The 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev is celebrated as the “Rosh Hashanah of Hassidism,” and called the Holiday of Redemption. It was on this date, in the year 1798, that the founder of Chabad Hassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), Baal Hatanya, author of the work we are studying here, was freed from his imprisonment in czarist Russia.
More than a personal liberation, this was a watershed event in Jewish history, heralding a new era in the revelation of the “inner soul” of Torah. On this day in 1772, 26 years prior, the “Maggid of Mezeritch” returned his soul to his Maker. Before his passing, he said to his disciple, Rabbi Schneur Zalman: “This day is our yom tov (festival). "
...The nineteenth of Kislev marks the “birth” of Chassidism: the point at which it was allowed to emerge from the womb of “mysticism” into the light of day, to grow and develop as an integral part of Torah and Jewish life.(Chabad,org) This lecture is in that spirit.
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
Each class stands on its own, but a click on the link below will bring you to previous classes.
From the above verses, then, we see that emotions, wisdom, and will are all ascribed to G‑d. Nevertheless:
His will and His wisdom and His attribute of kindness and His mercy and His other attributes do not add plurality and composition (G‑d forbid) to His Essence and Being,
אֵין רְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ וּמִדַּת חַסְדּוֹ וְרַחֲמָנוּתוֹ וּשְׁאָר מִדּוֹתָיו מוֹסִיפִים בּוֹ רִיבּוּי וְהַרְכָּבָה חַס וְשָׁלוֹם בְּמַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ,
but His Being and Essence and His will and wisdom and understanding and knowledge and His attribute of kindness and His might and mercy and beauty, [the last of] which is composed of His kindness and might,
אֶלָּא עַצְמוּתוֹ וּמַהוּתוֹ וּרְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ וּבִינָתוֹ וְדַעְתּוֹ, וּמִדַּת חַסְדּוֹ וּגְבוּרָתוֹ, וְרַחֲמָנוּתוֹ וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ הַכְּלוּלָה מֵחַסְדּוֹ וּגְבוּרָתוֹ,
and likewise His other holy attributes—all the above, comprising his Being and Essence, and his will, and the sefirot of ChaBaD and the middot, constitute an absolutely perfect unity, which is His very Being and Essence.
וְכֵן שְׁאָר מִדּוֹתָיו הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת – הַכֹּל אַחְדּוּת פְּשׁוּטָה מַמָּשׁ, שֶׁהִיא הִיא עַצְמוּתוֹ וּמַהוּתוֹ,
And as Maimonides (of blessed memory) stated, “This [form of unity] wherein G‑d’s knowledge and so on is one with G‑d Himself is beyond the capacity of the mouth to express, beyond the capacity of the ear to hear, and beyond the capacity of the heart of man to apprehend clearly.”7
וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָרַמְבַּ"ם זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה, שֶׁדָּבָר זֶה אֵין כֹּחַ בַּפֶּה לְאָמְרוֹ, וְלֹא בָּאֹזֶן לְשָׁמְעוֹ, וְלֹא בְּלֵב הָאָדָם לְהַכִּירוֹ עַל בּוּרְיוֹ.
For man visualizes in his mind all the concepts which he wishes to conceive and understand—all as they are within himself.
כִּי הָאָדָם מְצַיֵּיר בְּשִׂכְלוֹ כָּל הַמּוּשְׂכָּלוֹת שֶׁרוֹצֶה לְהַשְׂכִּיל וּלְהָבִין – הַכֹּל כְּמוֹת שֶׁהֵם בּוֹ,
For instance, if he wishes to envisage the essence of will, or the essence of wisdom, or of understanding, or of knowledge, or the essence of the attribute of kindness and mercy and the like,
כְּגוֹן שֶׁרוֹצֶה לְצַיֵּיר בְּשִׂכְלוֹ מַהוּת הָרָצוֹן, אוֹ מַהוּת חָכְמָה, אוֹ בִּינָה, אוֹ דַּעַת, אוֹ מַהוּת מִדַּת חֶסֶד וְרַחֲמִים וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָהֶן,
he visualizes them all as they are within himself.
הוּא מְצַיֵּיר כּוּלָּן כְּמוֹת שֶׁהֵן בּוֹ.
Just as this is so with regard to envisaging one’s own intellect and emotions, so, too, regarding an individual’s desire to apprehend Divine Intellect and emotions: he endeavors to do so by envisaging intellect and emotion as they are found within himself.
But in truth, the Holy One, blessed be He, is “high and exalted,”8 and “holy is His Name”9; i.e., His Name, too, is “holy” and set apart (for this is implied by the root קדש).
אֲבָל בֶּאֱמֶת, הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, הוּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא וְקָדוֹשׁ שְׁמוֹ,
That is to say, He is Holy and separated many myriads of degrees of separations ad infinitum, above the quality, type or kind of praises and exaltation which creatures could grasp and conceive in their minds.
כְּלוֹמַר, שֶׁהוּא קָדוֹשׁ וּמוּבְדָּל רִיבּוֹא רְבָבוֹת עַד אֵין קֵץ וְתַכְלִית מַדְרֵגוֹת הַבְדָּלוֹת, לְמַעְלָה מַּעְלָה מֵעֵרֶךְ וְסוּג וּמִין כָּל הַתִּשְׁבָּחוֹת וְהַמַּעֲלוֹת שֶׁיּוּכְלוּ הַנִּבְרָאִים לְהַשִּׂיג וּלְצַיֵּיר בְּשִׂכְלָם.
It is for this reason that G‑d is called the Holy One, blessed be He, for the degree to which He transcends the created universe defies mortal conception.
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FOOTNOTES
7. Loc. cit.