Core Concepts Tanya: Chapter 14

Brief Recap of Chapter 14:

1. Chapter 14 asserts that everyone has the potential to be a Beinoni.
A Tzaddik is someone who has no desires for this world; he's transformed his inner essence to the point that his Animal Soul is like another G-dly Soul.
A Tzaddik has abilities beyond the regular man.
A Beinoni doesn't transform himself, he controls himself.
At any minute, on any given day, we have the power to act like a Beinoni.

2. Becoming a Beinoni takes discipline and a plan of action.
In short, we must turn away from evil/ temptations, and we must do good.
These are two separate steps, so even if we haven't mastered one, we can still get to work on the other.

3. We each have the ability and the power to act, think, speak in a way that is diametrically opposed to what our hearts want.
Emotions are very strong and powerful tools.
However, they do not, and should not, control us.

4. Returning to the verse, "A man does not sin unless a spirit of folly enters him."
This spirit of folly is like temporary amnesia, it makes us forget that when we do something wrong we affect our connection with Hashem.
It also makes us believe that if no one is watching us then it's okay. It lets us make up and give into excuses.
We have to remind ourselves that neither of these are correct.
Not only is Someone always watching, but in truth, when we really think about, we don't want to be separated or severed from G-d even for one instant.
We can see this at play when a seemingly unaffiliated Jew stands up for Judaism or can't bring himself to separate from Judaism in any way.

5. Every person has an innate love for G-d, a most basic level of love that is part of the Jewish inheritance.
To keep ourselves on the right path, we need to tap into this love and fan the flames so it becomes more than just a latent spark within us.
Then we need to take the time to really think and admit to ourselves that we don't want to be a rasha even for one moment!
We don't want anything to separate us or affect our connection to G-d in the slightest!

6. The first chapter of Tanya starts with a quote from the Gemara that tells that before a soul comes down to this world it is administered an oath, "Be a Tzaddik and do not be a Rasha."
The reason for the double wording is because even if, and even though, many of us will not be Tzaddikim, we must at least try not to be a rasha.
We do this by just saying no to our temptations and desires. We do this by using our minds to control our hearts.
Everyone has the capacity to do this. Everyone must try to do this on their level.

7. With the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, good and evil got all tangled up.
We need to extricate the good from the evil, we have to know and focus on doing things for the right reasons.
"If G-d hadn't created the desire for money or intimacy, the world would not move forward."
This shows us that these things are not inherently evil, but we have to use them for the right reasons, and for the right purpose.
We also need to identify when the object of our desire is forbidden, which leads to sin, or when it's the nature of our desire that's evil, which is a higher level to deal with.
There's a difference between love and lust, there's a difference between earning a good livelihood and greed, there's a difference between feeding the body and gluttony, etc.

8. Sometimes the challenge of overcoming these desires might seem too hard to overcome.
The Alter Rebbe gives a quick tip to help us get started.
For example, if someone is fighting a craving for a certain food and eating it will only be an indulgence, then he should think about where that food will be in two hours from now.
In this way, he trains himself to see the negative aspects of his desires, a worthy perspective if it can keep us from indulging for self pleasure.

The Alter Rebbe strongly encourages us to take the time to really think about how we can overcome our personal temptations/ desires.
We each have our own "weaknesses," but we each also have the tools within us to strengthen ourselves and to overcome whatever challenges come our way.
Maybe we can't yet achieve this every hour of every day, but we can start with one minute and one challenge at a time.
We only need to overcome it once to know that it's possible.
Try it, stick your foot in the hot water, impress yourself!