A taste of the Daily Tanya

 B"H Circumcision of the Heart Av 10  5785 - Adopted from todays Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh  4 Not every person is able to access that deep, sacred space within, the work of the heart that rises from the innermost point of the soul. Why? Because for most, that space is in exile. It has been taken hostage. This isn't metaphor. The Divine presence, the Shechinah, the living spark of G‑dliness within us, is actually in a state of captivity. We can feel it. A numbness. A disconnection. That radiant inner spark is too often buried. Why is it buried? Because it has become enmeshed in the energy of Bavel, Babylon, the realm of fragmentation, confusion, and spiritual forgetfulness. In energetic terms, the soul’s inner light has clothed itself in layers of distortion: attachments to external validation, obsessions with material pleasure, unconscious trauma loops. The soul's naked longing is wrapped in soiled garments, what the mystics call “filthy garments of worldly desire.” These e...

  B"H Coins of Light: Building Your Spiritual Armor Through Tzedaka Av 7  5785 - Adopted from todays Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh 3 “He put on righteousness like a coat of armor and salvation like a crown.” (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 59:18) The sages teach us something astonishing: Think of a suit of armor. It isn’t one solid plate. It’s made of hundreds of tiny scales, each one seemingly insignificant on its own. But when they overlap, they form an impenetrable shield. So it is with Tzedaka . Every coin, every act of kindness, no matter how small, weaves into something vast and eternal, a spiritual armor protecting you, embracing you. But this is not just about protection from harm. This armor is alive. It is woven from a Divine energy that transcends creation itself, the Infinite Light, what the Zohar calls Sovev Kol Almin , a light so boundless it cannot be contained within any world. When you give, you are not just performing a kind gesture. You are aligning with the very desire of ...

  B”H Crowned by Divine Will - Unplugged Av 4  5785 - Adopted from todays Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh 1 Who gives strength to the core of who we are? The part that carries everything. Holds us up. Keeps us from collapsing. It’s not luck. It’s not muscle. It’s the Torah Sheba’al Peh, the Oral Torah. The living wisdom of G‑d. A wisdom that doesn’t just speak. It moves . But wisdom? That’s just the surface. Go deeper and you find the source. The Divine Will. Pure desire. Beyond thought. Beyond limits. This Will, it wraps around you. Like a shield. Like a crown. Lifting you above everything you thought you knew. That’s why our sages said: Study halachot. Every day. Because this isn’t just learning. It’s girding your soul . Strengthening your foundation. So you can move, act, and love . It wakes up the arms of the soul, The awe. The love. The reach for G‑d. Born from deep understanding… or from simple, raw faith. Morning prayer ? That’s your best shot. That sacred window when compass...

  B"H Crowned by Divine Will Av 4  5785 - Adopted from todays Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh 1 Who gives strength to the core of our being, the part of us that carries, stabilizes, and holds everything upright? It is found in our engagement and embodiment of the living wisdom of the Torah Sheba’al Peh, i.e. the Oral Torah.   For in these teachings lives the revelation of the Divine Will. Wisdom itself is only an emanation. But beyond wisdom is the source, the Divine Desire itself, the pure Will, transcending intellect and limitation.  This Will wraps around us, a shield and a crown, elevating us beyond the structures of thought, the way a crown rests above the head. This is why our sages taught: “Whoever studies halachot (Torah laws) every day…”,  for it is this engagement with Torah that girds the ‘loins’ of the soul, the part that moves and supports everything else.  This study gives the soul the resilience and vitality to awaken its “arms”, its capacity for awe...

  B”H Awakening to Being Chosen Av 3  5785 - Adopted from todays Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh 1 – the intro: The sons of the Alter Rebbe knew it. When they added Iggeret Hakodesh and Kuntres Acharon to the Tanya, they weren’t binding pages. They were passing on power . Every word was written by his hand, pulsing with purpose, living transmissions meant to wake the soul and turn life into service. The first letter? A custom still alive today: communities dividing the Talmud so the entire thing is finished, together, each year. The cycle renews on Yud‑Tes Kislev, the day the Alter Rebbe himself was freed from prison.  Freedom and renewal, locked together. Here’s the teaching:  When we study as one, we all share the whole. One body. One soul. One completion. Torah study isn’t just knowledge. It opens the heart. Sparks awe. Ignites love. That letter came in three phases, three years, each one heavier with purpose as the Alter Rebbe’s mission unfolded. Faith. Devotion. Willing...