Tanya Kuntres Acharon 9c- Connection bet start & Finish of Tanya, Pnimius-Soul - Rabbi Chaim Dalfin

So good morning. We are here today. This will be the last day of learning before our summer break. We come back mol in September. And although as pointed out we did conclude the Tanya the entire thing yesterday but there is concluding and there's concluding and when Mosha Brun is not here and Arif is not here and Zev is not here then we didn't conclude it. So we're going to reconclude it today. But more than more than uh concluding it, it's really a beginning. And this is really what I wanted to, you know, share with everybody. This this this safer here, Tanya. This is the the Reb gave me this this Tanya. He gave it to me, I think, in 1982 or ' 84. I have it on the cover, which is torn off as you see. And for most of our two years, Moshe, is it two years that we was it longer than two years? I I don't remember. Do you have any recollection, Moshe? >> I'm not sure. >> You're not sure? I don't remember. >> Anyway, I I think it's at least two years. We went through the entire thing. I personally I must tell you for me for me it was it's a great sim because I never did it. No, I do like everyone else does it, you know, but to learn it methodically and you know, there's although there's always more and deeper and better, but it it was pretty pretty good. I I would say it was pretty good. And to to go through it and teach it and have it recorded and have it online, which is for eternity, it's it's a great it's a great sim. It's a great sim for all of us because without you, all of you, I wouldn't do it. and without me you wouldn't do it. So in in this setting so that's that's number one that it it is very special and it is the three weeks the Reb teaches us that we should make sum on the nine days uh I don't know if you can make a sim with a kadesh probably some probably say you can some say you can't whatever but one thing's for sure we could we concluded it you know before the nine days start And if someone asks what is this Tanya about? So the in the conclusion I think this is the way I see the connection between the end and the beginning there's a concept brought in this the beginning is wedged at the with the end and the end is wedged with the beginning. And it's so it's true in life. There's the beginning of the life cycle when a baby is born and then there's the end of the life cycle when a person passes on. Is there a connection? What is the connection? So it's true in in in life and it's true in it's true inus and it's true in everything you do. You know, you have to find a connection between your childhood and your seniorhood, if there is such a word. You know, it's it's it's all one one large wholesome experience. It's not I was a child and a teenager and a young adult, an older adult, a middle-aged adult, a midlife crisis. Those are, you know, components. But if it if it if it if you want it to be good, if you want it to be strong, if you want it to be valuable and meaningful, especially for children and grandchildren and family and all of that and friends, then you have to put it all together. So what's the connection between the end of the Tanya here on page Kama Gimble in 163 in the regular Tanya and the beginning? So the alterba in this letter I want to just uh recap the letter because many of you didn't weren't here for the for the this week gives look at the beginning on page 230 324 that's a verse in the which means scold shall you scold your your friend your you know the other person which classically means give them muser what we call in Hebrew muser a and the kazal say the sages say abuhammed not just once not twice even if you have to do it 100 times till they stop doing what they shouldn't do now of course that verse has been misused by many and it's caused a lot of problems over the centuries especially in America post Holocaust where the old generation coming from the didn't understand the youth didn't understand the counterculture and you know many of them said it's either my way and their way they always saw as the Torah way or the highway and that's a very narrow way of looking at this verse and I don't have to tell you all in is But I don't see unfortunately there are people who live this way right down the road from where you are in BMsh you know it has to be their way if it's not their way it's the highway protests burning flags on and on at the same time um do we throw the baby out with the bath water? No we don't. We seek to integrate to elevate to teach and to to look at as we said in the last few beginning with yourself the first thing you have to do before you give muser is ask yourself am I the one to give muser am I truly a candidate to be the muser sayer and we discussed the different criteria which the previous rabb brings in the discourse that he said and wrote in 1924 it's brought as well very important one but I don't want to go that there right now but the first thing says is my friends you're hurting yourself spiritually and physically is not just talking about is a spiritual a spiritual malady but a physical malady god forbid comes because the baltila and the congregation are rushing and dabbing and they and they send up they send up the wrong balt. In the previous letter he spoke about they send up the right bel and they cut and and and they figuratively speaking they cut his legs. How do they cut his legs? They pinch him or they banged on the table. No, no, no, no. And they scream. In other words, get moving. You guys know your own shoe. You know, so criticizes that in the previous letter. He says, don't do that. In this letter he talks about setting up the wrong Baltila who kind of goes along with the crowd. What does the crowd want to do? Rush? No. But I I point out he does say at the same time the baltila should not be a crasser. He says not too fast and not too slow. So if you know you're going to a like we have here in borrow park. We just spoke about the shul. I'm sure you have it in too which is a three three and a half dinging hour davening I think daily you know you're coming to a slow minion and it's your choice if you don't want to be in that minion then don't d there but in a regular sh in a regular shesh and this right there is a certain you know average way of davening that's what says number two he says both Moshas that people should gather around about in other words and he says clearly it's not that one person is learning one person is learning another person's drinking coffee a fourth person is reading the New York Times and a first fifth person speaking about what happened in Gaza sorry f friends this is not the shoe energy that's what he says here So by so by putting everyone together a kind of a roundabout dominating together and he says another thing becoy ram out loud now he doesn't mean we spoke about he doesn't mean that you know the the ken stolen screaming it's not what he means right but he doesn't mean it should be a cemetery where you come to you don't hear you don't hear anybody you don't anyone Right? So these are things that he he he chastises his he's writing this to his who have these these and they're you know not ding the way he wants them and he and he to davin and he tells them how they should be dvening and I I promise you it applies today as it did 200 years ago when he wrote this. Is that and and and more so and more so I mean in our sh for example Burough Park you know we had a split in the shul one of the things was whether you close the kavashable the coffee uh you know place where you get coffee at when we start out in 9:30 or not and we we got an influx of young guys good guys they want it open cuz they come in a quart to 10 and 10 you know they're not here for at 8:00 But they don't care cuz they can hang out later. So they want a coffee. Okay. Where is the coffee steeple? At that time it was kind of part of the shoe or it makes noise. So the previous guy, you know, put his foot down. Well, they ousted him. They didn't ousted him. He ousted it himself, but they basically said, "We're not interested in your so, you know, put put this scenario into this piece of Tanya here. And you ask yourself who would the Balatana who the alterba side with the jungalite the youngsters or the gabi right and we have a we have a gaba here and y somewhere another gaba you know so but the alterba is not fathomemed by young and old and right and left and smart and not smart tells you the way it should be together >> you're here you're here okay that's fine That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. Important for you to hear this for Yeshu. So, so, so the alterb the is not fathommed by us. Okay. Alterb is not uh what's the word? Um, you know, going to make his decision based on who I'm, you know, me, you. He says it the way the T is. And Alba says Davin's regular speed, not too fast, not too slow. Everyone should start at the same time. be around the kas. It doesn't mean you have to hover over the kas's head. That's not what it means. It means you know sit around kind of to be involved in the and truth be said you all have ded and tasted this the way this fire d that to me would be more of what the alterb is saying really you come into as that's why I love I love going in and ding sometimes there the the togetherness and saying out loud it feel it it it it feels like we're domining we're It's such a beautiful powerful way of of of of service and in a sense now is saying not in a sense he's saying we Ashkenazim we should be doing the same thing again you know the nuances are different but the concepts the same so that's the first thing he said the next thing he spoke about in this letter was the study of Talmud and I spoke yesterday at length I'm not going to go into it now how byim more than otherim the study of Talmud was a primary issue and I quoted yesterday you listen to the shar from uh Mr. Kramer Kramer who was the one of the first lobbies in America who in 1925 was 125 years I think for the schisl so he wrote a letter to all in the greater east coast Philly Baltimore and Chicago too you know there was many you know and he said come to the york we're making a grand seas and he writes and we are different that we do learn the Gomorrah and and and and you know it almost sounds to me you have to read the letter but it almost sounds to me like they put more of an emphasis on learning that than this was the the labidim in America at that time so the here wants us to finish shas every year and he says I know you can't do it yourself so every community every get together a few shs together and finish the shas hence we have what's called theisl and it's not too late to take a now you can learn it in English you can learn it deeper you know or more cursory but but it's an Indian it comes didn't start without so it's in in this in this letter the final letter of Tanya third point he speaks about and it's not really done today is shabas you should say psalm 119 19 uh the entire thing and I I and don't ask me why but I have not seen this as as a irregular mig I have seen some do it but it is brought in this in this uh letter and then the alterba talks about the importance of learning and knowing the laws of shabas now it's very interesting here what you know he speaks so much about prayer ding Then he talks about fitting the shabas. It's like he has these three. Then he goes to uh you know this idea of shabas and he concludes the with the importance of keeping shabas and he says the shabas has shabas and guard shabas and remember shabas. So there is the literal saying one goes on the say one goes on the saya resting you shouldn't just hashem says just like I rest you rest. Don't do work on shabas. That's shar and zar is through the remember through the positive through through ding and learning and all that right that's what the sages say takes on a deeper level and he says that are what we call the external and the internal and he says there is the external of shabas don't work on shabas right don't speak uh idol chatter on shabas which is I make it sound like we're all doing it. I told you the story with uh someone who was uh um was involved with Kabad years ago. Itaka lived in Asbury I think Asbury Park, New Jersey and he went to Chicago. Chicago there was on business he was salesman. There was rabanko cats famous cats was a little and he he was a wealthy man and he had aossam house a large house in the west side of Chicago which I visited. I told you about this past year, which was an experience. I still want to go back there if uh if it's safe. It has to snow. The day I went there, it was snowing. So, everyone was out. Everyone was not everyone was home. So, I was able to to to feel safe. What a war zone. Anyway, though worse than the Bronx or Newark, right? Anyway, so so um so listen to this. So, um, he goes there for Shabas and he notices that the husband, the host, is not talking to his wife. So, he thought maybe Friday night he's tired. He's groggy. It's late. Shabas morning, Shabas afternoon. And all he says is, "Noo, noo-noo, noo-noo." He came back to New York and he said, "I found the best recipe for shambias." What happened this this this ye learned with another Chicago Palmer was his name of the previous in the 1930s and 40s and they learned of the quotes the says with difficulty our sages permitted us to speak words of Torah Shabas. Torah. What does that imply? If it's not, it's you shouldn't you're not allowed to speak a shabas. From that day on, he decided no more talking of shabas. It's no new or maybe you know, you know what I'm saying? That's now when you find someone like that today, you'll let me know. I don't I don't think there's anyone like but but there are people that aren't careful and the speaks about it here. He really does. But that's called the of Shabas. What's the shabas? In other words, you can you can close your mouth from eating and from talking, but in your mind you're talking and you're eating and the mind is working full force. We know that Shabases created the world not through like he did through the week through the 10 utterances each day another utterance but on Shabas it was through it's creation through Mashova. So we have to take the that's the inner aspect of Shabas. So Galba as he concludes the uh the Tanya here he mentions both things. His last words of the Tanya which is the Reb asks a very the Reb asked a very 1962 at the Utas and asked a very strong question means one is opposite the other. The good is opposite the bad. Why does the balana finish with a negative thought? There is good and there's bad. That means he's has he he said you know he doesn't say what the bad is but he means basically that the inner aspect of Shabas is the good aspect and opposite that you have thinking in appropriate whatever secular thoughts on Shabas about your business about your stocks and about this and about that right so the so we know In khazal we always try finishing with something to something good not negative. You want the concluding punchline to be positive. So how is it the alterb seems to finish otherwise? And the Reb explained that the alterb it it it sounds I mean the ver the quote maz has a negative connotation but the reason is to make clear how careful you have to be with shabas and if you don't make it clear and you're beat around the bush people walk away thinking this way that way and and and when it comes comes to a bottom line of conduct you need to be very clear and it's true in education if you don't say I remember once 2001 they had to call the chauffeur we spoke about this on our uh shear many times the self-improvement Warner heard style um self-improvement and all that and it was got crept into the kabad community in crown heights called uh call of the chauffeur and um the the Rabonim and the Mashim were against it. They called the meeting. I think it was December 24th. I remember it. Uh the night and and Khan the Mashpia, you know, spoke and Rabbi Shat the Rashiva of Los Angeles, yeshiva Kabad in Los Angeles. And Rabbi Heler, one of the three Rabonim of Crownites, he didn't speak, but he was there. And it was it was the 1500 people. It was Paul room, the ballroom and all the crownites where they make the weddings. It was packed and Rab Shak spoke like 45 minutes to an hour. A long time. Rabo spoke first and he repeated and he explained what the Reb andidus says about the problem and the issue and how to handle it. 10 15 minutes he spoke. Then Shak gets up and speaks for an hour and then and then we thought it's over. Okay. asked the moderator, the MC, he wants to um he wants to say something and he said, you know, Rash had spoke for an hour and sometimes because of so long you forget the punchline, the bottom line. So he got up again, which he wouldn't do usually, and he repeated in five minutes, Alf Ba's gimmel one, two, three, this is what should be done, this is what not should be done, etc. So the alterba excuse me here at the end of Tanya has to speak the same way otherwise you walk away with philosophy and maybe you know he's very very very clear about what he wants or what he doesn't want what he suggests. Now what's the kesher? What's the connection to the beginning of Tanya? The first chapter of Tanya introduces a concept called pimius which is the idea that the alterba speaks about here at the end. You see the the the addition of kasidic Judaism and the balchtov and and the alterba is the whole focus on pmius. until the balchento it was about you know the the legalistic this is the code this is what you do this is what you don't do the whole idea of focusing on the inside on the soul under the shama on the panemius was not part of the jargon and the lifestyle of Jews until then it wasn't and and and for good reason because it wasn't so necessary but it wasn't Then came in the 1648-49 the Helminitzki pums in Poland with the false shapes with the false messiah of Shapi and Pes Frank and the destruction and and and terrible devastation spiritually and physically to Jews throughout Eastern Europe. The BMP comes along and says, "Hey, it's time now to talk about the soul, the nama, the pmius." That's Tanya. Tanya is a book, a study of panmas. So, what we have from this is although I look a certain way and I speak a certain way and even I behave a certain way, who am I? Oh, who you are? Go into the town, you'll find out who you are. And guess what? You'll find out. It's not your practice. It's not your speech. It's not even your thought. You're someone totally different. You have a nisha. I have a nishama. My nish is beautiful and pristine. Let me take this nama out. And that's what the alterba did. He takes out for us through his teachings the plemius. And that's the direct connection to the end of Tanya. So this is the message and the conclusion of this safer that we learned for over two years. And um we you know we spent a lot of time on this. What is the message? And and this is this is it. It's clear. It's clear. Look look to all of us. Look the our panemas. We wouldn't be here if not for our panas. In other words, the pmius is the the panemas is the is where is where it counts not the external. Now at the same time it doesn't mean that we shouldn't better our externalities our behavior and our clothing and our speech speaking it's all important you know like I've said many times you come into a shul yes yes there is a dress code at the same time someone is not dressed that way you don't chase them out they don't know better you work with them right so but but at the same time those that do know better it's it's you know so I I'm not I don't you know want to make light of the external but we have to know that the panmius is the ikar this is this is the uh my thoughts on the connection between the beginning and the end and hashem we're going to start I decided to learn a kras called of the rashab that he said in yeah in labor. It's um it's a very important mimer. It speaks about but based on and it's been translated in English in various publications. I think the kidic heritage series which Mosa by the way Iser says he gave to you his so you probably have it in the kidic heritage series. So take it out. Uh that's a reminder that you probably forgot about but Isra said that the other day. But then there is the volume that I showed and Mosha is going to look into it if you can get it in in in the in the um >> road trip. >> What' you say? >> Road trip. >> Road trip. Yeah. What? You have it. And and and and also by the way I mean the myimemer was is is in the regular myorum in Hebrew if you want just all Hebrew the book of my of the rashab of five uh which is 18 1899 the mimemer is there so if one doesn't need the English doesn't want it just want because I'm going to be learning from the Hebrew and giving English translation but um you know it would I I think you would benefit if you had that English translation and to to review it and to look at it and and they give they give footnotes. They did a very nice job. They put out let me let me show you what they put out. Hold on here. This is the volume I'm talking about that I guess in English put out. You see so it's lesson lessons inu a treatise on a by the rebab. So, uh, we will learn this and, uh, it'll take us a little while, not as long as Tanya, but, um, I remember the Reb one year distributed, um, the mimer just in Hebrew, this to people as a a gift and as something to learn. So, it's it's an important document. Anything anyone would like to say about Tanya or anything else? Uh, please >> Arif Want to say Maz to everybody. >> Thank you. M >> thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone here for going the long trek you know it's amazing. We started this kyo 2017 I believe uh lol and it's you know the 2025 mm will be learning in l it's uh it's a long time and uh there are more participants of the part with me than I than when I was live in in in Ramadish that's that's the beauty of of of of social media and online and And you know you could be wherever you are and many times y mosha of others are driving and for that >> what' you say >> you got to thank co for that as well. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We should never never go back to co never. But you're right. You're right. >> Okay everyone have a great a great shabas and a great summer and uh we'll reconnect and be in touch. Zaz. Byebye. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Byebye.