The Practical Tanya - Part One - The Book for Inbetweeners

“diminishing

If someone is mean or hurtful to you, remember that this is only happening because G-d felt that it would be helpful for the evolution of your soul. Never seek revenge against people that hurt you. Actually, you should be nice to them, because, despite their malicious intent, they have really helped you. Either they have caused you to learn an impo

The main thing is to dominate and control the natural tendencies of the Animal Soul, in the heart’s left chamber. The all-encompassing principle is: You must wrestle with your nature and seek to control it.

Because you revere Him, to the extent that you will not rebel against the Supreme King of kings, the Blessed Holy One.

The hallmark of service is effort. If you’re not wrestling with your darker side, you are not serving G-d. Period. Doing more than you are accustomed to (in Torah and mitzvos) is always a form of service, since it inevitably requires effort. “Ideal service” of G-d doesn’t mean becoming a tzadik. It means struggling to be the best person you can be.

Your brain (will-power) naturally rules over your heart (emotions). You might not be able to control your urges, but with your will-power you can prevent the urges from ever affecting your behavior. “A small amount of light will push away a lot of darkness.” Evil’s strength is that it is tangible; its weakness is that it is instantly dispelled by s

Sha’arei Ha-Kedushah (ibid.) states that the “good side” of your Animal Soul’s four elements mirrors their “bad side” precisely. In place of arrogance and anger, the good side of your Animal Soul’s “fire”draws you to humility, leading you not to take things personally and get angry. Rather than seeking pleasure, the good side of “water” despises bo

“Yiras ha-romemus (reverence of G-d’s majesty) is not the same as yiras ha-onesh (fear of G-d’s punishment). Yiras ha-romemus is the reverence of a king, where a profound sense of shame keeps you from approaching the king, due to his awesome greatness. And, as a result of that, you come to love the king more, since despite his greatness and awesome

Ultimately, I can control my emotions because what I feel is always an outcome of what I think. I let my chochmah flow by being intellectually curious, imaginative and by looking at the bigger picture. Next, I use my binah by being logical and detail orientated, carefully examining the raw concept from my chochmah. The crucial step, which generates