We begin with the cover. Generally, a book cover isn't that important, but this isn't the case here: the Alter Rebbe wrote the cover himself. Here he gives two titles for the book and explains its overall message.
The book's first title is "Compilation of Sayings" (Likutei AmarímThe Alter Rebbe is very humble and says that the Tanya is simply a collection of interesting phrases that he took from his teachers (the Maggid of Mezritch and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Horodok), and from Holy Books (such as those of the Maharal of Prague and the Shnei Lujot HaBritHowever, we know that Tania is full of ideas typical of the Alter Rebbe.
The second name is “Book of the Middle Men” (Sefer shel Beinoním). We will see later in the book that Tania was written for people who can work hard on themselves until they become an “Intermediate Man” (beinoniThis work is spiritual, involving both soul and body (Avodah).
Tanya's message is that every Jew can serve Hashem (God) with desire and enthusiasm, using his thoughts, words, and actions. The Alter Rebbe quotes a verse1 of the Torah“Because this thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” Torah It says "very close", meaning it is really possible to become an "intermediate man".
1Deuteronomy 30:14
...being Jewish would then be a path of self-knowledge, being Jewish at heart means "practicing" kindness, love for others, giving to others, LATET, in daily life. It's a question that has lingered in my mind for a long time: how should I "practice" to be a Jew? And I've been discovering other ways of being one, the Hasidim, for example, who put their love for their neighbor and the joy of living each day into practice. Buber's stories have guided me.
Thank you
B"H
Hi Jorge,
I think there's confusion in the way the question is being asked, and there are two issues being mixed up that are separate.
1) Being Jewish. Being Jewish is a gift from Hashem, and it comes to a person in only one of two ways: a) being born to a Jewish mother, b) converting according to halakha – Jewish law. There is no other way to be Jewish.
2) Practicing Judaism. The practice of Judaism, something specific to Jews, involves observing the 613 commandments (mitzvot) of the Torah. Love of neighbor is one of the 613, but joy of living is not, although it obviously helps in serving God (as the verse says, serve God with joy).
By this I mean that, for example, we Hasidim emphasize joy and love of neighbor, while other groups emphasize other matters, such as Musar (reprimands) emphasizes not using a bad tongue (lashon hara).
However, all Orthodox groups teach that the 613 mitzvot must be observed, the positive ones (248) must be done and the prohibitive ones (365) must be avoided, at least those that are possible to observe in practice and those that are not possible (due to the lack of the Temple in Jerusalem), must be studied.
Failure to observe the commandments (God forbid) does not remove a person's Jewish status, since a person IS or is not Jewish, while they either DO or do not (God forbid). The same is true in reverse: observing the commandments does not make a person Jewish. In fact, on a certain level, it is wrong for a non-Jew to fulfill all the commandments...
I recommend you read a letter from the Rebbe on this topic, very clear and fundamental to understanding and expanding on what has been mentioned: https://www.tuviaserber.com/que-es-el-judaismo/
I hope I've been clear. Best regards!