to what extent they were filled with a sense of self, a sense that increasingly colored their reality until they saw nothing wrong in speaking against God and His appointed leader. But the instant that this haughtiness, which has no substance, was crushed, they realized how very small and lowly they were.

וּמִמֵּילָא נָפְלָה הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא מִמֶּמְשַׁלְתָּהּ וְגַבְהוּתָהּ וְגַסּוּת רוּחָהּ, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַצְמָן הֵם מַאֲמִינִים.

Consequently, the sitra aḥara fell from its dominion, from its haughtiness and arrogance, while the children of Israel themselves remained believers. When the haughtiness is broken, when the sitra aḥara falls from its dominion, there is no need for a new doctrine to guide a person step by step toward an awareness of the truth. The divine light automatically shines from within. In this sense, a person's entire work is to overcome the animal soul's sense of self. Rabbi Yeḥiel Michel of Zlotchov is quoted as interpreting the verse "I was standing between the Lord and you…" (Deut. 5:5) as implying that a person's sense of self, no matter how learned, important, and outstanding he is, stands between him and God. When this insubstantial illusion is shattered, the divine light immediately floods his entire being.

וּמִזֶּה יָכוֹל לִלְמוֹד כָּל אָדָם שֶׁנּוֹפְלִים לוֹ בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ סְפֵיקוֹת עַל אֱמוּנָה, כִּי הֵם דִּבְרֵי רוּחַ הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא לְבַדָּהּ, הַמַּגְבִּיהַּ עַצְמָהּ עַל נַפְשׁוֹ.

Every person whose mind is plagued with doubts pertaining to faith can extrapolate from this that they are merely the empty words of the sitra aḥara , which raises itself against his divine soul. The power of these doubts lies not in their content or in their certainty but only in the questions about faith that they raise. Their only strength is in evoking the possibility of disbelief, posing random, vapid questions: "Maybe not?" "Why is it so?" These doubts do not depend on proof. They merely muddy the waters and weaken a person's certitude until he knows nothing clearly. Everyone has had the experience of repeating a word over and over until its meaning grows unclear and it sounds like mere nonsense. In this way, a person can come to doubt the reality of something that he has known all his life: the name of a person or place, for example, or a telephone number. The more he dwells on the matter, the more uncertain and confused he becomes. For this dilemma, rational struggle will not help, since this is not a matter of logic and has nothing to do with refutable argument. This is a sickly process, which only leads a person down to the abyss. It seizes on a particular point and begins to question whether it is correct, whether it is credible – whether it even exists. No rational argument will succeed in dispelling these doubts, since the doubts themselves are not rational.

אֲבָל יִשְׂרָאֵל עַצְמָן הֵם מַאֲמִינִים כו׳.

But the Jewish people themselves are believers, descendants of believers. Since the construct of doubts is entirely illusory, the foundation of "believers, descendants of believers" is automatically revealed when it falls away: a simple, clear faith that does not require in-depth study, demonstrations, or proofs. In that case, the correction for such doubts is to disengage from them entirely. Then one will see clearly that he has no need to fight or dispute them.

וְגַם הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא עַצְמָהּ אֵין לָהּ סְפֵיקוֹת כְּלָל בֶּאֱמוּנָה, רַק שֶׁנִּיתַּן לָהּ רְשׁוּת לְבַלְבֵּל הָאָדָם בְּדִבְרֵי שֶׁקֶר וּמִרְמָה לְהַרְבּוֹת שְׂכָרוֹ,

Even the sitra aḥara itself has no doubts whatsoever pertaining to faith. It was merely granted the authority to confuse a person with lies and deceit in order to increase the person's reward, Not only do the Jewish people believe in God, but even the sitra aḥara itself believes. It knows that it is a servant of God alone. It has no doubts. But it misleads a person in order to give him the opportunity to gain reward when he overcomes the confusion and serves God despite his doubts.

כְּפִיתּוּיֵי הַזּוֹנָה לְבֶן הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּשֶׁקֶר וּמִרְמָה בִּרְשׁוּת הַמֶּלֶךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (חלק ב קסג, א).

like the harlot's seduction of the king's son with lies and deceit under the king's authority, as recounted in the holy Zohar (2:163a). In the parable, a king who wished to test his son sent a harlot to seduce him. She made every effort to do so, even though she knew that the king would be happier if she failed. God has given the sitra aḥara the authority to confuse a person with lies and falsehoods. The sitra aḥara attempts to confuse him by claiming that God does not exist, even as it knows that its own existence comes only from God. At the very moment that the sitra aḥara entices a person to act against that will, it knows itself to be doing God's will. This chapter dealt with a great spiritual problem: the phenomenon of a dull heart, which is the inability to experience emotion of any kind. In the realm of divine service, dullness of the heart represents the difficulty of opening one's heart and allowing holiness entry. The author of the