To think or to contemplate? - Chapter 12 - Part Six

00:01 And we’re here on page 17b. The Alter Rebbe says that when we come to the beinoni, we’ve discussed two things. On the one hand, the beinoni is a person who is in control of his body. He controls all the limbs of his body, including thought, speech, and action. So in thought, speech, and action, he turns away from evil and does good. We say of the beinoni that he does not commit a transgression and will not commit one. But on the other hand, when it comes to the essential nature of his soul—if we look at his inner faculties—he is still not a tzaddik. On the contrary, he still has desires, and not just desires for permitted things, but even desires for forbidden things. So after davening, when he no longer has all the heightened awareness and all the spiritual light he had during davening, all kinds of wants and desires can awaken in him again, as though they had never gone away. The Alter Rebbe quotes a teaching of our Sages here: “Thoughts of transgression are more difficult than transgression.” A beinoni can have thoughts of transgression, which are more difficult than transgression, arise in his mind and enter his awareness. The Alter Rebbe also brings another teaching of our Sages as proof that a beinoni can experience thoughts of transgression. He quotes the Gemara in Bava Basra: “There are three transgressions from which a person is not spared each day: thoughts of transgression, scrutinizing one’s davening, and so on.” What do we see? This teaching of our Sages was not said about wicked people. The Gemara is speaking about a person—an ordinary person, who is a beinoni. The Gemara says of this ordinary person, who in the terms of our Sages belongs to the level of a beinoni, that he is not a tzaddik, but neither is he wicked. He is a beinoni. And nevertheless,

02:19 it says that “a person is not spared from them each day”: thoughts of transgression, scrutinizing one’s davening, and so on. So we see that a beinoni, too, can have thoughts of transgression. This raises a very simple question, which the Alter Rebbe himself will address shortly. How does this fit with what we said earlier—that a beinoni not only has no transgressions in action or speech, but has none in thought either? Yet here he says that the beinoni has thoughts of transgression. That’s an outright contradiction. Does a beinoni have alien thoughts or not? The Alter Rebbe said earlier that the beinoni’s thought, speech, and action—even his thought—are as they should be. He is in control of his mind, of his thoughts. Yet here he says that he has thoughts of transgression. We’ll discuss that shortly, but there’s another question here—just an interesting question about the precise wording in Tanya, though it also gives us a deeper appreciation of the subject itself. The Rebbe asks: Why does the Alter Rebbe include “scrutinizing one’s davening”? What does that have to do with this? The Alter Rebbe is talking about alien thoughts, thoughts of transgression. So he should have written “thoughts of transgression, and so on.” After all, there are three things, three transgressions. The Gemara lists them as thoughts of transgression, scrutinizing one’s davening, and a trace of lashon hara. The Alter Rebbe doesn’t mention a trace of lashon hara here. Why not? Because he’s speaking here only about thoughts, so it doesn’t belong here. Then why does he include scrutinizing one’s davening? A simple question: What does “scrutinizing one’s davening” mean? If we look at the commentaries on the Gemara in Bava Basra, Rashbam and Tosafos differ on this. Rashbam says it means that a person dwells on his davening. In other words, people daven and are sure that because they davened, Hakadosh Boruch Hu has to answer them. If He

04:15 doesn’t answer them, they become angry, or they start having all kinds of concerns and doubts. That’s the meaning of “scrutinizing one’s davening.” Tosafos disagrees with Rashbam. Tosafos says that this cannot be what “scrutinizing one’s davening” means, because the Gemara says that no person is spared from it each day. Where do we see that everyone thinks about these things every day? So Tosafos gives a very simple explanation: it means exactly what it sounds like—concentration during davening. People find it hard to concentrate throughout the entire davening, and that is something no one is spared from each day. For a person to daven the entire davening with concentration is uncommon; it’s very, very difficult to accomplish. That’s what the Gemara means. So the Rebbe explains that, if so, we can say the Alter Rebbe has Tosafos’s interpretation in mind. After all, the Alter Rebbe is speaking here about the difficulty the beinoni faces when it comes to thought. Because the beinoni’s soul has not yet been refined, and he still has an animal soul in his heart, thoughts arise in him. He has desires, and those desires reach his mind and turn into thoughts. So this is what the Alter Rebbe is saying: not only can he have thoughts of transgression in the middle of the day, but even in the middle of davening. Controlling the faculty of thought is so difficult that the Gemara says that even for a beinoni, concentrating during davening is among the things from which no one is spared each day. That shows why the Alter Rebbe brings it here: he wants to explain just how hard it is to control the faculty of thought. Now the question arises again, as we asked before: Does a beinoni have alien thoughts or not? Does he have thoughts of transgression? We said earlier that he does not. The Alter Rebbe now comes to resolve this. He continues

06:09 on page 17b, at the line beginning “each day,” and says: “But in this, the impression left in the mind, and the fear of Hashem and love for Him hidden in the right chamber of the heart, are effective.” The beinoni davened earlier. He is not davening now, so now his yetzer hara, his desires, and all these things awaken—alien thoughts, even desires for forbidden things. But he did daven earlier, and his davening left an impression on him. There is a reshimu, a lingering impression. Chassidim speak about this concept of a reshimu in the avodah of davening: although he is no longer experiencing what he felt during davening, an impression remains. Something remains—the resolution, the thought, the feeling. When a person davens, he becomes inspired with love for Hashem, and he resolves to strengthen his fear of Heaven and his service of Hashem. Even if the feeling is no longer there afterward, the reshimu—the resolution—remains. It affects him throughout the day, enabling him to control the alien thought. “In this, the impression left in the mind, and the fear of Hashem and love for Him hidden in the right chamber of the heart, are effective.” Besides the impression left by davening, he also has a hidden love. There are also things that come without his own avodah, from the natural, hidden love, as we’ll learn in the coming chapters of Tanya. These give the beinoni the strength to overcome and control this evil, so that it has no “control and dominion over the city” and cannot bring its desire from potential into action. The beinoni has complete control, so that the alien thought does not actually take hold by becoming invested in the limbs of his body. And even—and this is the main point; listen closely to what the Alter Rebbe says here—“even in the mind.” We asked about thought. “Even in the mind alone, to contemplate evil, it has no control or dominion to make him, G-d forbid, willingly contemplate it in his mind, accepting willingly, G-d forbid, this evil thought that rises of its own accord from the heart to the mind, as explained above.” So here the Alter Rebbe

08:34 This tells us exactly the answer to the question and gives us the precise definition of what a beinoni is and what a beinoni is not. The Alter Rebbe says that a beinoni cannot control whether thoughts of wrongdoing arise. A beinoni has such thoughts; they occur to him. A desire—whether for something permitted or forbidden—comes into his mind. But the moment he notices that it is such a thought, he can control whether he willingly lets it remain. In other words, there are two kinds of unwanted thoughts. Some come instinctively, naturally, without any desire on his part. He didn’t ask for them; they suddenly arise. And then there is an unwanted thought that a person willingly entertains. He is aware of it and keeps thinking about it, keeps occupying himself with that thought. That is where the definition of a beinoni lies. A beinoni cannot control whether a thought arises; such thoughts do arise. But the moment he notices that there is something undesirable here, the love he has—his hidden love, together with the impression left by the love of Hashem he aroused through davening—gives him the strength to overcome these thoughts and not entertain them willingly. The moment he notices the thought, he immediately pushes it away with both hands so that it does not remain with him. There is also something written in earlier sefarim about thoughts that come to mind. There is an expression in the sefarim—the Frierdiker Rebbe [?] cites it—that thought is the mirror of the heart. In other words, the faculty of thought is like a mirror, a looking glass, a mirror, an espejo. What is a mirror? You stand in front of it, and you have no control over the fact that your face is reflected in it. So it says in the earlier works of mussar that thought is like the mirror of the heart. The moment the heart has a desire, immediately

10:57 thought forms an image of it, as though it is automatically reflected in one’s thoughts. These are the thoughts of wrongdoing that a beinoni cannot stop. Since thought is the mirror of the heart, the moment the heart has a desire, it rises from the heart into the mind—but not willingly. Once he notices that it has entered his mind, however, that love and everything else we discussed give him the strength to throw the thought out, not to let it take hold. This is what the Alter Rebbe goes on to say: “Rather, immediately upon its rising there”—when the desire rises from the heart to the mind and he begins to think about it—“he pushes it away with both hands.” He rejects it completely. “And he immediately diverts his attention from it as soon as he realizes that it is an evil thought.” The moment he notices an evil thought, he throws it out, diverts his attention, “and does not willingly accept even to think about it.” Not willingly accepting it does not just mean that he does not want to act on it, G-d forbid. He will not even willingly think about it. All the more so, he has no intention of doing it, G-d forbid, or even speaking about it, “for one who willingly entertains such a thought is called a rasha at that moment, and the beinoni is not a rasha for even a single moment.” So, everyone, we’ve just gained a very, very remarkable and wonderful understanding, one that goes very deep. What exactly is the difference between a rasha and a beinoni? The difference is not in the first thought; it is in the second thought. That is the difference. In other words, with the first thought he is still a beinoni. But if he lets that thought continue, that is called a second thought. If he continues, he becomes a rasha. Willingness versus something that happens involuntarily. An involuntary thought occurs to a beinoni too, but once he notices it, continuing to think about it becomes a matter of willingness, and then he becomes a rasha. So

13:04 that is what the Alter Rebbe says about the beinoni. This is the difference between a beinoni and a rasha: a beinoni is not a rasha, even though he... For a beinoni, the whole notion of committing a transgression is out of the question. So the moment he notices a desire or an unwanted thought, he immediately pushes it away with both hands. That is where the difference begins. If you keep thinking about it, that is a rasha. If you stop thinking about it and divert your attention, that is a beinoni. That is the entire difference between a beinoni and a rasha. I remember once hearing Reb Levi Gross, a”h, when he came here to Argentina and held a farbrengen. He told many stories about the Rebbe, but he also told stories about chassidim. Levi had the privilege of being among the first Temimim in America when the Frierdiker Rebbe came to America, so he still remembered the earlier chassidim. He told us about a chossid named Reb Avraham Meir Axelrod. He had been one of the Rebbe Rashab’s chassidim and was among the first chassidim to come to America. They said about him—this is what was said, that the Frierdiker Rebbe said the Rebbe Rashab had said—that he was a beinoni of Tanya. Reb Avraham’le was remarkable: a Jew living in America, amid all the commotion of America, and nevertheless he was a beinoni of Tanya. There are quite a few stories about his avodas Hashem. Levi knew him. He said that once Reb Avraham’le held a farbrengen about character traits. Yes, this is what it says here in Tanya, but hearing how a chossid of an earlier generation expressed it makes an impression. He was speaking to the bochurim at a farbrengen: A bochur goes to Manhattan and walks down a New York street. He sees something he shouldn’t look at, something immodest. That is not yet the problem. If he, how do you say,

15:06 turns his face to keep looking, that is where all the trouble begins. That is the problem. This is essentially the plain meaning of Tanya. If he happened to catch sight of something, well, that is natural. This is what we mean by something rising from the heart to the mind. He is a beinoni, not a tzaddik. He has his desires, and his desire drew his attention. But if you continued looking, that is where the whole problem begins. That is a matter of throwing off the yoke; it is a descent in one’s spiritual standing. And that is what the Alter Rebbe is saying here. The thought itself arises naturally and automatically, so he has no control over that—at least during the day, after davening. But whether he willingly entertains it is up to him. He does have control over that. Now there is something interesting here. The Alter Rebbe says: What gives him the strength to overcome an unwanted thought? The Alter Rebbe says that it comes from the impression left by davening, together with his hidden love. So a simple question arises: Why do we need the impression left by davening? Earlier, on the previous page, the Alter Rebbe said, “The mind rules over the heart by its nature and from birth.” It is natural for the mind to rule over the heart. So why do I need that impression? The mind rules over the heart by nature. What does that mean? It means that even when the heart has a desire, the mind can control it. The moment the mind says, “I don’t want this,” that settles it. The mind controls the heart. So even if he does not engage in avodah during davening, even if he does not arouse love and awe—even without the impression left by davening—he can be a beinoni, can’t he? Why do we need that impression? Here, though, the Alter Rebbe seems to be saying that it is not enough

17:11 for the mind to rule over the heart. You also need to work on this during davening, so that the inspiration of davening continues to affect you throughout the day. What is the explanation? The Rebbe gives a fundamental explanation here, because it is relevant to avodah. The Rebbe says: True, when do we say that the mind’s rule over the heart is natural—“by its nature and from birth,” as we said? When things are clear in the mind. When the mind has firm conviction, when it is clear to a person that this is what he wants, then the mind’s will has the power to control. I have decided in my mind that this is what I want, so the mind has control over the heart. When does that apply? When the mind’s will is clear. But what happened here? A thought rose from the heart into the mind. Once that thought has entered the mind, the mind is no longer so clear. There are now two competing inclinations in the mind, and the mind alone is no longer enough. He needs the strength that comes from davening. That is why the impression left by davening is so important. It gives him the strength not to accept the thought, and then the mind can rule over the heart. But for the mind to be able to rule over the heart—since the heart is constantly sending it contrary messages—it also needs the impression left by davening. This is a very powerful point. The Rebbe Rashab discusses it very forcefully in Kuntres HaAvodah. Why does Chassidus place so much emphasis on avodas hatefillah? The Rebbe Rashab, in Kuntres HaTefillah and Kuntres HaAvodah, spoke constantly about avodas hatefillah. Why is avodas hatefillah so important? Some people think that avodas hatefillah

19:11 This is in order to awaken love and fear of Hashem. You want to serve Hashem not only with your mouth but also with your heart—that means love and fear. That is what prayer is for. It includes Shema Yisroel, which awakens love and fear, as is written in many maamarim. The Rebbe says in the name of [unclear], and it is based on what we have just learned here in Tanya: the avodah of prayer affects the entire day. The main point of the avodah of prayer is the decision a person makes during prayer about how he will conduct himself throughout the day. Chassidim used to say there are three parts to prayer: before prayer, prayer itself, and after prayer. Before prayer, you go to the mikveh, learn Chassidus, contemplate Chassidus, give tzedakah—all the things that come before prayer. Prayer itself means praying with fear of Heaven and concentration, awakening love and fear of Hashem. But the main point is after prayer. The purpose of prayer is as it says in Likkutei Torah: prayer is the backbone. The backbone supports the body; it is what enables the whole body to function. Without the backbone... But the Alter Rebbe says in Likkutei Torah that prayer is not a mitzvah according to all opinions; according to most opinions, prayer is not a Torah mitzvah but a rabbinic one. How can prayer not be a mitzvah? the Alter Rebbe asks. How can something as important as prayer not be a mitzvah? Why? The Alter Rebbe says that the mitzvos are the 248 limbs. Every mitzvah is a limb. Prayer is not a limb; it is the backbone. The backbone is what the entire body stands on. The point of prayer is not the prayer itself, but the impression it leaves. The Alter Rebbe calls it a reshimu. Prayer leaves an impression on a person that affects all his conduct. Reshimu—as the students here learn, the whole subject of reshimu and withdrawal, and we will get to Likkutei... [unclear], as they say that a reshimu is a shock—that’s not it. But

21:08 that reshimu is what gives him strength for his entire daily routine. It is the source of everything... The same applies to serving Hashem. Right after prayer, I no longer have the vitality I had during prayer. A person prayed—as he puts it, for example—he contemplated and prayed with real vitality, with utter simplicity. But after prayer, that feeling departs. A reshimu remains, though, and that reshimu gives him strength in the struggle with the yetzer, so that he can truly overcome it. When bad thoughts and distracting thoughts arise, he does not let them enter his will. He pushes them away with both hands—iskafya sitra achra. All of this comes from the strength of the reshimu left by prayer. And as explained later on in Tanya, further on in Tanya, the Alter Rebbe tells us that this is actually the whole purpose: these thoughts that occur to a person come so that he will push them away with both hands. Chapter 27. The Alter Rebbe says that a person should not be distressed, should not feel bad or fall into sadness and depression: Why do I have distracting thoughts? Why do I have bad thoughts? The Alter Rebbe explains in chapter 27 that this sadness comes from arrogance. On the contrary, he should rejoice in his lot. The whole reason Hakadosh Boruch Hu makes the beinoni such that he is not yet refined, and therefore has thoughts, desires and cravings that arise within him, is so that he can fulfill the mitzvah, “Do not stray after your hearts and after your eyes.” He can overcome his desires. And with every act of restraint, every time a person pushes thoughts and impulses away with both hands—“When the sitra achra is subdued, the glory of Hakadosh Boruch Hu rises above.” This is, in fact, the entire purpose of the soul’s descent below. In any case, up to this point the Alter Rebbe has been speaking about matters between a person and Hashem. Matters between a person and Hashem, matters

23:20 connected with turning away from evil and doing good, in thought, speech and action. So the Alter Rebbe has explained to us up to this point exactly what the central point is in the avodah of the beinoni: the beinoni has, as we said, mastery and control over his body and its limbs in thought, speech and action. In practice, he is firm in everything connected with serving Hashem. He exercises control so that he will not transgress—he will not transgress. That is the strength the beinoni has, and it comes from two things. First, the mind naturally rules the heart. In addition, as we said, there is an illumination from Hashem in his service, an illumination of holiness that gives him strength. There is the advantage of light over darkness, so that, in the same way, the holiness of the G-dly soul naturally rules the animal soul. Only during the day, as we said, thoughts may arise—but when it comes to his will, the beinoni is in control. Now, at the end of the chapter, the Alter Rebbe will begin speaking about matters between a person and his fellow.