Chapter twenty-five of the Tanya returns to the verse that has been its guiding thread, "For this thing is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, so you can fulfill it" (Deuteronomy 30:14). And explains why even the simplest act of resistance to sin is profoundly powerful.
At any moment, Rabbi Schneur Zalman says, a person can awaken the hidden love of God that lies dormant in the heart. This love is not earned through meditation or study. It is inherited from the Patriarchs and is the birthright of every Jewish soul. And once awakened, even faintly, it provides the strength to refuse sin.
The logic is compressed but devastating. Every Jew, even one who seems completely disconnected, is capable of dying for the sanctification of God's Name rather than committing idolatry. This is historical fact, not theory. If such a person can choose death over idolatry, the ultimate act of refusal, then surely the same person can refuse a minor temptation. The force that drives martyrdom and the force that drives daily self-control are the same force. Only the intensity differs.
The Tanya addresses the person who plans to sin now and repent later. "He who says, 'I will sin and repent' is not given the opportunity to repent" (Mishnah Yoma 8:9). But the Tanya clarifies: this means the person is not given the auspicious conditions for repentance. If he seizes the opportunity himself, nothing can block him, "Nothing stands in the way of repentance."
The practical application covers two domains. In "turning away from evil", resisting temptation, the hidden love makes refusal possible at every moment. In "doing good", actively performing mitzvot, the hidden love overcomes the laziness and heaviness that come from the "element of earth" in the animal soul. The body is naturally sluggish. Prayer feels tedious. Torah study requires effort. The hidden love, once activated, burns through this inertia like fire through a dry log.
The power of simply saying no, to a temptation, to laziness, to distraction, is, in the Tanya's framework, an act of cosmic significance.
This, then, is the meaning1 The author returns to the theme begun in ch. 18. of the Scriptural text, “For it is exceedingly near to you do….”2 Deuteronomy 30:14. For at any time and moment a person is capable and free to rid himself of the spirit of folly and forgetfulness3 The “spirit of folly”—driving him to sins of commission; “forgetfulness” of the innate love of G–d—causing sins of omission. and to recollect and awaken his love of the One G–d which is certainly latent in his heart, without any doubt. This is the meaning of the words “in your heart.”4 Deuteronomy 30:14. Included therein is also fear, that is, the dread of separation in any way from His Unity and Oneness, blessed be He, even at the price of life itself and without reason and logic, but purely by virtue of one’s divine nature. All the more so where it involves merely the suppression of one’s appetites, which is easier than the pangs of death. This thing, i.e., repressing his evil inclination, is easier by far, both in the category of “turning away from evil” [and that of “doing good”],5 The apodotic clause is expanded later; cf. n. 9. even when it concerns a minor prohibition laid down by the Scribes, so as not to transgress against His will, blessed be He, since at the time of its commission he is thereby sundered from His Unity and Oneness just as much as committing actual idolatry. As for repenting afterward, he can do this regarding idolatry, too. To be sure, “He who says, ‘I will sin and repent afterward’ is not given an opportunity to do so.”6 Mishnah, Yoma 8:9. But this means that such a sinner is not granted the auspicious occasion to repent. If, however, he has seized the opportunity himself and has repented, “Nothing can stand in the way of repentance.”7 Jerusalem Talmud, Peah 1:1 (“in the way of repenters”); Comp. Kiddushin 40a. Nonetheless every Jew is prepared and ready to suffer martyrdom for the sanctification of G–d’s Name and will not commit an idolatrous act, even temporarily, with the intention of repenting afterward. This is because of the divine light which is clothed in his soul, as explained above,8 Ch. 19. which does not come within the realm of time at all, but transcends it, having rule and dominion over it, as is known. Likewise in the category of “doing good”9 See above, note 5.—to bestir oneself like a lion with might and stoutheartedness against the [evil] nature which weighs down his body and casts sloth over him from the so-called element of “earth” in the animal soul, restraining him from zealously exerting his body with all kinds of effort and perseverance in the service of G–d entailing effort and toil, such as laboring in the Torah with deep concentration, as well as orally, so that his mouth shall not cease from study. To quote the Rabbis, of blessed memory, “One should always submit to the words of the Torah like the ox to the yoke and the ass to the load.”10 Avodah Zarah 5b. So, too, in relation to devout prayer with the utmost intensity. Likewise with regard to serving G–d in money matters, such as the duty of charity and the like, duties which involve coming to grips with the evil nature seeking means of deception to dissuade the person from dissipating his money and physical health. It is very easy for a person to restrain and subjugate his nature when he considers deeply that to conquer his nature in all the above, and more, and even to do the very opposite, is by far less painful than the pangs of death—may G–d preserve us! Yet he would have accepted the pangs of death—preserve us G–d!—lovingly and willingly, only not to be parted from His Unity and Oneness, blessed be He, even for a moment by an act of idolatry, G–d forbid. All the more lovingly and willingly must he accept upon himself to cleave to Him forever. For by fulfilling His Will, blessed be He—by means of such service there will be revealed in it the innermost will of the Supreme One in a manner of “Countenance” and great revelation, without obscurity whatsoever, and when there is no “hiding of the Countenance” of the Supernal Will, there is no separation whatsoever and nothing can have a separate and independent existence of its own. Thus his soul, both the divine and vivifying, together with their garments, will be united in a perfect unity with the Supernal Will and the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, as has been explained above. This union is eternal in the upper spheres, for He, blessed be He, and His will are above time, and so is His revealed will, manifest in His word which is the Torah, eternal, as is written, “But the word of G–d shall stand forever,”11 Isaiah 40: 8. and “His words are living and enduring…,”12 Liturgy, Morning Prayer. and “He will not alter or change His Law forever….”13 From the famous hymn Yigdal on the Thirteen Principles of Faith, originally formulated by Maimonides, incorporated into the liturgy of the Ashkenazic and Sephardic rites. However, here below, [the union] is within the limits of time, persisting only during such time when one is occupied in the study of Torah or in the performance of a commandment. For afterward, if he engages in anything else, he is here below separated from the Higher Unity. This is so when he occupies himself with altogether vain things which are utterly useless for the Divine service. Nevertheless, should he later repent and return to the service of G–d, to Torah and prayer, and ask forgiveness of G–d for not having engaged in the Torah when he could have done so, G–d will pardon him. To quote the rabbis: “If one has transgressed against a positive precept but has repented, he is pardoned on the spot.”14 Yoma 86a. Therefore they instituted the blessing of “Forgive us” to be recited three times daily15 In the weekday Amidah. for the sin of neglecting the Torah, a sin which no one can escape each day. Similarly the daily burnt-offering16 In the Sanctuary of old. used to bring atonement for neglect of the positive precepts. This is not the same as saying, “I will sin and repent afterward,” unless at the time he is committing the sin he relies on subsequent repentance and sins because of it, as explained elsewhere. In the light of the above, it will be understood why our teacher Moses, peace be upon him, in Deuteronomy commanded the generation that was to enter the Land of Israel to recite the Shema twice daily to acknowledge the Kingdom of Heaven with self-sacrifice, although he had promised them, “The L–rd your G–d will cast your dread and fear upon all the land.”17 Deuteronomy 11:25. The reason is that the fulfillment of the Torah and its commandments is dependent on being constantly aware of one’s readiness to surrender one’s life to G–d for His Unity’s sake, so that this awareness be permanently fixed in one’s heart and not depart from one’s memory night and day. For in this way is one able to face one’s evil nature and vanquish it always, at any time or moment, as has been explained.18 The recital of the Shema—which teaches the acceptance of martyrdom for the sanctification of G–d’s Name—was instituted on the eve of the conquest of the Promised Land. Since a miraculous conquest was promised, this precept could not have been related to the imminent battle for the conquest of the Land, but was meant for all times, for the conquest of one’s own nature.
