In what must be the ultimate disparagement of a product, today’s Tanya lays out multiple arguments for why a book like this, to assist personal growth, doesn’t - in fact, can’t - work.
Firstly (as the world of text message communication has learned), the reader may interpret the message differently than the writer's intent.
Second, we are diverse. Not as a quirk of an imperfect creation, on the contrary – our diversity is a reflection of the infinite capability of the Creator.
This means that not only my ‘opinions’ might not repair your predicament, but even a specific divine verse of G-d’s Torah - which exists within each of us - which inspires you, might not inspire me.
- So how can a book like the Tanya be published to help and inspire the masses?
Yet specifically through each question, we can see more clearly exactly what the Tanya targets and accomplishes.
Precisely through those arguments, we can see that the Tanya is not here to reveal brilliance. It’s here to answer me. My issues, my challenges, my inner blockades to faith.
If I don’t understand those questions, if they don’t ‘bother’ me, I might not be approaching the Tanya correctly.
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A student shared inspirational thought she'd come across in the science of medicine.
She learned that there is no pump that puts oxygen into the body; the lung creates a vacuum and that gets filled with the life-giving oxygen.
A lot of times when we discuss careers we'll talk about how, besides what everyone says about finding your interests, and finding what your talents are, you should look around for the vacuum in the world around you; the suffering that people have, some illness that you feel needs to be dealt with, and if you spend your life trying to fill that void you'll never work a day in your life.
In today's tanya the Alter Rebbe creates a vacuum and asks a question that will be filled with the inspiration of Tanya in the coming days.
The question is, that even though every single part of the Torah is for everyone, but every soul is different so there can be a Mishnah that really inspires one person, but doesn't click so much with another person. So how can you write a book that you put on the shelf and everybody can take it off and find inspiration?
That's the vacuum, that's the question - the answer and the inspiration will come tomorrow.
Study today's tanya in full:
https://www.chabadmed.com/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tdate=11/25/2021
Watch today's video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAjmxQq-16Q&list=PLFZQPK6u-zSBls9Hwx3P5vKI_BRnjBvHe&index=2
Additional thoughts:
Today we study the challenges that prevent a person writing self-help book for multiple people.
One challenge is that even the unified Torah shines differently in each person.
The Alter Rebbe makes a point that really drives home how deep this challenge runs. This variability is not limited to areas of inspiration, but it is reflected even in practical action.
In the mishnah, we find discussions between Hillel and Shammai. Both of them would consider each other's lessons to be divine Torah.
And yet, the distinction between the way the Torah is revealed between one person and the next, is so extensive that one person might say food is kosher and the other say it is not.
ב"ה