The Source of All Evil
Day by Day
Earlier this week we observed the “Fast of Tevet”. Like all fast days, it was a time for introspection and correction. Here’s an interesting though.
Tanya makes a distinction between the sins of forbidden relations, which involve two people, and the ‘wasting of seed’, which involves only ones self. The spiritual effect of a forbidden relationship is difficult to correct because the sin takes hold in the other person. You can repent that part of the sin that is within you by exorcising it from your system. But you cannot control that part of the sin that is now held within the other. This calls for thorough Teshuva (repentance). The wasting of seed on the other hand, produces more un-holiness, quantitatively, but it is more easily removed from the system.
Now consult your Hayom Yom for Tevet 10: "Let the sinner leave his path and the man of transgession his thoughts." The Rebbe explains this verse in this way: Just as the sinner must abandon his evil ways, for without Teshuva he cannot get into a life of holiness, so must the opinionated abandon his thoughts. One must not insist, “I say…” (my opinion is authoritative) or, “I think…” (my opinions are correct), for every “I” is the source of trouble and creates divisiveness.
This was said to “a Chassid during Yechidus”. Yechidus is a Chassid’s private audience with his Rebbe when a meeting of the souls is supposed to happen. In this case, the Rebbe was telling the Chassid that his self-importance is preventing the Yechidus from really happening, it is ‘divisive’.
The quote in the Hayom Yom is getting to the heart of that day’s Tanya reading: The ‘sinner’ in the verse relates to the sins of illicit relations as metioned in Tanya. (Unless otherwise indicated, 'sin' usually refers to sexual offense.) This sinner must abandon his sin with thorough Teshuva for the un-holiness he created involves other people.
The ‘opinionated’ one, who says “I say” or “I think”, is like the wasting of seed. Since his offence involves only himself, excluding all others, he needs only to abandon his thoughts; nevertheless, the quantity of evil he produces is greater. The “I” is the source of all trouble and the cause of divisiveness.
Earlier this week we observed the “Fast of Tevet”. Like all fast days, it was a time for introspection and correction. Here’s an interesting though.
Tanya makes a distinction between the sins of forbidden relations, which involve two people, and the ‘wasting of seed’, which involves only ones self. The spiritual effect of a forbidden relationship is difficult to correct because the sin takes hold in the other person. You can repent that part of the sin that is within you by exorcising it from your system. But you cannot control that part of the sin that is now held within the other. This calls for thorough Teshuva (repentance). The wasting of seed on the other hand, produces more un-holiness, quantitatively, but it is more easily removed from the system.
Now consult your Hayom Yom for Tevet 10: "Let the sinner leave his path and the man of transgession his thoughts." The Rebbe explains this verse in this way: Just as the sinner must abandon his evil ways, for without Teshuva he cannot get into a life of holiness, so must the opinionated abandon his thoughts. One must not insist, “I say…” (my opinion is authoritative) or, “I think…” (my opinions are correct), for every “I” is the source of trouble and creates divisiveness.
This was said to “a Chassid during Yechidus”. Yechidus is a Chassid’s private audience with his Rebbe when a meeting of the souls is supposed to happen. In this case, the Rebbe was telling the Chassid that his self-importance is preventing the Yechidus from really happening, it is ‘divisive’.
The quote in the Hayom Yom is getting to the heart of that day’s Tanya reading: The ‘sinner’ in the verse relates to the sins of illicit relations as metioned in Tanya. (Unless otherwise indicated, 'sin' usually refers to sexual offense.) This sinner must abandon his sin with thorough Teshuva for the un-holiness he created involves other people.
The ‘opinionated’ one, who says “I say” or “I think”, is like the wasting of seed. Since his offence involves only himself, excluding all others, he needs only to abandon his thoughts; nevertheless, the quantity of evil he produces is greater. The “I” is the source of all trouble and the cause of divisiveness.
posted by Scruz | 1:27 PM
7 Comments:
The rabbi at our (chabad) synagogue said today in his sermon that the root of all evil is the emphasis on the physical over the spiritual (or godly, don't recall...)
So which is it?
hi mds... i agree like Rabbi says "We are here to serve not to be served" but again its easier said then done.. u cant jsut tell someone who is depressed to tell them to get over themselves .. they wont listen cuz they are too in to themselves.. then wat do youtell them its not about u???
Hi, Esther. You're asking a couple of good questions. I will, b'li neder, address them in a regular post. There's more space there.
Keep in touch.
RMF
That part of the tanya always bothered me. The child produced from an adulterous union has to die before teshuva is fully accepted. Why isn't G-d more flexible ?
where does it say that in tanya??
if im not mistaken it says in the end of chapter 7 that if someone created a mamzer there's no correction to the sin since a child was born so theres no going back...and he doesnt suggest praying for this child to die
and if you think of it he really is flexible ... we get away with murder, were not living up to his expectations and we still exist!! understand?
No, you don't pray for the child to die, but a full teshuva is only possible when the child does not exist anymore. And I don't understand your last sentence.
sorry if i couldnt answer you properly that how we learnt it in school... but now i understand since it got exaplianed on the main blog ....
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