Many people think the Tanya is a book about Kabbalah

Many people think the Tanya is a book about Kabbalah.

It is not mainly a book about explaining mystical ideas.

The Tanya explains the ideas a person should think about again and again so they can develop deep awe and love for the Creator throughout the day.

The author of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe, explains different personality states, not simply different kinds of people.

What does the Tanya mean by a beinoni?

The main goal of the Tanya is to help a person become a beinoni.

A beinoni still experiences selfish thoughts, fear, pride, and other ego-driven feelings, but learns not to let them control what they think about, say, or do.

Instead of expecting love and awe to appear on their own, a beinoni keeps returning to the ideas that awaken those feelings.
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Are love and awe beliefs, or emotional experiences?

The Tanya teaches that love and awe are not only beliefs.

They are emotional experiences that grow as a person repeatedly notices and meditates on the Creator.

Where does awe for the Creator begin?

Awe begins with fear and wonder.

Fear, because every choice matters and every moment is lived before Him.

Wonder, because the Infinite Creator gives existence to everything, yet desires human beings to become partners in revealing more goodness in His world.

How does awe awaken love?

That awe awakens love when you trust He is good.

Love longs for greater closeness with the Creator, and sadness can be apart of that intimacy because so much of His goodness is still hidden in us and in a world that feels separate from Him.

Without love, a person may understand ideas about the cause of existence without yet experiencing a living relationship with the Creator.

Awe and both deepen through expressing appreciation.
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What are the two kinds of tzadik and rasha?

The Tanya also describes two kinds of tzadik. A tzadik has changed the personality so deeply that selfish desires no longer rule.

One type no longer feels selfish desire at all. The other still notices it in a very small way, but is not drawn to it.

It also describes two kinds of rasha, where selfishness regularly wins over a person’s choices.

I heard a Chabad Chassid describe a sixth personality expression: “Halavai a beinoni” — “If only I could be a beinoni.” Wanting to become a beinoni is already the beginning of healthy spiritual growth.

A beinoni does not ask to stop struggling. A beinoni asks, again and again, “would you give me the relationship with You that I seek.”

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The Tanya is not only teaching beliefs about the Creator.

What kind of personality is the Tanya building?

It is teaching the ideas a person should keep thinking about so they can build a personality that lives with ongoing awe, love, and relationship with the Creator.

Because of that, the Tanya can be hard to understand for someone who never learned what healthy love, trust, responsibility, and repair look like.

Why do relationship skills often need to come first?

Generational trauma can leave a person without a healthy picture of relationships.

Before many of the Tanya’s ideas can be deeply affect a person, those relationship skills often need to be built first.

If your picture of love was shaped by trauma, some of the Tanya’s deepest ideas may not make sense until healthy relationship is learned.

I’d recommend studying Rabbi Adin Even-Israel’s commentary on the Tanya to help you understand it.

“You can believe in the Creator for years and never learn how to notice him. The Tanya was written to teach that skill.” 

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Related guides:

How does Chabad Chassidus explain the world of souls?

Why was generational trauma built into creation?

Questions people ask

Is the Tanya a book about Kabbalah?

Not mainly. Many people think it is, but the Tanya is not mostly a book explaining mystical ideas. It gathers the ideas a person should think about again and again, so that deep awe and love for the Creator can grow throughout the day. It trains attention, not only belief.

What is a beinoni in the Tanya?

A beinoni is a personality state, not a type of person. A beinoni still feels selfish thoughts, fear, pride, and other ego-driven feelings, but does not let them control what they think about, say, or do. Instead of waiting for love and awe to appear, a beinoni keeps returning to the ideas that awaken them.

Which emotional skills does the Tanya ask a person to practice?

Mainly awareness, self-responsibility, and appreciation. Awareness means noticing selfish thoughts, fear, and pride without letting them decide what you say or do. Self-responsibility means returning to the ideas that awaken awe and love instead of waiting for feelings to arrive. Appreciation is the emotional skill that deepens both.

Why can the Tanya be hard to understand after trauma?

Because it leans on knowing what healthy love, trust, responsibility, and repair look like. Generational trauma can leave a person without that picture of relationships, so some of the Tanya's deepest ideas may not make sense until healthy relationship is learned. Building those skills often comes first.