#1 Self-Improvement at its best - Rabbi Chaim Dalfin

great so good morning to everyone good day today is the ninth of um the 9th of uh Davis and it's appropriate that we're starting to learn Tanya with Hashem selfie I hope and pray that we could go through at least the first whole section the 53 chapters and the truth is I would love to go through all the entire Tanya maybe except the last section the fifth section um so it's it's a long journey but it's going to be worthwhile and it really follows the opening title page that we'll get to in a moment about a long journey so I ask you to uh to bear with with me with us and uh keep your patience and the particular style of this year I would say maybe how it's different than other shiori matanya is that they'll be a psychological element Associated to many of this classes and I can't say everyone maybe with the you know but um as our have here no uh we try to look at cedis which emphasizes the comprehension and understanding with deep ideas including sometimes kabbalistic ideas but it all goes through the the filter of the Mind and more importantly it needs to be processed in the heart and that we're going to study that in a moment also in the title page so this year that that I I choose to to give and the style is such a style so in other words I I want my my listeners to know clearly that if you're looking just for technical shot and Tanya and and not more um find yourself another sheer this is not the type of sheer this will give you the shot and it'll also give you the what we call in in in in in Chabad the arum means the circumference the greater picture both historically and both psychologically and emotionally and that's the style of this year it doesn't fit for every I think it does fit for anyone but there might people think that think that it doesn't fit for them so be it and there's plenty assurium and Plenty Of Swarm so uh choose whatever share works for you but this I believe is very important and I believe it's important because there isn't such a thing online as far as I know so uh in this way this will be a unique contribution to the world of Tanya and the world of Citizen the world of Yiddish guidance so let's now begin on the title page yeah one more thing and I'm going to go a little faster I'm not going to stop at every word you know for that you have translations in English you know so so but if you feel something is important stop me okay I mean I as always I do my best to translate everything but sometimes you know I just got to cover some ground otherwise we just get caught and caught and stuck so um that's also an important uh uh information before we start so this title page that you have in front of you was actually written by the author by the balotanya and before that what is the Tanya where did it come from why was it here and we're going to study that in the introduction in a few years from now but basically people had spiritual issues and I emphasized spiritual they weren't coming to ask out that ever primarily what color car or horse whacking I should get how many horses should I have I don't have money in my bank account my kids need a sugar that wasn't the by and large at that time in the beginning of his uh leadership what people came to him for they came to him for guidance in avoida's Hashem how can I be a better Jew a better Yeet I'm struggling with with issues with thoughts that I shouldn't be having I have anger in me those were issues and you could say Hillel that that the outlet was like to them a psychologist a therapist they came in and he gave them advice but it was more spiritual advice that's one one that could do this one point the second point is that the alternative already knew these people because they met him privately they met him this is a term meaning we have a private audience called Jesus many of the people that he had in mind as the same introduction he knew who they were so they already shared their inner hurt with the after that but with with the subject with their other and therefore the advice and that he gives in the safer is based on personal knowledge of who he's writing for but there's going to be more to what I'm saying which will include others who he didn't meet but at first glance he said I don't have any more time to see each of you personally it was getting overwhelming so many people were coming I just don't have the time so he said you know what I'm gonna write us safer I'm gonna write a book and it's called Tanya and in this book I'm going to include issues that you've got that you people asked me about and I'll give you advice and therefore you uh study it think about it and if you need help go to the elders in your community which it says also the introduction which we call him counselor spiritual mentors and counselors and let them decipher for you what I write in case it's not clear and from that take guidance this is the overall structure of the safer in front of you and that's why at the time 200 years ago um more than 20 years ago 1790s when the altareba wrote the Tanya it was known as safer Oasis a book of advice it was advice for people and one last Point some of them some of the parts of Tanya the outerepe said as what we call in Chabad maimaran Hasidic discourses so for example the first three um I think the first the three chapters were said the December said either at the semantics birth of birth I I forget now the exact tradition but the point is that some of it the alternative actually said in teaching hasidis to his hasidim so we have a combination of of the time is a combination of things that he taught and things that he spoke to people privately that's what you have in front of you and how it's relevant to us is because People Are People the fact that today we ask about our health and our wealth and our issues that we confront and 200 years ago people were more into their spiritual aspects doesn't mean they didn't need good health and they didn't need good wealth they didn't they did but to them the Ika the primary thing that they were seeking from azadiq and then not costumes that's why they get us acquainted to the fourth section of Tanya letter 22 the altaribus goals and lambasts the hasidim for taking his time and asking about kashmirs and this is a very controversial issue because in nakhabat circles I've discussed this with with others they say your own rabbit says he shouldn't be nudging him to about kashmirs how all of a sudden especially in this case the outer River and ask him about about health and about business advice if he tells him in in letter 20 it get us acquaintance 22 not to do that and you know who asked that question of of the previous step hour level in 1932 forever as this exact question to the previous rather and the previous celebrity gave him a very long answer and basically just to summarize it the answer is that as the years went on it became it became acceptable because of the situation of the what we went through these 200 years to Del Reba also addresses the kashmirs of a person okay so so it's not a contradiction it's not a contradiction to what the Elton ever writes that I'm here primarily to advise your spiritual maladies not your materiality issues because of the times have changed that's the facts you know you could philosophize whatever you want the facts on the ground is that most people and I'm not talking about today let's say a hundred years ago I'll give you an example someone brought people in to see the previous celeb in Poland for yahidas Polish Jews and they weren't Laboratories you know they were eaten and he said he heard them cried their heart out to the previous level I'm not well I have nothing to eat I need to do him he said I couldn't I couldn't take it he wasn't standing in the room he was standing behind the curtain you know there was no big you know the house with rooms you know everything was in one one probably one room with a curtain dividing and he says I just couldn't tolerate it so that that's 1936 it's almost it's 90 or whatever years from you know what I'm saying the the the the community because we've been going we went through everything we've gone through for 200 years we need Arab we needed Saudi to address our kashmirs as well but it's important to know that the safaratonya to begin with was not written with that intention although he tackles depression and happiness and anger and conceit and all loneliness and friendship all the issues that psychology talks about you will find Italian hence my latest book Tanya Mental Health because it's all here and if you if you dig hard enough you'll find add and HTT kthd and mood swings and schizophrenic yeah maybe not with the way a psychologist and a therapist Will Bill it or or deal with it you know in the conventional way I grant you that absolutely but in between the lines you you come up with ideas that can be helpful so both are true okay now let's learn the actual text is everything I said now clear any questions on what I said okay in other words on top of the page it says Dash hyphen Lubavitch that's not from the altered that's the Publishers this is the the swarim of the the Hasidic Treasures of the movement called Le babish that was there later I think by the previous step where each each Rebel is given a a gate and a portal it's a way of identifying who it's from and what what is it so there is there's my morim and things like that so for example look at look at the left side over there it says [Applause] refers to the first thing with the altareba which is the Tanya foreign I don't know why but that's what he writes after look it up cleavage shall show us which means it's a it's a cleavage it's a journal of of commute continued light but that's all not from the balotanya the first words from the balotanya that himself wrote this safer he says this book is a collection of sayings right away that's his humility what do you mean um what is your first name I forget your your first name no yeah stop it does it stop it if you Dove it if you wrote a book if you write a safer I mean I write books I put my name in them you know a normal author puts their name into a book in the cover page of the after that but you won't find his name why because he tells you right in the opening line This Book that uh that supposedly I wrote It's only it's only it's only a collection of things that I heard from others sayings so I'm basically a collector so therefore why should I write my name you know like I remember early many in my early days of writing sometimes I'd write adapted by Rabbi dolphin because I didn't see I felt like I didn't write this I'm just collecting it right so Dalton was doing the same thing then he says it's the first of four the five different parts this is the first and then he says that's called with the name that's that's as though it says the nickname what's the nickname to this safer safer shall beign in him a book for the average person or another translation of RAM intermediates what does he what does he mean with this so there's a tradition of Chabad that but it never was published actually it was burnt in a fire because it's not for the average person you know you have a select group of holy people called sadikim so from Heaven it's like God said sorry this is this is not necessary and it never came to be so one of the explanations of the word safer shall Beginnings but this book Tanya is not like safer shell sadiqib which never came to be published and was burnt actually in the fire but this did come out because it's a book for the average person and I share with you that this is very important for not just for me as a write-up for us and that is when you write that you talk talk to the average person yes you will surely he's going to describe I would say outwardly yes but wait till we get there and I hope I'll be able to um share and and convince you otherwise and you know you know it's funny you say that just one story and I want to go on I taught Tanya Marin County in 19 85 86. and I had you know doctors it had some of my confidence with doctors they were headed apartments in San Francisco and Marina Kaiser Permanente which is a medical group one of them wasn't he wasn't you know he he wasn't really from he wasn't Orthodox observant but he had a very good head and he was very respectful and um a very good person and we had a very good a good connection so I invited him and he came and he I we learned together from chapter one through twelve when he got to chapter 12 he didn't show up so I called him and I said hey I so I so much enjoyed you because you know it was intelligent it was a great conversation great learning what happened he says rabbi I'm never gonna be abandon me he says I'm never gonna be this this prototype of the out there ever paints here so I'm wasting my time and I tried to convince him otherwise that it didn't work we still remained friends for many years but so hopefully he'll help I'll I'll I'll be able to convince you that the pain in the you know outwardly abandon the is as you say someone who refined himself and you know and all that as we'll see later but if the altered but just think for a second he'll if the Alton ever meant that debate in need is someone who who we cannot be in any way shape or form then we shouldn't be learning this and he should have not written this he's telling you that this safe from moisture is safe Rachelle banging them it's a book for you it's a book for me it's a book for us for the average person and then he goes to describe this lofty figure it's a it's it's an oxymoron it's a contradiction so obviously there's something about banging me that is very very much possible for us yes the ultimate banging me as you refer to oh that's you know so it's important to to put that in a perspective now otherwise we shouldn't be learning this and I really mean it otherwise it it it's a total waste of time otherwise it's it's like the safest of something and why is it even around and not only is it around it's been learned for 200 years in so many different people in different countries and and it's just sprawling and continuing and people for all kinds are being inspired so obviously the message is true and valuable today okay let's continue said in the large bold words say foreign it's a collection so look at the word now here in the paragraph I mean look it it's a collection may peace for him from books the mouth of books whom it be safe for him and for the mouth of scribes who's referring to Bellville the tradition of Chabad is swarim refers to them around me Prague and the shalah Pradesh was known as he studied regularly and marao of course you will find ideas in Tanya that are that you will find at least the wording in Maharaja foreign Al holy they're very holy they must have made them their souls are in Eden and Dunedin stop you stop there now comes what we call the tagline of Tanya right yay every business every corporation every home every family what is your tagline what is the tagline of Tanya now did ever since me you said this safer is based on it's your soul its foundation is Al pasig a verse in the theater for this thing is near you in your heart in your mouth in your heart and in and to act upon Posse comparison itself what is what is that double referring to avram had government this thing what animals planes um fasting on your Kippur what is it referring to first two minutes and tell you that it's not it's very close to you you CA it's so close to you that you could you you can easily um speak about it feel it in your heart and act about I act upon it that's so number one it tells you this is the tagline now comes his question on this tagline Leviathan Haiti in this book I'm going to explain very well hey who calleth how it's very near you what's the question what's bothered what is the alternator was saying why must I explain this to you Hillel what's and the answer is it ain't near me what's near me is sleeping and eating and Pleasures that's very near me you're telling me to do a mistress near me no I do it I do it but it's near me it's close it's natural okay it's natural damage for me to do a Mitzvah no but the Toyota stairs and not only does it say it says and this is what the alternator seeks to explain in his Tanya and it's such a important insight and it's really the tagline of Tanya why in other words without that ever saying is this book this book in front of you this safer it's modus operandi what I want from this safer for all of you the out there ever says is that somehow you should come to understand and feel that the trader is as close to you as your daily activities of sleeping and eating and everything else and that's really a big question no you know I I've said many times in our classes it's natural to sleep and to eat it's unnatural to learn and to Daven even by the the people that are learning and deafening it's not natural they have to either Force themselves or they're used to it by habit but to say that it's natural in other words when you when fast is coming up tomorrow well you don't need a day right when you don't eat you feel starved and you're hungry you write run right away to eat no tell me have you met a Jew that feels that way if you didn't learn one day where you can't sleep and you can't eat and because he has to learn he has to learn to tell you that you won't find him so easily I'm sorry I'm not saying it doesn't exist but I'm saying to the average person's not that way so that's what drama says I'm telling you that this is the tagline of Tanya but at the same time I want you to know that what I'm going to do here is it has to be explained and I have to prove it to you and I'm going to prove it to you now let's continue the next four words and here ends the title page written by the alternate everything else is not the alternatives and what does this mean I'm going to explain it to you in a long short way in a long short way now here there are several meanings to what this means but in other words I'm going to use an approach that's long but at the end it's short and briefly this is what it means I want to read for the gamuta in airvan um says no one kind of had victory over me except a tinok a young child got to me and he overpowered me my he what happened I'm reading for the Gomorrah you can find it probably in English he was sitting at a Crossroads on the road on the way a Marty lawyer said to him beneath my child my son the age of death how do you get to the city oh Marley said to me there are two ways one way is a it's a much longer way but at the end it's shorter and the other way it's a shortcut it's Sutter but at the you end up taking more time I started going on a shortcut right if if you if someone tells you filthy here's a shortcut you try the shortcut keep a shagati Lee and when I came to the Metropolitan to the city my key for his love is it was surrounded by Gardens and and Vineyards I backed up let me just finish think about it a multi-loy so I sure said to the to the beneath like Sarah I I I you didn't tell in other words he couldn't get in he had to all of a sudden the city was surrounded by all these Gardens and things and it was a it took a lot to go through them to get to the city so basically he told him listen there are two ways to get there and he called the waves one the long short away and one the short a long way the explanation is simple that the the long shorter way you know you go there's no bushes and you come you're already about to get into the city you can't get in now there's Gardens and bushes and thorns and can't get it the law that's the short longer way the long short away is the long shorter way takes you a lot longer to get there but once you get there you get in because it's an open path the outlet is the same like this this right let's not forget the Tanya is for everyone but the Tanya is he as teaching ashita in service of Hashem called the usage of the Mind in understanding God and Divinity is long presses if you want a short a shortcut this isn't this isn't it you're not getting a short and we we know here in our sheer we can start a minor finish four weeks later he asked questions in the beginning and you don't get your answers if you get answers still at the end and many times the heaven have asked you know hey what what's the answer to the question why does the answer right away Miller caduceus lady and it's all Tighter and it's all holy but it's a different mahalak a different style drama says here and he says a clear he's not fooling anyone he's writing it right in the title page my style is when you go through this process he says you will get in when you spend time let's use contemporary words that hilo's used to in therapy you will come out healthier the avoda their vote is long and audience and it's and and and guess what and sometimes it really hurts because when you have to look yourself in your face and also talking to a counselor and you Reveal Your inside it's it's very painful but at the end when you work it out you come out cleaner and better and deeper and greater and you really are someone who has has gone through the washing machine and come out cleaner and that's what the outfit ever means that's one meaning another meaning what it says here is the difference between the first 17 chapters in Tanya and then 18 and 19. and briefly Dr terebus speaks later about developing a love for God and abasashem so the first approach is to go through all your issues in 17 chapters he develops those issues who you are how do you operate understanding yourself and then developing that love so it's in a sense it created love in 18 and 19 he says no no no no no you have the love that's inside you and the way it comes to the fruition is through self-sacrifice so that's also a long versus shorter way and we'll discuss that as we get to it finally the third meaning of this that episode I think in 1951 or so in the early years that the debt which is along the lines the first thing I told you that the approach of Chabad seeks he said you know that the hussard comes home and his wife says he went to Iran but you went away for a month you know in those days he traveled what did you come back with oh he says with this mimer and that moment she says what did you gain I need some money to pay the bills to give our kids the bread and all that and because it starts wandering talking what what did I do so long and so long and it's long it's and it's it takes time but at the end at the end he comes he's a happier husband he's a happier father he's a better father better father a better person when you use your brain your Seiko to understand godliness and not just say it's written this way just do it no you you of course you do it but you do it because you seek to understand and you see to to develop the Mind should infiltrate the heart so that when you have an emotion your emotion is is Guided by an intelligence then you're you're a much richer person your personality now is permeated with a with a a good grounding and understanding so that when you do it you do it with tremendous more highest in other words person puts on feeling what's on filling why the title says put on film but if you understand what film is and you understand that every morning you have a chance to bind yourself to Hashem because you understand what the parties of children are about and what the bluff is about and and and and the details you're feeling that you put out in the morning should give you a much greater Elation than just putting on film and you know of course the issue is the time and all that we're not talking about that that's already up to us to decide how to do it but Dr Debbie says it's long my style he says it's a long it's arucha but but this style will ultimately be short because you won't fool yourself and I could tell you you know from being in the community so many years in many communities as I traveled I could tell you that this is true probably from what I've seen the the true Chabad hasidim are the least to fool themselves they know very well who they are they know exactly their weaknesses and the and and and and and they don't and they aren't pompous because they know their weaknesses and they don't pretend to be someone else who they are and I'm talking about not just talking about any any time to go to Harry on the street that you know that says he's a laborator I'm talking about someone who learns casidis and Dives with hasidus and words will see this it's a different person and and I'm not and I'm saying this to make one greater than the other has to show them I'm just saying that the avoided shares in Kanye and he tells us at the beginning this is my Tanya so therefore heavily says bear with me it's gonna be long but at the end of the day it's gonna pay off and you're going to thank me it doesn't say that I'm paraphrasing that that we spent all this time in mind understanding and work filtering the heart so the heart is pure and loving with an intelligence and that you should never and you won't walk away saying uh I know who I am I know how to learn and and all that and I saw this by my teachers from who you know who was a genius of geniuses but his humility was so refreshing and let's take care of myself Feinstein I'll talk about emotion it wasn't a closet but a Maisha had this unevils this modesty that although he was such a tall McLaughlin such a going and such a basic he could talk to you like a like two friends beating each other in sure you know and let's have a cup of coffee you know what I'm saying this humility so one day he could see him speaking with a with a big time the other day with a boy 10 11 12 30 13 years old asking him what he learned the machinayas for the average person this causes that okay kevra we'll continue tomorrow I hope it was good a good beginning thank you and soon as Davis have a great day bye bye