beinoni – Page 2 – New beginnings: A blog about spirituality, chaplaincy and renewal

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 28

Chapter 17 – This chapter further examines how a person can reveal one’s innate love and fear of Gd. We explore the duality of the heart as the seat of thought and emotion. We discuss aspects of how our actions can bring about different emotional states from what we feel before the action. This chapter also offers us a new perspective on the Rasha and how it is possible for the Rasha to overcome the animalistic soul being the driver of life. We conclude with a short piece of understanding how repentance is a return to Gd through a kabbalistic read of the Hebrew word for repentance, Teshuva.

Episode 28

Do you want to work on taking the actions of your life and find meaning in all you do and who you are? Are you struggling with your spiritual growth. Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 27

Chapter 16. Today’s episode discusses the struggle of the Beinoni when they can’t feel love or fear of Gd. How do we keep ourselves motivated to fulfill our obligations when we aren’t finding the emotional connection we wish to have? In this chapter, we discuss how love and fear of Gd are innate and the mission to reveal that which is concealed through our actions, speech and thought. We also discuss how Gd, through the Torah, is the bridge of the mind and body, being the conduit to help us grow spiritually. This discussion leads to a message about not giving up the search and presuming the grass is greener on the other side because often the thing we are looking for is already here.

Episode 27

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 26

Chapter 15 – This chapter describes the difference between the beinoni who is considered as not serving Gd vs. the one who is serving Gd as the distinction between the person who does just enough vs. the person who goes above and beyond to do a little extra. The Alter Rebbe derives this from a talmudic discussion about learning something 100 vs. 101 times, for the extra one time shows a revealed sense of love for the subject as opposed to just learning to fulfill an obligation. This concept is one which has powerful spiritual growth implications as I refer to during this podcast. I also discuss how this argument opens the door to a discussion of accepting those times when you aren’t able to go above and beyond (which we will return to again in subsequent discussions).

Episode 26

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 25

Chapter 14. We continue to explore the uniqueness of the Beinoni. This individual would be someone who recognizes that while they can never be a tzaddik in the soul sense of the term, they should always be striving to reach a level similar enough to the righteous person that they can connect to a truly righteous soul. This chapter lays the groundwork for the connection between a rebbe and follower, in that the Rebbe is the role of the tzaddik and the followers are all the people struggling and striving forward. We also discuss the work needed to avoid evil and do good, including contemplating the loathsomeness of evil. I end with a short piece highlighting why some of the Tanya begins to sound repetitive and why that is an important part of this work.

Episode 25

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 24

This podcast explores Chapter 13. Chapter 13 goes deeper into the beinoni’s struggles between the good and evil inclinations. We discuss how the beinoni will always be ruled by the divine soul even in the midst of the struggles internally between the two inclinations. We also answer one of the primary questions of the Tanya in discussing why a person should always view themselves as a “rasha,” for this perspective keeps people from getting complacent and falling into the wiles of the evil inclination. This is a great lesson for growth in general, always viewing oneself as needing to strive further.

Episode 24

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 23

Final section of chapter 12. We finish the initial discussion of the Beinoni as it relates to the righteous and wicked person. Much of the focus is on how the categories might be a case of mind over matter.

Episode 23

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 22

Continuation of chapter 12. Today’s short piece engages the question of why the Beinoni is not a Tzaddik. The focus is on what the person experiences when not in a prayer state of being. I use this is piece as a jumping off point to name a couple of similarities/differences between Tanya and another book of early 19th century Eastern Europe, Nefesh HaHayyim as a way of showing different approaches to connecting to Gd.

Episode 22

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 21

Beginning of chapter 12. This chapter brings us to the definition of the Beinoni, the intermediary, non-tzaddik, non-rasha, person. We discuss today the difficulty in defining this person based on the criteria presented, namely a person who has never sinned and never been a rasha, yet always lives with some form of struggle. We work to describe the beinoni based on this criteria and the scenarios of when this person has moments when the divine soul overwhelms the animal soul and when the person “doesn’t.” I offer my take on trying to grasp with the difficulty the term intermediary presents in relation to what the Tanya is trying to say it means.

Episode 21