Ep. 23: The New Tanya: Tanya Hasholaim with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan

00:00 Speaker 1 So Baruch Hashem that, uh, it's not only that the Rebbe's idea is being fulfilled, but the Rebbe's idea is being reaching, uh, every Chassidish, uh, Chassidish home and probably more every-- many more Yiddish homes. That's definitely very exciting.

00:15 Speaker 2 If you've been enjoying this podcast, please like and subscribe so that others can enjoy it as well. In addition, if you've benefited in any way from Among Chassidim podcast and would like to give something back, you can do so today at derher.org/donate. I'm Yossi Kamen. Welcome to Among Chassidim by Der Her, an ongoing fabrengen about life as a Chassid, our vibrant connection with the Rebbe, and inspired living shaped by the way he teaches us each and every day. This episode is dedicated l'nishmas HaRav Saadia ben HaRav Mordechai alav hashalom Dahan, and refuah shleima for Chana bas Nechama Dina by Shaul and Shaindy Dahan. We experienced a few technical connection challenges during this recording, but we worked hard to make the final version as smooth and enjoyable as possible. Thank you for your understanding, and enjoy the episode. Bruchem habaim, Rabbi Kaplan. How are you today?

01:22 Speaker 1 Baruch Hashem, fine. Thank you for having me here.

01:25 Speaker 2 Thank you for making the time to be here. And, um, I wanted-- the, the reason why I wanted to have a conversation with you, I think that, uh, there's a number of things we could discuss, uh, that I would be interested to discuss with you. Um, and perhaps, uh, a different time we would do that. But, uh, for today's conversation, I would like to focus specifically on the amazing project that, uh, you were, uh, aimid bereish, and that is, um, the Tanya, Tanya HaShalem that just came out. So, uh, let's do that. So-

02:14 Speaker 1 Okay. Yeah. I'd like to mention I'm aimid bereish in the sense of editing, but, uh, the aimid bereish of the project is, uh, Rabbi Chaim Shaul Brock.

02:23 Speaker 2 Okay. Rabbi Chaim Shaul Brock, obviously, that, uh, Shmeil HaLevi, uh, Lefanov so, um... But, uh, I, I think it says in the book, I think the, the title was-- there's, there's a title for you that had, uh, that, that said that you were the initiate-- I don't know, initiator, the-

02:41 Speaker 1 Oyer. Oyer

02:42 Speaker 2 ... the chief editor o-o-of the project.

02:44 Speaker 1 The oyer geflasht.

02:45 Speaker 2 Oyer geflasht.

02:45 Speaker 1 Oyer geflasht.

02:46 Speaker 2 Okay.

02:46 Speaker 1 As a few editors.

02:46 Speaker 2 So-

02:47 Speaker 1 That's right

02:47 Speaker 2 ... okay. Very good. So I g-- before we get into this specific Tanya and the Chassidish of it, I wanna backtrack a little bit to Tanya bechalal. So I think that may be a good way to-- uh, today, everyone that learns Tanya, usually they are introduced to it, they're being taught it, or they're learning it with some type of Pirush. And I'm curious, when Alter Rebbe printed the Tanya, there was no Pirushim on the Tanya, and I wanna know-- I don't know if you know the answer to this question, but in the, in the first, uh, generation or, you know, how, how were people learning Tanya right when it came out? Do you have anything to say about that?

03:36 Speaker 1 Uh, okay. At the time when it came out, there was-- what Alter Rebbe explains in the Hakdoma S'ma Laket that the Tanya was really a continuation to private consultations which the Chassidim had with the Alter Rebbe during Yechidus. And the Rebbe says, "Veyoda yu makir hai komina." It's not I'm just giving out now a Sefer and people should start learning the Sefer. This is a continuous conversation. We had Yechidus. We're discussing. You're bringing your questions. You're in Yoni. So Chassidim at the time of the Alter Rebbe, they looked at the Sefer not as we are starting to learn some kind of Sefer. This is not Al-- the way the Alter Rebbe wanted them to look at it. It's a continuation of a conversation which the Alter Rebbe had with them. Just the conversation was moving from private consultation to the Sefer. And this is why the Alter Rebbe explains in Hakdoma S'ma Laket that the general rule-- the Alter Rebbe begins with a question. The general rule is, "Ein od dome shmia l're'iya o kria b'sorim." In other words, we are talking here about people who are discussing their issues, who are want, want help in avodas Hashem. And generally, Sorim are very general. Uh, they don't deal with the particulars of the problems of... and, and the challenges which each individual has. And this is why people are not interested in learning Sorim. They want to hear, they want to consult with the Rebbe. They want to hear it from the Rebbe directly. And

05:21 Speaker 1 the Rebbe explained the Tanya is different. Why is the Tanya different? Because the Tanya is not I'm just giving out a Sefer. The Tanya is given out to people who I am already in touch with, who already came to me with their issues, and right now I'm just continuing the convers-c-the conversation with that Sefer. So that's, that's the way the Alter Rebbe had the Tanya in mind. We are talking here about people who have a background, not just a background of the Yoni in which I mentioned the Tanya, but a background of connection with the Alter, with the Alter Rebbe, and they see the Tanya as a continuation to that background. Now you would ask, okay, that's for that generation. What's for later generations? So really, uh, the Rebbe says in Sichas that BeYodei Makiri Kamina refers not only to his generation, but to generations to come. They are all considered Yodei Makiri of the Alter Rebbe. But in practical terms, that Rebbe says himself that those who are not able to-- from the Tanya itself, the way it's given to them, they're not able to find and understand the individual instructions for themselves. So they should ask through the Gdolim SheBeIróy, VeHeini Vainenu. In other words, the Tanya comes together with an oral tradition through the Talmidim of Alter Rebbe and from generation to generation. And indeed, uh, there, he goes through Rabbi Zion Mesiano that when you learn Tanya for the first time, it should always be from a teacher. You should, you

07:03 Speaker 1 shouldn't just open Sefer Tanya and start learning because the Tanya is a, is, uh, just like you have a Torah SheBe'al Peh, the Tanya is accompanied by a Torah SheBe'al Peh. The Tanya has to come with learning from a teacher. Now, if we are asking whether, whether, uh, the Pirushim and Tanya and so on, whether they are a substitute for a teacher, uh, I am not the one to say that. Uh, probably it's always better to the side with a teacher, but maybe at least, maybe some, may-maybe some of it, uh, maybe at least some of it, may-maybe some help there is also in the learning with, with the Pirush.

07:43 Speaker 2 So it's a, it's a, it's not, it's not only a Sefer, but it's a, a living document.

07:49 Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's, that's really what the Adam HaRishon is all about.

07:53 Speaker 2 Right. And I guess this leads us right into the, this Tanya that we're going to talk about because a lot of the Tanya is Pirushim in the Tanya that are given by the Rabbeim. And obviously, if that's the way the Tanya is supposed to be, that it, there's an oral tradition to the Tanya as well, it makes perfect sense why there's so many Biurim from the Rabbeim on, on the Tanya besides the Biurim the Chassidim give. Um, let's move on to the, to this Tanya, Sefer Tanya HaShalem. So I understand that the whole project and the final product that, uh, came out of the, of the Tanya HaShalem, um, is based on a project that the Rebbe himself initiated and revealed that he was working on. So if you can please, uh, elaborate what is that project that the Rebbe was working on? What did he say it is? What is it exactly?

08:57 Speaker 1 Okay. So if we start from that, uh, actually the story of the Tanya HaShalem, we could start it from two angles, but, uh, you started it from here, so, uh, we'll go with that.

09:08 Speaker 2 I, I only ask questions to, to, to, to guide you, but if you wanna start from a different angle-

09:13 Speaker 1 Okay

09:13 Speaker 2 ... add it up.

09:14 Speaker 1 Okay. No, no, let, let's, let's, let's start with this.

09:18 Speaker 2 Okay.

09:19 Speaker 1 The Rebbe printed the Tanya for the first time in Taf Shin Yud Dalet, uh, nineteen fifty-four. And then the Rebbe added at the end of the Tanya and, uh, Tikunim and so on, and there was a Pesach Dovo. The Rebbe wrote introduction to those Mastichas. And there the Rebbe writes about his plan. It's actually th-this is printed in every single Tanya printed from Taf Shin Yud Dalet till today. There is this Pesach Dovo with the outline of the Rebbe's plan. And the Rebbe said that we are working, Chabad is working on a plan of a complete edition of Tanya, which will include... And the Rebbe names three things. One is Maamer Makoirim, obviously references to sources and so on. Then a Pirush Kotzo, a short, a short commentary on the words of the Tanya, and Likut Pirushim, Rabbi Zion Mesiano, a collection of, uh, Biurim and explanations, interpretations, Chidushim of the Rabbeim and the Tanya. And this, the Rebbe writes about this plan. It's printed in every single Tanya since. And the Maamer of the plan will never, never materialize. Uh, by the Rebbe himself, there was actually the Reshimis of the Rebbe. The Rebbe himself wrote Maamer Makoirim and HaOres and the Tanya. They were printed in the series, uh, of the Reshimis. And they were meant to be probably part of that project, but the direct relationship between these two projects is not completely known. In other words, there is this general project to give, uh, to give out a a complete edition

11:35 Speaker 1 of the Tanya. And then there is Maamer Makoirim and HaOres, which the Rebbe wrote himself, which obviously would-- were to be incorporated in somehow in that complete edition, but the exact relationship between the two is not known.

11:54 Speaker 2 So you're saying 'cause the Rebbe wrote those Reshimis much earlier than when he wrote that he's, that he's working on this, uh, Tanya Shleima.

12:00 Speaker 1 Mostly, yes. The, the, the almost all, probably over ninety percent was written earlier, even though the Rebbe complete-- uh, kept adding- Uh, more and more , uh, some of them probably even after the Pesach Zman. But, ah, yes, uh, probably over ninety percent is written before, uh, before that, uh, Pesach Zman. Anyway, it's definitely that when the Rebbe writes that he is going to give out this-- that he is planning this, uh, obviously it would have been incorporated in it, uh, one way or another. But an actual it didn't-- There was no... It didn't advance. And then, uh, later year, I think in, uh, early the Rebbe instructed Rabbi Aharon Chaitrik, who was the head of at the time. And the Rebbe told him to edit, uh, and Likut Piushim and the Tanya. And again, there were-- Uh, oh, there, there was discussion exactly in, uh, what way to do it. Uh, it ended up being that it was printed not on the page of the Tanya because, uh, I forgot to mention, in the Pesach Zman, the Rebbe said there was writing that the plan is it should be actually on the page of the Tanya, Tanya in the middle, and everything else surrounding it. And the Tanya by Rabbi Aharon Chaitrik it was-- it was, it was printed in, in, uh, booklets. It was the Perek Tanya just the way it is, and afterwards, the whole, uh, Likut Piushim, and so on. However, uh, it did see a-- Some people think-- Some people

14:07 Speaker 1 thought that this Tanya, in other words, this, uh, these booklets and the Tanya by Rabbi Aharon Chaitrik, that's really where the plan was going. In other words, the plan was changed from a plan of having a Tanya surrounded by Piushim to the-- to this Tanya which would be given as, uh, the Perek Tanya, and afterwards, the collection of, of the, of the Piushim. But recently, actually, uh, it was, uh-- there was a letter from the Rebbe written around that time, short, a short while after the Tanya of, uh, Chaitrik started coming out. So there was a letter which the Rebbe wrote. It's printed in Igres Kodesh. What's interesting-- We did not know about this letter when we started the project. We found it just a couple of years ago. Where the Rebbe says clearly that the reason why the original project is not yet happening, in other words, because I don't have the time for it. And he says that the project of Rabbi Chaitrik is In other words, that's not fulfilling the project the way it's supposed to be, but being that the project is not yet happening. So at the beginning, uh, something which is somewhat similar to that project, this was the Tanya of, uh, Rabbi Chaitrik.

15:42 Speaker 2 So is the, is the project supposed to be the completion of what the Rebbe's project that the Rebbe wanted to do, or it's supposed to be something else? May-maybe, uh, take it from there.

15:53 Speaker 1 So eventually, uh, okay, the project did not start as a project to fulfill the Rebbe's, uh, plan of Tanya . This is not how the project had started. This is, this is the second angle which I was, was trying to get to. Uh, the project started, and I wasn't part of it yet, with the Reshimas, Rebbe's Reshimas and the Tanya. The Rebbe's Reshimas were found after Yom Tov in the Rebbe's room. Nobody knew about it before. It was found at the time. And to, um, just like, uh, uh, just like there are other, uh, together with a few other, uh, Reshimas and other things, there was also a special booklet which had Reshimas and the Tanya. And it came out, and the, the Rebbe gave it a name, And this is how it came out in the-- in booklets of, uh, of Reshimas. Now, when it was gave out, it was again, it was published by uh, under, uh, Rabbi Chaim Shaul Brock as I mentioned. And when they edited the Reshimas, uh, they decided-- Again, I wasn't yet part of it at the time. They decided, uh, just, uh, in order to be a to be a little more than just the Reshimas themselves, to add a collection of Piushim, other Piushim from the Rebbe and the Tanya. So that edition of the Reshimas-- So there was the Tanya. It was surrounded by the Reshimas. And additionally, there was a Likut of Biurim of the Rebbe and the Tanya collected from all and Ma'amarim

17:59 Speaker 1 and from the Rebbe's letters. This was published at the time, the early, uh, 1990s Under the Ma'amarim, Ikoim, Morim, Sagorios, Viorios, Torios. Then go some 15 years later, there was interest in, uh, publishing a new edition of those Reshimas. And Rabbi Brook and probably others thought that it would make sense to expand that Likut Pirosim. It should include not only the Moged Ikki Pirosim, but also from the other Biurim of the Rebbe, from, uh, Sichos Hanas Mogeh, Ma'amarim Hanas Mogeh, and also to update with things which came out after that and so on. And that's where-- That's the first time when I got in the picture. The idea was to expand that Likut, which was published with the Reshimas, and to add to it other Biurim from the Rebbe which weren't included in that original, uh, Likut Pirosim. And then once-- And, and, and I, and I was asked, uh, the, the, uh, even before they actually started to run the project, they asked me to make a, a sample of a few sample Pirosim, how it would look like. And then they came out with the idea, since we are adding Pirosim of the Rebbe, and since we know that the Rebbe had an idea of adding Pirosim from Rabbi Tzion Nesiyeinu in general, why not add also Biurim from Rabbi Tzion Nesiyeinu? At that time, the idea wasn't to fulfill the exact idea of the Tanya Yashalim, but just to expand the Likut Pirosim which was printed in the Reshimas together with other

20:03 Speaker 1 Pirosim of Rabbi Tzion Nesiyeinu. Uh, and, and, uh, initially I was asked to make a sample, and then, uh, uh, Rabbi Brook secured funding, and he started to run, uh, this project. What happened since is really at that time, no one imagined the scope of this project. In other words, if you ask someone, how many Biurim of the Rabbi Tzion-- of Rabbi Tzion Nesiyeinu are there on Sefer HaTanya? Now, obviously, if you want, the entire Siddur is a Pirosim Tanya. Tanya is Torah Shebechsav. So everything is-- You can give out an entire encyclopedia of Siddurs and call it a Pirosim Tanya. So obviously, this is not what, uh, was meant. Was meant only things which are specifically written on the Tanya, which refer the Tanya, not general Biurim. For example, if, uh, uh, in Tanya Perek Gimel towards the end, there was a few words about Daas, so we are not gonna put everything which it says-- which Siddur says about Daas as a Pirosim on that Tanya. You can't do that. The idea is just things which are direct Pirosim which are-- which, uh, refer to the Tanya itself, itself. So they asked, how, how many Pirosim are there? So okay, it was imagined as maybe, okay, maybe a two-year project or so. But what we started-- Once we started actually working on it, we realized that it's much, much more than that. In other words, even before I started working, uh, a group of, uh, Bochurim and, uh, Yungeleit were hired just to

21:59 Speaker 1 make a Mafteach. In other words, to look through, uh, all the Seforim of the Rebbeim and just make a, make a list, a list, a Mafteach of where there are Biurim of Tanya. So, uh, as a preparation for the project, uh, uh, Rabbi Brook gathered a group of Bochurim and Yungeleit to prepare a Mafteach, which means just to go through all of the Seforim of the Rebbeim and see where-wherever anything is mentioned about the Tanya. They didn't have to, uh, learn it, but just go through it and see wherever the Tanya is ment-mentioned, and to prepare just the Mafteach based on the Poskim. For example, Tanya Perek Gimel is mentioned here and here and here and here and here and so on. And once the Mafteach was ready, which was actually we started-- The pro-the project was, uh, was already running at the time. The Mafteach was done while I was still working on the Rebbe's Biurim. The Mafteach for the Biurim of the Rebbeim was being prepared. And with the time we started realizing that it's a real, uh, it's a, uh, really serious, uh, project. And then with the time, somehow the realization came that we are-- what we are really trying to do here is we are trying to get as close as possible to the Rebbe's original project, uh, which the Rebbe spoke about in his, uh, Pesach Dvor and, uh, Taf Yod Daled. So basically, around the middle of the project, maybe not the middle, but definitely after the beginning,

23:57 Speaker 1 the idea changed from printing the Rebbe's Reshimas with additional Biurim from the Rebbe and maybe from the other Rebbeim, but to trying to get as close as possible to the Rebbe's plan of a Tanya Yashalayim, which meant, for example, first of all, that there would be a need to add other parts. For example, the Rebbe's plan included a Piros Kotzo, meaning additionally-- in addition to the Biurim of the Rebbeim, a running commentary on every word of the Tanya. This was part of the Rebbe's original project. We didn't start, uh, with this in mind. And also, being that right now we are-- it's not anymore a Reshimas with additional Biurim, but the general concept of Likut Pirosim and the Tanya which the Rebbe had in mind. So it didn't make sense anymore to have the Reshimas separately and the Likut Pirosim separ-separately. The Reshimas also had to be incorporated in, in, in the, the general plan. And the-- And, and, and we-- Also, there, there was a reason for that because in some cases, in the Reshimas, the Rebbe's discussing the same issues which he is also discussing in Sichas or in Ma'amarim later. And the conclusions are not always exactly the same or maybe some of the-- or maybe with added context and so on and so forth. So in the, in the Reshimas, the Reshimas are printed separately, and then there was a Likut Perushim separately. And if you learn, you learn each of them separately, even though sometimes they are touching upon the

25:52 Speaker 1 same subject. And here the idea became to incorporate everything in the same Likut Perushim. So then, so, so once the idea came up, okay, we are trying to get as close as possible to the Rebbe's Tanya Shaalem. Okay, so what are we gonna do with Perush Kotzot? Who is gonna write a Perush, a commentary on the Tanya? So again, uh, this is also a, something which Rabbi Brook found. Everyone knows there is the Shiurim HaSefer HaTanya, which started as a Shiurim which Rabbi Yosef Weinberg gave on the radio, and which were then Mogez Rebbe edited the, the actual pages of the Shiurim from which Rabbi Weinberg was giving his Shiurim, and was later printed as a Sefer which the Rebbe was encouragement. The Rebbe spoke a Sicha about it.

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28:42 Speaker 3 of Der Her through your financial support as well through visiting our website, derher.org, or through contacting us to setting up a meeting. Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of the podcast. So how did that work? Rabbi Weinberg would prepare the Shiurim, and then he would, um, he would, he would write the Shiurim, give it to the Rebbe, and then the Rebbe would give Hagahos, and then the Rebbe would give it out, and he would give the Shiur from that?

29:06 Speaker 1 Yeah, exactly like that. He would write the Shiurim, or he would write-- he prepared himself. He wrote his Shiur word by word. He wasn't like, uh, during the Shiur just freely, freely, freely talking. He wrote word by word what he was going to say. It was typed in a typewriter, and, uh, he gave it in to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe edited it and gave it, gave it out to him before the Shiur. In fact, these pages are readily available. They are online. Everyone could see the Rebbe's Hagahos and those Shiurim. Now then, in the, in, in the in the eighties, I think, came out the Sforim. And the same for Shiurim HaSefer HaTanya then also translated to Yiddish, to English, Lessons in Tanya, and to Hebrew. So at ca-- and so the, the Sforim didn't get their own Hagahot from the Rebbe. They were-- but they are re-edited based on those Shiurim which had the Rebbe's Hagahot. And the Rebbe's-- and, and when it came out, the Rebbe gave-- the Rebbe spoke a Sicha about it, and the Sicha is actually printed, uh, uh, in the f- in the first Sefer, first volume of Shiurim HaSefer HaTanya right in the beginning. And here the Rebbe describes the Shiurim HaSefer HaTanya using the words, the Yiddish words, a kurtsn piush, a short piush, a short commentary, which is on-- which is exactly the same words which the Rebbe is using in his P'tachtovo describing his plan, where he writes in Hebrew it should be a

30:46 Speaker 1 Piush Kotzot, a short commentary. So the idea was, okay, that's, that's where the Piush Kotzot has to come from. We have to take the Shiurim HaSefer HaTanya and turn it into the Piush Kotzot And the Tanya. So this is how this, uh, the second part of this project, in addition to the Likutei Pirushim, we had, uh, the Shiurim of the Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya were incorporated as a commentary on the Tanya.

31:17 Speaker 4 So it's not, um, it's not Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya directly. It's Kitsur of Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya. It's like shortened.

31:26 Speaker 1 It's not-- I wouldn't say it was shortened, but it was, uh, re-translated and edited. In other words, the Sefer wasn't exactly the same as the Shiurim which the Rebbe was magiya. At, uh, there was a different editing, a different project. There were, uh, something-- things were added and so on. What we did, we decided, let's go-- We start from the beginning. We'll take the pages, as we said, they are available, the pages with the Rebbe Sichos, and we'll start from there. And I wouldn't say we shortened it, but we did change things based on the idea that these are not anymore Shiurim to be told orally, but they are a Sefer. They are the Pirush and the Sefer. So for example, uh, for example, when you give a Shiur, sometimes you repeat things a couple of times, especially if it's a, if it's an idea which is a, a new idea or a idea which is not, uh, easy to get or understand. So you repeat it a couple of times, and Rabbi would write it actually a couple of times, one after the other. So in this case, yeah, we omitted some of those, uh, of those, uh, repetitive explanations. Also, for example, if you take the Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya, you would see that many times at the end of the Perek, there is a story. Or in other Pereks, there is a, there is a story. How did the story came in? That's a Shiur given on the radio. At the end of

33:05 Speaker 1 the Shiur, Rabbi Weinberg would conclude sometime with a story which had to do with the issue at issue in point. There's no need for those stories when you are printing out a Pirush and the Tanya. So yes, we did go through the entire Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya from its orig-- from the original pages, and we did-- We, we re-translated it because, uh, the, the translation of, uh, the, the Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya in Hebrew, which is available, uh, didn't exactly fit the style of, uh, of the Sefer. So everything had to be translated again. And we edited it in a way which would fit with, uh, uh, for, for the Sefer. One more-- Another point is we mentioned the Hagoz of the Rebbe to the Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya. Now, those Hagoz, some of them are indeed printed in the Sefer Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya. You will see on the bottom, there are sometimes, uh, He'arah from the Rebbe, and, uh, you have the Lochan, the words of the Rebbe, and they are translated to Yiddish. So some of the He'arah are indeed incorporated in the Sefer, but some of the Rebbe's Hagoz are not like long He'arahs, but they are corrections and smaller additions to the Shiur. And those are generally were incorporated in the Shiur as just part of the Shiur and nobody knows. You wouldn't know from r- from reading the Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya, what are the ideas which the Rebbe added. That's something which you only see in the original pages. So what we did

34:59 Speaker 1 in the Shiurim Mesivath HaTanya when we wrote the Pirush Ktzav is that in addition to writing, translating, and editing the actual Pirush, whenever there is a Hagoz from the Rebbe, even if it's the smallest Hagoz, it was also added separately in the Likutei Pirushim. So there is-- We know there is-- These, these words are not just part of the Shiur. They are actually an addition, a Pirush of the Rebbe and the Tanya. Also, when the Sefer was published, we don't know exactly how much... In other words, it wasn't, it wasn't edited. The Sefer wasn't edited by Rabbi Weinberg himself. It was given to other edited-- editors to work on. And it seems, especially when, uh, we look through the pages, they weren't always aware of the full meaning of, meaning of every Hagoz of the Rebbe. So we had to read all of those Hagoz immediately from the we didn't have a timing to do that, and our project is only a beginning of that. So this obviously encouraged us to try as much as possible to get as close to, to the Rebbe's original plan. So this is in-- So indeed, in the we have all of the three Midurim, all of the three parts which the Rebbe spoke about in the . We have the Pirush Ktzav Which as we said, is based on the Shiurim BeSefer HaTanya of the Rebbe Zayde. We have Ma'amarim Ikarim. Now, those Ma'amarim Ikarim are also based mainly on the Rebbe's Reishimus, because the Rebbe's Reishimus include

37:24 Speaker 1 many Ma'amarim Ikarim. Also on Ma'amarim Ikarim from the Tzemach Tzedek, and we added more Ma'amarim Ikarim where it was necessary. And then there is the Likutei Perushim, which, which incorporates everything, both Chidushim of the Rebbe from the Reishimus, from Sichos, from Ma'amarim, from the Hakdolos HaShiurim BeSefer HaTanya, and also the Peurim of, uh, Perushim of other Rebbeim. So this is how the Tanya Shaalem came into being. Another way-- Again, we didn't plan and... Nobody sat and said, "Okay, the Rebbe wanted to give us Tanya Shaalem, let's do it." No, that's not how we started. We started in one way, but then eventually we got into a, in, into a trying as much as possible to fulfill the Rebbe's Kavana. So again, we can't say that this is, this is the Rebbe's Tanya which the Rebbe actually meant. We don't know exactly. But we can try-- We can say that we tried as much as possible to get as close as possible to fulfilling the Rebbe's plan.

38:29 Speaker 4 So what is the, um, my-- First thing, firstly, did the Rebbe have in mind to, a-according to what you're understanding, was the Rebbe's Kavana to have a Likutei Perushim of all of the Perushim of the Rebbeim on the Tanya, like, like, like, like, like there is in the Sefer Tanya Shaalem? Or do you think the Kavana was to have, like a, a selected Likutim?

39:00 Speaker 1 Well, I can't say that for sure because the, the, the-- As far as I remember, the Lashon BeEzrat HaShem does not say all of the Perushim. But I think even when, when the, when the Rebbe gave Rabbi Hytrich instruction, instructions about how to prepare his, uh, Chibur, his, uh, on, on the Tanya. So I think the Rebbe did tell him to, to not make a collection, but to, to put everything. And indeed, Rabbi Hytrich added everything which was available at the time, by the way. Since this is-- We're talking about fifty years ago. Since then, there are things, uh, which weren't printed yet, which are printed now. Many more, uh, seforim and many more, uh, sources. But I think what Rabbi Hytrich did try to collect everything which existed at, at the time in print. Yeah. So based on that, we did, uh... So we can't say for sure this is what the Rebbe meant, but that's, uh, that's the way we did our work. We, we tried to get everything which was possible from the Rebbeim at the time.

40:07 Speaker 4 And the Likutei, the, the Likutei, the Likutei Perushim of the Rebbeim, is it, um, is it the Lashon HaRav or it's a rewritten based on the Perushim of the, of the Rebbeim?

40:19 Speaker 1 Okay. So here we, we had, uh... Let's, let's go back to Rabbi, to Rabbi Hytrich's Tanya. And the Rebbe said this was, Rabbi Hytrich's Tanya is Haschala Umeain. In other words, it's not fulfillment of the project, but it's a beginning and s- a beginning and something which is similar to the project. And I think why is it only in the beginning? I think at least part of it has to do with this. In other words, you wouldn't see-- It's not very common to see someone taking Rabbi Hytrich's Tanya and starting learning from it. It's used mainly for research. Yeah. You wanna know what's there, so you can't-- It's not, it, it, it's not something which you could open and learn. And one of the reasons is because Rabbi Hytrich, in other words, based on, uh, whatever was available at the time, it seems he had, uh, he was the head of Ma'aseh Chetsar Chachaim. He couldn't put his entire time on this only. So Rabbi Hytrich is indeed, uh, we could call it, uh, y- It's like copy and paste version, so to say. In other words, wherever there is something from the, from, uh, one of the Rebbeim in the Tanya, he would copy it the way it is and put it in place. For example, if the Rebbe Rashab speak about a certain, which is very common, by the way, speaks about a certain part of the Tanya and different Ma'amarim. Now, sometimes it's never exactly the same word for word. Even the

42:02 Speaker 1 Biur is not always exactly the same. Sometimes it's different Biurim, sometimes other wording. So he would put one next to the, uh, next to the other, this, this piece, this piece, and this piece. So you had all the sources in front of you, but you didn't have really, uh, you couldn't make of it much. So we, uh, already in the beginning of the project, we're discussing whether we should keep the Lashon HaRav exactly the way it is or with minimal editing in order to make it more accessible, more possible to open the Tanya and sit and learn from it. And the decision was made. There was a discussion. It, uh, it wasn't me, there was a Ma'areches, there was a discussion, and it was decided the purpose of this Tanya is for people to be able to open the Sefer HaTanya and learn it with the Biurim of the Rebbe. And for this, we have to, we have to make it easy to lear- as easy to learn as possible, even at the expense of keeping the exact Lashon HaRav. Now, and I w- I wanna elaborate on that. It's not-- We didn't... It's not, uh, we didn't take . We didn't translate it to a different language or even to a diff-- We didn't take something. We didn't write it, for example, in modern language. We didn't... It's not . It's not-- We're not trying to make something which is different from the . The, the, the, the language, the style is the style

43:39 Speaker 1 of the Rabbeim and, and, and . We didn't change the style or to make it, uh, more modern or to-- or, or different. But in order to make it easier to learn, we did bring together biurim from different from different sources to make it one thing. We did add a few words here and there to make it easier to understand. Obviously, we didn't add pirushim. It was... We add, we added, uh, just connections or changed a little the order. Anything which is meant just to make it easier to understand how, how, how the p-- how the pirush goes. Whenever we felt that we need to add a little more than that, in other words, if you read the pirush the way it is, maybe you wouldn't understand, and there is-- we need to add, add additional explanation. We didn't add it inside. There was a and then, and then, and at the bottom, we wrote, "It could mean this and this," and we added, and, and, uh, made it clear that the, uh, that this is from the . This is our suggestion. We didn't add inside any substance which is not from the Rabbeim. But we did edit a little bit the lang-language to make it more acc-- more accessible and easier to understand. For example, let's take the Rebbe's Reishimis. The Rebbe's Reishimis are written very, very short, in code. You print it the way it is, it's very hard to learn. So yes, we have to under-- to add a few words

45:18 Speaker 1 to make it easier to understand, but again, not words of substance, but words which makes it easier to learn and understand what it is. So again, we didn't keep the exactly. We kept the style of but in order and certain things make it more easier to understand. And we think this is possibly one of the reasons why, uh, we... Again, we don't know exactly what the Rebbe's plan was, but from the Rebbe saying that Rabbi Heinrich's project was a , this seems to indicate that the Rebbe wanted more than just copy and paste of pieces, but something which is a clearer pirush, pirushim and the Tanya which could be learned easily with the Tanya. So that's the approach which we took, and, uh, this is how the Tanya HaShalem is.

46:15 Speaker 4 Okay, very good. So, um, I wanna zoom out a little bit 'cause you said a lot of different things of what the Tanya incorporates. So if you open up the Tanya, can you go through how it looks and what each section is?

46:36 Speaker 1 Okay. Uh, 'cause they're actually big. They're the same fact. I can open on Sefer, but I don't know if it's, uh... You wouldn't be able to see much probably in the-

46:44 Speaker 4 You could, you, you could try. We'll see, we'll see if it goes through the camera. We can see if it works.

46:48 Speaker 1 Let's try. You see anything here? Okay. Okay. So here is an example. We start from the beginning of a Perek. That, for example, this is Perek Zayin. So as you can see, in the, in the Sefer, each Perek is separate and has its own Shaar blat. Let's... Here, this is a Shaar blat of Perek Zayin. We added here, the, the piece here is actually from the Shiurim B'Sefer HaTanya. Because Rabbi Weinberg, in the beginning of each Perek, before he started actually learning the Perek in-inside, he would give some kind of introduction about the Perek. Actually, he started it a little later, not from the very beginning. But afterwards, it became a Seder, uh, he, he... And this is printed in the Shiurim B'Sefer HaTanya in the beginning of each Perek. So we took this part, and we put it right in the Shaar blat of, uh, of each Perek. Where it was missing, in some places it was missing, so, uh, we wrote our own. But, uh, generally, this is from the Shiurim B'Sefer HaTanya introduction to Perek Zayin. So then you open the Perek itself. So here you see, this is, this, this is the Tanya inside. Under the Tanya, right under the Tanya is the Ma'amarim Ha'Ikrimim. Again, some of them from the Rebbe, from the Tzemach Tzedek, and some, uh, we added. And, uh, under the Ma'amarim Ha'Ikrimim, there are actually a section of Ha'Oros and the Ma'amarim Ha'Ikrimim which is where, uh, we brought probably quotes from the Ma'amarim Ha'Ikrimim where

48:35 Speaker 1 it was important and so on. So that's the Ma'amarim Ha'Ikrimim. These are quotes from those Ma'amarim Ha'Ikrimim. Then on the side, here it's only on this page, and other pages it goes to the other page too. That's the Pirush Kotzo. That's from the Shiurim B'Sefer HaTanya. It's parallel to the Tanya itself, so you could-- you learn the Tanya, and you can learn it with the Shiurim around it. In the large print is the words of the Tanya. Small print is, is the Shiurim. And then in the, in the bottom, starting on the bottom and continuing to the next page, that's the Likutey Pirushim. They have, they have Otiyot. You see the first one has an Alef, Beis, Gimmel, and so on, and then you have HaOros and them. Sometimes in certain Perakim, the Likutey Pirushim is very long. You have pages, not here, there are-- You have pages, let's say in Perek Alef or here Perek Beis. You have pa-pages which are entirely the Likutey Pirushim because there are parts where there are many Pirushim in. And then in the end of every Perek, not, uh, in most Perakim, there is a Kitzur. What's the Kitzur? That's from the Kitzurim and HaOros of the Tzemach Tzedek. We know that Tzemach Tzedek wrote actually two versions of Kitzurim and Tanya in addition to HaOros, and the Rebbe printed them in the Sefer Kitzurim v'HaOros. The Rebbe actually gave it out, uh, to everyone, I think, in Taf Shin Nun. So the, the Tzemach Tzedek wrote a

50:14 Speaker 1 Kitzur on every Perek. So we-- the, the Kitzur of the Tzemach Tzedek is printed at the end, uh, of every perek. So that's basically how it works. You see the, there is an introduction. The introduction is really part of the Shiurei Musar VahaTanya. And inside, we have the three parts, the Maameri Mekoros on the bottom, right under the text, on the side, the Pirush Katzoh, and the rest of the Likutei Pirushim. And towards the end of every perek is the Kitzur, uh, from the Tzemach Tzedek, where it exists.

50:47 Speaker 5 In the back of the, um, of the Chelek Beis, I saw that there's a very rich, uh, and, uh, beautiful, uh, pictures of Kisvei Yad and the Rebbeim from the Rebbe. So what, what are those, uh, what are those Inyanim that are in the back of Chelek Beis?

51:07 Speaker 1 That's a Skira. This is, uh Because-- Now, because the Sefer, as we said, is taken from the Biurim of, uh, all of the Rebbeim and the Tanya, so we decided to ma-- that, uh... Now, the Biurim of the Rebbeim and the Tanya are divided, let's say, into two parts. There are some Biurim of the Rebbeim which are written specifically on the Tanya. The main ones, uh, we know the Kitzurim VahaOros of the Tzemach Tzedek. That's actually Ha'ores, which the Tzemach Tzedek wrote on, on the Tanya itself, directly re-referencing the Tanya. That's Ha'ibbur on the Tanya. There is also from the Rebbe Hashab. And for example, there is, in the Ma'amorim, which is Ibur HaMaschi of the Maimar as LeHovi in Ma Sh'e Kosuv BaTanya. It's specifically written on the Tanya. Actually, from the Alter Rebbe, there are multiple Ma'amorim from the Alter Rebbe which the beginning of the Maimar, the purpose of the Maimar, so to say, is to explain a certain part of Tanya. And then there are the Pirushim which are just scattered all over in many Ma'amorim and, and Sichos. So we decided, uh, that's really also based on, uh, on the way the Rebbe published the Kitzurim VahaOres. At the end of the Sefer Kitzurim VahaOres, the Rebbe himself wrote a Skira on the different manuscripts, Kisvei Yad, uh, where it was published from, and so on and so forth. So based on that, we thought it would make sense here too to add such, uh, a Skira description of the

53:00 Speaker 1 sources which we have from the Rebbeim. So obviously, the description can't include all the Ma'amorim and Sichos, but those Iburim which refer specifically on the Tanya, a description of where it comes from, what are the Maamer Mekoros, what are the manuscripts, and so on and so forth. So, so that's, uh, that's, uh, in the back of the Tanya. We've, uh, we've printed such a description of all the sources starting from the Alter Rebbe, the Ma'amorim of the Alter Rebbe which are directly on the Tanya with a few, uh, uh, with, with copies from them. These are not copies from the Alter Rebbe's Kisvei Yad because the Alter Rebbe's Ma'amorim, he mo- almo- almost all of them, the Alter Rebbe didn't write himself, but some of them are Kisvei Yad of the Mitteler Rebbe and, uh, from the other Rebbe. So we a-- So over there, there is-- So again, that's a description of all sources from the Rebbeim which are directly related to Tanya, including many copies, and, uh, Rabbi Buch made sure to make the copies in the most Biur and, and, and the best quality possible, uh, and in color, and so on and so forth. It's a very interesting, uh, Skira. But that idea, the idea is to have a general description of all the sources which we have from the Rebbeim and the Tanya, which are re- which are referred di-directly to, to the Tanya itself, from which we took the Likutei Pirushim. Also from the Rebbe, there is, uh, some

54:36 Speaker 1 of the copies of some of the Ha'akos and a few of the Sefer HaTanya, and so on.

54:39 Speaker 5 One of the integral components of being a Chassid are the Chassidishe Yamim Tovim and Yemei Depagra. Whether it's Hei Teves, Yud Shvat, Yud Aleph Nisan, or Gimmel Tammuz, these days give us an opportunity to connect with our Rebbeim, to connect with each other, and be better Chassidim. What is the story behind each of these days? How did the Rebbe commemorate and celebrate these days? And most importantly, what are the lessons, the takeaways, and the action items, HaMa'aseh Hu Ha'Ikkar needed for each of these days? All of this and much, much more are answered in the new set recently published by Der Her. Our Days is a journey through the Chabad calendar in story, meaning, and practice. With over seven hundred beautiful glossy pages with elevated content, beautiful, beautiful photographs, you, your family, and friends will enjoy and live with each Chassidishe Yamtev. This book is a must for every Lubavitcher home, for every shul, for every school. It is a perfect gift item. This will not collect dust. It will be used day after day, month after month, year after year. You can have this set. Go to derher.orgforward/ourdays. Order your set today and start living like a Chassidishe Yamim Tovim. Okay. Were there, um... When you were working on the either the Shiurei Musar for the Tanya or the Ha'aros from the Rebbe, were there certain Inyanim Chiddushim, the way the Rebbe explained, uh, the Tanya, which sticks out? Give me-- If you have any examples of something that sticks out, either that is

56:38 Speaker 5 different than when people thought Pshat is or something that you realized that was interesting to you while you were working on it, something that, uh, Hadvar Chiddush.

56:48 Speaker 1 Okay. There are many, many of those. I, I'll, uh, I'll say something very small, which I realized in, in, in that Garot of Shiurim and, and, and, and, and Shiurim Mesivata Tanya and, uh, and the first Perek of Tanya. It's a, it's a small thing, but which I think it represents very strongly the Rebbe's, the Rebbe's look, so I like to repeat it. And the f-the first... In Pere-in Ta-in the Perek Aleph of Tanya, the Alter Rebbe is bringing proof that the Tzadik doesn't mean just someone who has more Mitzvahs than Averos, but means a whole, uh, complete different thing. Even, even a Benei has no Averos, and a Tzadik is obviously someone who doesn't have Yetzer Hara. And he brings the proof. What's the proof? Because it says, that there aren't many Tzadikim around. So this shows that Tzadikim doesn't mean anyone who has more Mitzvahs than Averos because there are many people that have more Mitzvahs than Averos. So he-here is the Hagah and Shiurim Mesivata Tanya, where, uh, Rabbi Amber worked, Rabbi Amber worked a, uh, explanation. He explained that in simple terms, you know, uh, that it says that there are only a small amount, a small number of Tzadikim, and therefore it doesn't fit with the criteria of, uh, Robez Choyes, more Mitzvahs than Averos because there are many of those. So that the Rebbe, the Rebbe added here a few words. I'm trying to remember the exact words, but Phil, Phil Mere. In other words, the Rebbe wanted to

58:49 Speaker 1 put the emphasize that when you are talking about Yidden who have more Mitzvahs than Averos, there are, there is a, a very, a u-a gr-a, a larger, a Phil, Phil, a, a great, a great amount of such Yidden. The Rebbe didn't want... Didn't, uh... A-actually I, I could look it up exactly. If you wait for a second, I'll see exactly what, what are the words. So we're here. Uh, the, the Rabbi Amber worked the following words. That if Tzadik is someone who has only... Any-anyone who has more Mitzvahs than Averos, why are we saying, why, why are we saying that there are only, there is only a small amount of Tzadikim? Because man-many Yidden have, uh, have, uh, more Mitzvahs than Averos. So the Rebbe added the following words. In other words, you see, the Rebbe is not being... It's not such a big Chiddush, but you see here the Rebbe, uh, puts in his look on a Yid. It's not... You're saying, "Okay, there are more Mitzvahs." Phil, go, Phil Yidden, so many. The Rebbe here is every single Yid in the world. So many Yidden have, uh, Robez Choyes, more Mitzvahs than Averos. Phil, go, go, Phil. So even though you could say, "Okay, that's not a Chiddush. The Rebbe's not bringing Chiddush," but we did incorporate it as a Pirush of the Rebbe on the Tanya because that's something which shows the Rebbe's look, the Rebbe's look on, on Yidden and on Kol Yisroel. And, and the Rebbe puts it right in

1:00:33 Speaker 1 the first, uh, first Perek on Tanya. Or I give another example where the Rebbe is actually changing the Pshat of the words along a similar line. And this is in Perek Zain. Where Perek Zain is discussing the concept of, uh, Klipos Noiga, the Klipa, which is the way it's in different, uh, Olamos. And the Rebbe, and that Rebbe is saying that in Olam Haze, Klipa's N- Olam Haze is Rubo Ekchole Ra. Olam Haze is Rubo Ekchole, meaning vast majority. That's the simple meaning. Rubo Ekchole, vast majority of Olam Haze is Ra, is evil. there's only a very limited amount of good which is mixed into the, in, into the Klipa. So the... How do you understand generally the term Rubo Ekchole? Rubo Ekchole Ra. If you say Rubo, Rubo Ra would mean majority is bad. You say Rubo Ekchole, not just majority, the biggest majority, the vast majority is bad. There's only just a little bit which is good. But again, the Rebbe here is changing the meaning. And again, I, I... In a sec- in a second I'll, I'll find the Rebbe's actual words. So again, the words Rubo Ekchole Ra, so Rabbi Weinberg translated If the klipa kimat in gantz un shlecht, it's almost completely, uh, bad. But the Rebbe added a few words. The Rebbe add, in geshnteil. And, and n- and now you read it, if the klipa in geshnteil kimat in gantz un shlecht. In other words, the Rebbe here is separating the rubai from the kechuloi. And the Rebbe

1:02:37 Speaker 1 is saying, ruba kechuloi means the majority of the klipa is almost completely bad. In other words, don't take ruba kechuloi as more than rubai. Not the majority is bad, vast majority is bad. No. Ruba kechuloi means the majority is almost completely bad. The minority is still good, and even the majority is a majority is only almost completely bad. In other words, ruba kechuloi, the addition of kechuloi is really reducing how much evil is in there rather than increasing the amount of evil. Now again, this is a completely new pirosh of the Rebbe in the words ruba kechuloi. It doesn't mean vast majority, but it means the r- the majority is almost completely. Again, this is incorporated in the printed Shiurim Eitz HaTanya, but it doesn't say that it's from the Rebbe. If you learn the Shiurim Eitz HaTanya from the Sefer- Right ... you would read through it, and you wouldn't realize how the Rebbe is changing here completely the meaning of the word. I don't think anyone else knew how... A-anyone realized how to change the meaning of the words ruba kechuloi from the vast majority to a majority being almost completely. So this is another example where the Rebbe is actually changing the meaning of the words and giving it a more positive tone. It's not almost completely bad, but in the contrary, even the majority which is bad is really only almost completely bad and, uh, not really completely bad. So that's just a few examples from the beginning of, uh, of

1:04:23 Speaker 1 the Sefer HaTanya of change-- small changes which the Rebbe is saying, which are changing, uh, how we understand these words. Uh, now there are a few places that... In other words, those small changes, there are literally, literally hundreds of them. That's not-- That's just a few examples from the beginning. But there are some places where there is a chinuch of the Rebbe, which is, I believe, at least by me, it changed the way I looked at, at, at, at, at the Ta-- I don't know if it's Tanya in general, but at least at certain parts of the Tanya. And I will give one example for that. And this is from the beginning of Perek Chamed Hey in Tanya. Perek Chamed Hey is the beginning of a new section that, uh, we are later in Perek Chamed Vav introducing the concept of the Ruba Tachtonim. This really begins in Perek Chamed Hey, uh, to explain the word of La'asoh eso, the importance of Mitzvos Ma'asiyos, Mitzvos which are in action. And in the beginning of the Perek, that Rebbe says that what, what's the purpose of this part of the Tanya? So one of the, one of the, uh, I will say, and of course, that Rebbe is not showing. Again, that's, uh, from the second volume. So that Rebbe saying, "Lehovin me'at mizehir tachlis bria habeinonim v'eridas nishmosom loilam haze. Lomo b-b- me'achar shelo yalchu leshalchah," since there won't be... Those beinonim since they are not able to completely defeat their nefshabamis and to completely

1:06:25 Speaker 1 change it into g- into, into good. So, "Lomos ze yordu nishmosom loilam haze legalo rik, chas v'shalom." Once the neshamas came down to olam haze, it seems that they are working, everything which they do is in vain. They're not able to con-- to, to conquer the nefshabamis. They just keep fighting, and fighting, and fighting. It's legalo rik. That's in vain. And, uh, to explain that, I'll take you the whole concept of how, how important is the Mitzvos Ma'asiyos, because Mitzvos which are done with action, so they involve the nefshabamis. So whenever you do a Mitzvah which is, which involves action, you're actually changing and, and, and elevating a certain part of your nefshabamis. But let's focus on that question. The question, why did the beinonim come down to olam haze legalo rik, uh, to, to, to toil in vain? There are-- When you learn it, there are obvious questions. First of all, what I mean why did they come down to olam haze? At the very br-beginning of Tanya, in Perek Daled, we already learned that "Yofor sh'orachah b'teshuva u'ma'asim tovim baolam haze mikol chai olam haba." Because olam haba, the most you have is ziv hashechinah, only a glow. Only in olam haze you could actually reach the dovko boy. You could reach dvekut with the Oibishter through learning Torah, especially l-learning Torah, which creates a yichud ninfa. And through Mitzvah in general, you become one with the Oibishter. So what kind of question is why did the beinonim come down to olam haze?

1:08:06 Speaker 1 What do you mean? In olam haze, they are gaining Torah, they are gaining Mitzvahs, they are gaining dvekut with the Oibishter, which you don't gain in higher olamos. Why are we saying it's legal or why is it to work in vain? That's one question. Additionally, okay, so you could say, yes, it's true that there is the advantage of coming down to Olam Haze to learn Torah and to fulfill it with Mekaye mitzvahs. But for this, you don't have-- you don't need to be a Benei, you could be a Tzadik. A Tzadik is also learning Torah and also being Mekaye mitzvahs. So maybe the fact that they are not Tzadikim, that's logic. Not the fact that they came down to Olam Haze, but the fact that they are Bnei Nim rather than Tzadikim, that's in vain because what are they getting from being Bnei Nim? No. Actually, a few prokim before in Perek of Zayin, the Rebbe explains that the Aibishter has a special nakas from the Avodah of a Bnei Nim. That the Aibishter has Nei Sugim Atamim. The Aibishter desires two types or two, two flavors. There is a Ma'adamim Mesukim, there is a sweet flavor which is provided by the Tzadikim, and then there is Ma'acholim Charifim V'Chamutzim, things which are not naturally, uh, sweet. It's an acquired taste, so to say, but through Avodah, you are able to turn them into something which is a Ma'adamim, LaHorshivan Efesh. And this is, uh, uh, and, and this, this is through the... And, and

1:09:40 Speaker 1 the Rebbe explains in Perek of Zayin how only the Bnei Nim through his Avodah of Iskafya... So he is providing this type of special Ma'adamim which the Aibishter desires. So we just explained what's the need for the Bnei Nim. The Bnei Nim, they are creating those Ma'adamim LaHorshivan Efesh. They are c- they are c-- they, they are fulfilling the Aibishter's desire for Ma'adamim through their Avodah in Iskafya. So how-- why are we saying here that it's, uh, legal or it's work in vain? So these are obvious questions, which obviously Rabbi Weinberg also discusses, and he gives various explanations. Each one of them he's answering in a different way. And the Rebbe, first of all, he, he rejects, uh, Rabbi Weinberg's explanations. And the Rebbe says that the idea here is really hidden in one word. That the Rebbe is saying here, "The Chovin MeAt Mizeh Tachlis Brias Benei Nim V'Yeridas Nishros Hem B'Olam Haze L'Hislabesh B'Nefesh Habamis." What's the purpose of the Bnei Nim coming down to Olam Haze and to be Mislabesh in the Nefesh Habamis? To be enclosed, to be in, uh, uh, ha-- to... In the, in, in the Nefesh Habamis. And that's the question over here. The question is not why are you coming down to Olam Haze. If you're coming down to Olam Haze, there are many ma'alos, there are many advantages in Olam Haze. There is Torah in Olam-- Torah in Olam Haze. There is mitzvahs in Olam Haze. There is Avodah in Olam Haze. No question why you

1:11:34 Speaker 1 came down to Olam Haze. Why you came down to Olam Haze as a Bnei Nim, also is understood. There is Iskafya. As a Bnei Nim, you are fulfilling Iskafya. You are able to fight the Klipa, uh, and, and you are causing the special, uh, Iskafya Zikacha, Yisade Kol Gut Riv Hu Harami. You are bringing great Gilui, a great pleasure, the Ma'alah, a great Taanug. The question is not why you came down to Olam Haze, and not even why you came down to Olam Haze as a Bnei Nim. The question is why your Nefesh Haba'alukis, why your Neshamah had to be Mislabesh, had to be internalized inside Nefesh Habamis. Why the confusion? Why do I need to have such Nefesh Elokis which is mixed in together with Nefesh Habamis? I don't always know what a Nefesh Elokis is, what a Nefesh Habamis is. If the purpose is Iskafya, so let we have a Nefesh Elokis. Let we have-- Let's, let's have a Nefesh Habamis outside, and then we have to fight the Nefesh Habamis. Why is this Islabshus? Why does the Nefesh Habamis have to be part of me? That's what Alter Rebbe is asking. The w-- In the name of the Bnei Nim. The Rebbe-- The Bnei Nim is asking, "I have no problem with being in Olam Haze. I have no problem with not being a Tzadik. But why do I need a Nefesh Habamis as part of me? Why is my Nefesh Elokis needs to be mixed in together with Nefesh Habamis? You

1:13:10 Speaker 1 want Iskafya? Give me Nefesh Elokis. Put the Nefesh Habamis outside, and I will fight the Nefesh Habamis. Why, why is it that my Nefesh Elokis is involved, which makes the, uh, my, my Avodah much harder?" It's not anymore. I don't even always know what Nefesh Elokis is saying, what Nefesh Habamis is saying. They're all part of my personality. I'm-- It's all mixed in. This is legal or this extra Torah, extra work which is caused by the Islabshus, by a Bnei Nim in vain. By a Tzadik, we understand. Why is there an Islabshus? Because through the Islabshus, the Nefesh Elokis is able to completely overcome Nefesh Habamis and turn it into good and then turn it into Kedushah. That's... But I, a Bnei Nim, which I'm not doing it, why am-- why is this Islabshus? Why is my personality mixed in when Nefesh Elokis and Habamis together without being able... Why is Nefesh Habamis part of me rather than being an outside force? And here, that's-- this question is only answered here. Why is Nefesh Habamis part of you? Because when Nefesh Habamis is part of you, it means that every single action which you take is involving your Nefesh Habamis. When you are being Mekayem a Mitzvah, it's not just a Nefesh Elokis doing it. It's-- It has to... It's using a Koach of Nefesh Habamis. So every Mitzvah which you are being Mekayem, you are not only reaching the vacuous with your Nefesh Elokis, you are also turning to Kedushah a certain part of

1:14:53 Speaker 1 Nefesh Habamis even as a Bnei Nim, and not only in a Tzadik. And this is how you are fulfilling part of the, of, of the Kavana of the Rebbe Tachtalim. In other words, from Perek Lamed He, based on this explanation of the Rebbe, from Perek Lamed He, the entire look at a Nefesh Habamis is different. Because until Perek Chamish Hey, we see the Nefshamame as an enemy. That's what Nefshamame is, it's an enemy. We have to fight it. If we're tzadikim, we are, we defeat it so, so strongly that we're either completely driving it out or even we are turning it into kedushah, we are turning the enemy into a friend. If you are a Beis Din, so you keep fighting your enemy, you're hitting it, and you're hitting it, and you're hitting it, and you're never gonna defeat it. That's before Perek Chamish Hey. Uh-huh. From Perek Chamish Hey, Nefshamame is not anymore just the enemy. It's a goal. It's a purpose. Nefshamame is not only as, uh, object to be defeated, as a object to be used as part of your Avodah to bring to the Rabbi Tanchum. So this small explanation of the Rebbe has really ge-ge... really gives us a whole new look on Nefshamame from Perek Chamish Hey and on. It becomes not an enemy, but part of the goal of, of our Avodah. So and that's one, that's one very strong example, and there are a few more where a, a, a small answer of the Rebbe, a small

1:16:32 Speaker 1 ago of the Rebbe is changing an entire look of, of a, of a part of Tanya.

1:16:39 Speaker 6 Okay. Beautiful, Yeshakah, for sharing that. Um, I have a question that I'm thinking, um, the... I wanna... The Chlal of this Tanya, Tanya Shalom, so far has b- I think it's another frontier in the Hafatz of the Tanya, and it's going out. It's like a, a new shlav in the, in, in the Tanya being available to the world. And everyone hears about Tanya and the Lev Avше Chasadim. It's g- we're, we're, we're born with it. Tanya Bal Pe from when you're a little kid and, uh, um, what would you tell a person, um, is the importance, why, wh-why do, why d- and, and, and Lev Avше Chasad also that what is it about Tanya that they need, uh, that w-why is that such a central thing that Tanya is needed for, for your life?

1:17:50 Speaker 1 Yeah. That's, uh, more a question for a Mashpia than to an editor of, uh, Tanya Shalom. That's not the... I wouldn't say it's the Chidush of the Tanya Shalom. Tanya Shalom is... In other words, the Tanya is important for your life, as I mentioned before, because this is the way... This is really, uh, uh, this is... That Rebbe, we, as you said before, from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. The Tanya is the way that the Rebbe is telling you how to deal with your Avodah Hashem. Uh, and the, and that's the Rebbe saying himself, that's a continuation of Yechidus. That's the Re- that, that's the Alter Rebbe and the Rebbe giving you eitzas on your Avodah Hashem. So maybe it could be said that if the Tanya itself is the eitzas of the Alter Rebbe, with the Tanya Shalom, you are getting the eitzas of the Ba'al Shem Tov general, including the eitzas of our Rebbe. But, uh, generally speaking, the concept of the, the, the concept is that the Tanya is what tells the Hasidim that's, that's the, the, that's the manual for Avodah Hashem. You can't start your Avodah Hashem without a Tanya. If you want to serve the Ribono Shel Olam, the, the Tanya is the manual. Now, Tanya Shalom is adding to that also through the Biurim and through the Kirchos of the Rebbe. But, uh, generally, that's the concept of Tanya, is that it's not that the Chiddush of, the Chiddush of not Tanya Shalom is the ability to learn and understand

1:19:25 Speaker 1 Tanya. But the, the fact is that Tanya is the, the manual of instructions of how to serve the Ribono Shel Olam. This was before Tanya Shalom and it continues after Tanya Shalom.

1:19:36 Speaker 6 Okay. Um, so I just want to end off that, uh, I spoke to Rav Chamsha Brook, and, uh, I know that, uh, I, I believe that they printed twenty thousand copies and it's sold out. You can't even buy it in any store. If you wanna order it now, you have to pre-order because it's, it's, uh, it's already been printed, second printing, and if you wanna purchase a copy, you need to pre-order it for when it comes. Um, after so many years of, uh, working on it, how do you feel about the fact that it was received so well and so quickly and, uh, I mean, it's a lot of sefarim to sell. What do you, what do you, h-how do, how do you feel about that?

1:20:19 Speaker 1 Uh, I can tell you this is one of the things which, uh, uh, especially Rabbi Brook was worried about it in the beginning. He said, "Okay. Such a Tanya Shalom with Pirushim of the Rebbe, who is gonna buy it? A few people are gonna buy it." But you know what? I think I remember Rabbi Brook told me, "I'm not doing it... I don't care how many people buy it. I know the Rebbe wanted to give a Tanya Shalom, so I'm doing, I'm doing it as a, as a gift for the Rebbe, that the Rebbe wanted it to exist. So I'll do it even though only a few people buy it. So, uh, I'll, uh, so I'll do it just as a gift for the Rebbe because the Rebbe wanted to have, uh, this kind of Tanya." Okay. But Baruch Hashem, it looks like, uh, I'm sure it's helped the fact that, uh, Rabbi Brook wanted to make sure that the- Uh, the Tanya was, uh, easily affordable and he was able to, uh, uh, secure, uh, funding to sell it at a huge, uh, huge discount. So, uh-- And, and the purpose was that, so that Rebbe's Tanya reaches every-- uh, reaches every, every-- uh, reaches every home and every, every Yiddish house. But even that, I remember in the beginning when the Tanya started being sold, and within a few days, uh, five thousand sets were sold. So Rabbi Brook was very excited. "You know, we sold already five thousand sets. I didn't think

1:21:48 Speaker 1 it would sell so ma-- it would sell so, so many, five thousand sets within a few days." Okay, but Baruch Hashem, uh, looks like people are going into it and are buying it. And, uh, it was, uh, five, five thousand within a few days, but twenty thousand within a few weeks. And, uh, I'm sure a certain, uh, large part of the second edition is also already sold. So Baruch Hashem, that, uh, it's not only that the Rebbe's idea is being fulfilled, but the Rebbe's idea is being reaching, uh, every Yiddish, uh, Yiddish home and probably more every-- many more Yiddish homes. That's definitely very exciting.

1:22:24 Speaker 6 Okay. So, uh, I hope that, uh, this conversation that we're having is, uh, will, will help the effort to get even more people involved. And, uh-

1:22:36 Speaker 1 Yeah

1:22:36 Speaker 6 ... if you're listening to this and you didn't purchase it, to, to make the pre-order. And, uh, thank you very much for your, uh, uh, part in, uh, this, uh, in, in this, uh, I, I guess is, uh-

1:22:48 Speaker 1 At Tanya.com, I think is the address.

1:22:50 Speaker 6 Okay, Tanya.com. And thank you for, uh, your, I guess, uh, for being part of this