At this point in Tanya, the theme changes a bit. The upcoming three chapters discuss three emotions that balance ⚖️, or counter, joy:
Broken-heartedness
Humility
Disenchantment or disillusion
… Which will then bring us back to our original theme: TRUE JOY!
It sometimes happens that your heart is so clogged and numb, that "It’s stiff as stone, tightly closed off to anything related to G-dliness".
In this chapter, with great sensitivity, the Alter Rebbe elaborates on the causes and ramifications of this reality, and provides a way to reinspire yourself and reconnect with G-d in a whole new way.
A person is composed of body and soul. The body provides the physical material needed for existence here on earth.
The soul provides the divine connection and motivation to live an impactful, meaningful life.
The ideal state is when the body doesn’t interfere and disturb the soul from fulfilling her objectives. The body eats, sleeps, breathes and lives for a higher purpose, assisting the soul in connecting to G-d and lighting up the world with goodness.
However, sometimes, the animal soul takes on its own, separate identity. It then takes the reins and interferes with the divine soul’s plans.
This condition is referred to as "A stifled heart"
Clogged. Numb. Unfeeling
Spiritual endeavors become cold and meaningless.
You lose sight of your purpose in life…
Under these conditions, your brain cannot control your impulses. Your brain cannot “think the right thoughts” and thus inspire your heart to feel, to be motivated, and to want to change its behavior.
What is the solution for this?
Shattering those layers that have been built around your heart, covering up what you are truly feeling.
Only then, can the true, inner you be revealed.
The Zohar provides the following analogy:
Big chunks of wood don’t ignite easily. If you want to start a fire and all you have are large logs, you need to smash the wood into smaller pieces.
The little chips will easily catch and slowly grow the flames, until even the large logs are engulfed.
When you feel numb and disconnected…
Instead, that thick shell covering your heart needs to be smashed in order for the fire of your soul - your real YOU - to reignite.
Practically, what this means:
"You must beat and humiliate the animal soul"
You must designate times to remind yourself how out of control you’ve become, how low you have fallen, and how unbecoming this behavior is, in order to pull yourself out of the muck you are stuck in.
The source for this principal is found in Psalms, where King David writes, "A broken heart, a broken spirit"
The spirit or forces of impurity are eradicated through a broken heart.
By the Beinoni, and anyone striving to become a Beinoni, the “me” is the animal soul.
Since your animal soul has infiltrated and become the official _you_, you need to break your entire self-identity!
This is why we say each day in the morning prayers,
_*G-d, the soul you placed within me is pure*_…
Who is me???
If the divine soul is speaking, she should say, _*I am pure!*_
But this prayer makes it clear that there is a separation within:
There is _me_
And there is the _pure, divine soul_ placed within _me_.
A Tzaddik, a righteous person, never separates from his core, his true self. He is his pure, divine soul and his body is the tag-along.
This was readily apparent by the great sage, Hillel. When he would sit down for a meal, he would say that he was going to bestow kindness upon the pitiful pauper. He was referring to his own body, which was a separate identity to him. It wasn’t the _real_ him! He dealt with it kindly, as he would any wretched stranger who needed his help.
A Tzaddik, a righteous person, lives a spiritual life. His body receives its energy and life force from his divine soul. He transformed the evil👽, which was the source of energy of his animal soul, into holiness and so his animal soul is completely united and one with his G-dly soul.
