Child education

We begin the second part of Tania! This part is called “Portal of the Oneness of God and Faith” (Shaar haIjud veHaEmuná) and talks about that Hashem¹ It is the only thing there is. That is, not only is there only one God, but that God is the only true existence.². In other words, Hashem That's it. This concept that Hashem It is the only true existence, we call it “Oneness of Hashem”.

The Alter Rebbe writes an introduction to the second part, which he calls "Education of the Child," in which he also mentions what he wrote on the cover of the first part of the Tanya, that this second part is full of ideas that he took from different books and wise saints.³.

In the introduction, which leads to understanding the purpose of this second part of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe poses a question. King Solomon said⁴"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." The question is, if it's the child's path, their personal path, what's the advantage of them not deviating from it when they grow old? What if that path was only useful when they were a child? Perhaps as they grow and mature, they should change course...

To explain what the verse refers to, the Alter Rebbe says that love and fear of Hashem They are the foundation for the observance of all the Mitzvot⁵, This includes both positive and prohibitive laws, as well as rabbinic precepts. In other words, to be able to fulfill them Mitzvot As is fitting, we must have love and fear of Hashem.

But there are two levels of love for Hashem In general. One that comes from above, so to speak, and the other that must be generated by each individual. What do these two levels of love mean? Hashem?

The first one, the one that comes from above, is a feeling of longing and a very strong desire for Hashem in the heart.

In chapter 50 of the first part of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe says that, through meditation on the greatness of Hashem, the soul is consumed by the longing to be with Him (klot hanefesh), to the point that the soul separates from the body and ends physical life; the person who reaches this level literally dies of love for Hashem.

Meditation means thinking carefully about a matter for a period of time. This time is not stipulated by our sages, nor is it the same for everyone, nor is it the same at every moment of life; rather, it depends on each person's practice, the knowledge they meditate on, their intellectual capacity, and many other factors, such as their mood and so forth.

Our wise men say⁶ It is said that the devout, in ancient times, used a whole hour to prepare before prayer and prayed for an hour. However, that does not mean that meditating for less than an hour is not beneficial.

When we begin the practice of meditation, we can do it for a short time, even just a few seconds. Then, with practice, that time can be gradually increased.

Meditation can be done before and/or during prayer. The content of this book is excellent material for meditation.

Returning to the first level of love to Hashem, It is not a love that comes from above without effort on the part of the person, but rather it requires a very strong and deep refinement of the body, which not everyone is capable of achieving; because only the Righteous (tzaddikimThey succeed. Then, Hashem He gives them this burning desire in his heart.

The second is a love generated by each individual. How is love generated in the heart? Love is something that is felt, not generated. The Alter Rebbe explains that when we meditate on Hashem, We will create love for Him in our hearts. And how do we meditate on this? Hashem, What should we think about? The Alter Rebbe proposes several ideas, all developed in the first part of the Tanya.

1. Let's think about that Hashem It is our life. Just as we love our own life, we must love others. Hashem because it is our true life (chapter 44).

2. Let's think about the greatness of Hashem, both in the creation of the worlds and in the way He is infinite. And then, let's think about how that Hashem such a huge man descended to Egypt⁷, ...the most wicked place on earth, to rescue us, and He drew us near to Him and gave us the Torah, etc. I mean,Hashem He loves us so much! The love He has for us will be reflected in our hearts. Just as a mirror reflects the face of the one who looks into it… (chapter 46).

And this is what generating love for Hashem in the heart. It's not a feeling that "comes from above," that Hashem It is not given to us as a gift; rather, we must work at it and "do" it in our hearts in order to feel it. That work is meditation.

This second level of love to Hashem It is the feeling that Moses, before the Jewish people entered the Land of Israel, wanted to "plant" in our hearts, because it is a feeling that we can all access. It's a matter of doing the necessary work.

To conclude the introduction and explain the verse from King Solomon, the Alter Rebbe mentions a very interesting idea. Even the Righteous, who have the first kind of love for Hashem In their hearts, they must always grow and advance in their relationship with Him; they cannot remain at the same level forever. The point is that to move from one level to another, there is a moment of crisis in between, a moment in which the Righteous One is neither at the first level nor the second.

To understand this idea, the Talmud⁸ He tells us that Rabbi Zeira lived in Babylon and wanted to go live in the Land of Israel. In Babylon, they studied Torah In one way, while in the Land of Israel, the study was conducted in a much higher manner. All the knowledge Rabbi Zeira possessed about the Babylonian method of study was useless for the method of study in the Land of Israel. So, Rabbi Zeira fasted until he forgot everything he knew about the Babylonian method of study in order to prepare himself to incorporate the method of study in the Land of Israel. Let's think for a moment: What state was Rabbi Zeira in after forgetting the Babylonian method of study and before learning a new method in the Land of Israel? In fact, he truly knew nothing!

This is what the Alter Rebbe means when he says that a Righteous person, in order to move from a lower level to a higher one, “falls,” so to speak, from the level they were at. However, a residue of the previous level remains; not everything is lost. Even so, what sustains the Righteous person as they move from one level to another is love for Hashem which he became accustomed to when he was young, before becoming a Righteous One, that is, the second level of love for Hashem explained by the Alter Rebbe, the one who is "made" with much meditation.

This is the explanation of what King Solomon said⁹Even in old age, as he progresses from one level to another, the Righteous One resorts to love. Hashem which he got used to as a child (before becoming a Righteous One).

And this is the objective of this second part of Tania: to make it clear that faith in the oneness of Hashem is the beginning and the foundation that, through meditation, It helps us awaken love and fear of Hashem which, in turn, are the base of the observance of all the Mitzvot.

In other words, the text of this second part is itself material on which we can meditate to awaken love and fear of Hashem.

SummaryA question about the path of education. Love and fear of Hashem as the basis for the observance of Mitzvot. Two levels of love for Hashem. Meditations to develop love for Hashem. To move from one level to another, there is a moment of crisis. The support in that moment of crisis is love for Hashem generated by meditation.