Tanya (Part 3): Title Page

good morning and welcome back to 10 minutes of meaning our learning of I want to thank our generous sponsors for the series Marilyn and Michael fedak my dear friends so generous of their of them to sponsor our learning I say are learning this is not teaching as I'm going to probably give this disclaimer each and every time I'm not in a position to teach Tanya I'm simply learning Tanya and learning it out loud together with you last week we left off with our overview our introduction the background of his history and background the background of the authoring of and an overview of what he's trying to accomplish and the learn not just diving into the opening of the for even the the introduction but because the saer is so sacred so significant it's the Tor they begin from the title page usually when we open a book we open a saer we flip through the title page what is the title page we want to know when it was published where it was published the author we know that about Sean and yet the title page of Sean is in itself so instructive so informative so important and it contains so much information so again we're working off of the classic text of Tanya and I mentioned last week I've been gaining a lot from the um the commentary of Rabbi Stein out and a much more recent commentary from Miller the Practical Tanya both are excellent together with so many other works on t the title page points out that the first thing he says is that this book is it is a collection of sayings part one a collections of saying and we pointed out last week already that a collection of sayings is a humble very humble way of the AL introducing the safer that point we'll see in the the was inundated with visitors and guests with and loyal followers and disciples who wanted to download from him essentially all of the Torah ofus this new way this perspective I was thinking today's DFI for those who learned the da already refers to that RAB Yuda who wasn't learning as much was not as knowledgeable as many of his contemporaries was focused only on a narrow part of Torah but he had such righteousness in him that when the rain stopped and he fast that Hashem made the rain fall even though his peers who perhaps had greater Torah knowledge when they prayed it didn't and the gamar says why because that not only is Torah so Central so critical so important but if a person has tremendous knowledge of Torah but doesn't not give their heart ultimately wants what's in our heart that's what is teaching collection of sayings for how to stimulate our heart shock our heart into beating into action into living and dedicate and devote our heart to Hashem so T is certainly all about the the intellectual pursuit of Torah but it's the intellectual pursuit of Torah with with wanting what's in our heart so Tanya is not just an anthology theb was humble when he said it's it's a collection of sayings but it's not an anthology there are books that are produced today where the author introduces absolutely nothing new they simply literally collect sayings of others and what's new is the way it's organized or they did the hard work of going to collect it and organize it and publish it so neatly and so beautifully but it's more than simply a collection it is a synthesis of these teachings it is weaving them together in a way that paints a portrait that lifts our spirits that gives us an optimism and a hope and an ambition for who we can become so it is a collection of sayings but much more than just a collection of sayings it is in fact it is in fact a synthesis of those sayings and then he titles it it's the book of so we mentioned last week that the's translation or definition of bonim is very different than others the rambam understands bonim as those who on the scales it's equal 5050 so if a person wakes up on a p particular day a person's merits and demerits a person's virtues and liabilities so your good behavior and bad behavior it evens out and your very next ACT can tip the scale that if you have more good than bad you're a sadic more bad than good you're a Russia if you're exactly even you're a b that's not the Al's definition or understanding of Bon the definition of Bon for the outb is a person who is in a state of tension see the sadic is a person who's stagnant who's stationary the sadic is a person who's immutable the sadic is the person who whose Instinct and intuition who's conditioned themselves naturally or learned to always make the right choice so sadic doesn't struggle the sadic has no struggle in life should I say this should I look at this should I act this way do I do this for the sadic naturally always the right choice the sadic is always in a state in a state of of permanent Perfection the Boni might have the same actions as T not like the Ra's Bon that the scales are even the Bon for the ALB is a person who might do all the right things we would Define them as a sadic but they only came to the inclusion and the choice of doing the right things after a tension and struggle with wanting to do the wrong thing what makes them a bon is that is a lifelong struggle a struggle that might never reach a might never reach a decisive resolution a person who might on the outside look like the correct choices is living as a sadic but only arrives at that after the struggle after the struggle of making of making the right choices and struggling with perhaps wanting to do the wrong ones so so we mentioned last week the benon is the hero of SE it's why it's called seon it is written for the bonim which is basically all of us proudly we can see ourselves in that category there are rare in every generation we had that in the D recently as well there are 36 sikim it's natural it's intuitive it's instinctive there is no struggle they simply live and make the right choices they an angel even while here on Earth in the guise of man but for the majority for the overwhelming majority for nearly all of us we're Bon even when we make the right choices that look like we're living lives ofus but we're bon in that we are engaged in a lifelong a lifelong struggle and where did he get this from he says this is collected and gleaned from books and sages exalted and holy who are in ganen G and it's based on a p we'll see in a moment so who are these sages who are these exalted ones who are the ones who are in ganen from whom did the balat the AL glean and gather this these say sayings to weave together and to give a synthesis to it to paint this portrait this book that's going to solve the illness inside us as we said last week balatan is not looking to treat the symptoms he's looking to get to the underlying illness he's looking to help us train the animal in US weird and from whom did he gather these saying soin his commentary says the tradition among is that the books apart from the basic ones Torah are the works of the Mah because after all the balat is the Seventh Generation descendant of the Mahal he's a Seventh Generation direct descendant of the Mahal also he doesn't quote directly from the Mah's books but their influence is strong the influence is strong you could feel and see some of the language and principles of the mar he also is perhaps alluding to the also and the sages that the ALB is talking about are his three mentors who are the three mentors three Re of the AL number one is the mag M who was the principal primary student of the B so bem certainly B all sources from the bem that's not even necessarily one of the three mentors from whom he's quoting the mag M Rich who is responsible for many of the teachings that's where he went we mentioned last week he had the choice was he going to go learn from the GR was going to go to vilna Mich he said I know how to learn a little bit I don't know how to DAV in at all he chose to go to Mich and change the change the trajectory of all of yish kite of all of yid of all of maybe Humanity the second is the mag son of the mag son known as the Mal is the angel from whom he also sat and learned and perhaps the third he said is his re of who was the successor of the Magid is the leader of the of the movement who made Aliah ALB was going to go with him we mentioned last week and chose not to here the Miller also collects who were these re who are these teachers do be the mag M Rich were published in 1781 so the Magid also collected teachings and in 1781 published them and the maged his rebi also called it so that was the precedent from which the Alba based the name of his own saer that appeared years later in 1796 so that is one that is the majority of from whom he he gathered and collected these and he says what is the point back to the title page and the point of all this is it's based on the that it it the this is very close to you is very close to you it's it's in your mouth it's in your heart to be a ble to do it so the question is what is the this and this essentially is the motto of the entire safer if an author includes a PK in the title page of a book what they're telling you is that this PK is the motto the bumper sticker the billboard of the entire safer so in what way is this the bumper sticker the billboard of the whole safer this on that rash and others is it chuva is it all of Torah is it a Torah life is it a what is the this that is so close it's so accessible you think it's you think it's it's in the heavens it's on the other side of the seity you think you can't live it you can live it it's right in front of you it's accessible it's doable you got this it's in your mouth and it's in your heart and what is this a life of yish and this P this P expresses the Tanya's fundamental optimism it's turning to a world of people who say I can't live this life it's overwhelming there's so much minua and details expectation wants my heart my heart is fragmented distracted divided there's so much going on for many people it's broken I can't I can't meet these expectations I can't live this life I can't follow Torah so the quotes this p is the Mel of the safer to say no it's the ultimate statement of optimism you got this I believe in you it's doable we can do this it's achievable and an incredible statement to open a safer for the title page to tell us with tremendous optimism positivity motivation hope that it's in our mouth it's in our heart we can generate this within ourselves it is doable it's not only for the lofty again after all this is an extension of a being the safer if it were a safer for sikim I'm not a sadic I look at I engage I overlap I see it sadic I say that could never be me but Aon a book that's going to tell the people who are engaged in a struggle The Daily Grind and even those who are struggling in The Daily Grind but you got this it's amazing very popular you see reals on social media or videos that make the rounds of motivational speakers of these people super athletes and they're motiv and why do people watch them neb sadly they abandon our own sacred Torah our ancient Torah our Timeless Torah to watch some real some motivational speaker because what they're telling you is you got this I'm like you I also struggled I also was fat and sat on the couch was lethargic and didn't do anything and look at me you got this you could run a marathon you could achieve you can realize your dreams you could kill it professionally but you don't have to necessarily there's nothing wrong with also watching those motivational speakers but the balatan is the greatest motivational speaker on the title page what he's telling all of us is it's a say I'm one of you we're all struggling and yet you've got this you've got this and the word of Hashem are very near it's very attainable it's right in front of you and we'll end with this he ends the title page essentially with this before he explains how the safer is broken up he says to explain clearly to explain clearly how it is exceedingly near in a long and a short way what does it mean for something to be clear and near in a long and a short way which is it is it in a long way or is it in a short way so B tells the story the bat here is referencing AAR he's assuming you know it rhua said I was once walking along the path and I saw a child who was sitting at a at a Crossroads at a juncture and I asked him which way should I go which way is going to take me to the city and he said One path is short but long and one path is long but short that's hardly good instructions I mean ways does much better than that so what does it mean one way is long but short the other way is short but long said R Yeshua I took the short but long one who wouldn't want to take the short one I took the short but long one and Once I arrived at the city I found the passageway blocked off by Meandering Gardens and Orchards I turned back and said to the child my son didn't you describe this path as short he replied didn't I also say it was long sometimes what do they say like by The Eagles by the birds if you measure something shortest distance how the crow fly thank you so much this is a group effort I said we're learning it together so how the crow flies something is one mile but if you use ways that gives you a satellite you know that that one mile has traffic and cops and accidents and backup and it's closed down for road work so even though it shows one mile it's going to take it three hours and the other path is three miles but it's clear flying there's no traffic there's no buildup there's no police there's no shutdown there's no and you'll be able to get there in 10 minutes so there's a long but short way and a short but long way and why is the balat invoking this gamar on the title page because what he's telling us is the following there are shortcuts to spirituality there are shortcuts to spirituality and they are the short way but they're long they're not lasting they're fleeting they're not authentic they're not genuine they're often fake and fraudulent and then there's the long way but the short way the long way that's the short way is that there's no Quick Fix there's no Instant Magic there's no switch that you flip and you say I want to be inspired sometimes people meet with me Rabbi inspire me I want to be spiritual motivate me and it doesn't work that way it doesn't work that way there's no quick fix that's why the shab is in 15 minutes it's not Corey Booker but then again I'm not gonna fast I'm not it's not that far off from it I'm not going to fast or dehydrate myself the way he did I mean I'm not impressed Cory Booker eat three shab meals eat shalas eat it a kidish and an off the record and then give your drha then you'll impress me then you'll impress me till you do that I'm not so impressed but there's no quick fix there's no you don't flip a switch it's not a FIV minute smoo there's no shortcut there's no Instant Magic this safe for is the long but short way it's the long way but it's short it's short in the sense that it's the real way it's the lasting way the path that involves hard work and learning and training and it's going to take and beina and Das but it's going to get us there and how does it get us there we end with this now there are two ways you can understand what do you mean there's two ways one is that it is the one way of understanding it is I'm G to explain all this to you I've collected and synthesized all the teachings of my and to make it all accessible and attainable and I'm going to provide it and teach it and share it with you that's why the simple way of understanding it but the other way of understanding what the meant was every path we take every Journey we go on everything we try to achieve is only so whether we choose the short but long or the long but short way will be so every path we go on every Journey whether we get to our destination it is all and with that concluded the title page we'll skip theas even though they're worth studying but we'll skip that and next week we'll begin with the Reb's introduction before we get into peric ala ourselves have a wonderful day