Understanding the Tanya

Understanding the Tanya guides the reader through one of the most extraordinary books of moral teachings ever written. The Tanya is a seminal document in both the study of Hasidic thought and of Kabbalah-Jewish mysticism. With a keen understanding of the profound struggles within the human soul, the Tanya helps us understand how we can raise ourselves to higher and higher spiritual levels.Timeless in its approach, the Tanya addresses specific moral problems and dilemmas and delves into their root causes, distilling the universal predicaments of humankind and offering solutions that can change the way we view ourselves and conduct our lives. The Tanya explores the workings of the soul and examines the complexities, doubts, and drives within all of us as expressions of a single basic problem - the struggle between our Godly and animal souls.The internationally celebrated Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who has dedicated his life to the study, teaching, and writing of books that explain Jewish scripture, religious practice, spirituality, and mysticism is the author of this explanation and commentary on the Tanya.The first book in the series, Opening the Tanya, introduced us to the "beinoni", that person who is neither inherently righteous nor evil, but who seeks to reach moral perfection even as he struggles with animal soul. The second volume, Learning from the Tanya, offers a deeper description of the moral tensions within each of us. This third volume, Understanding the Tanya, continues where volume two left off in its page-by-page commentary on the linear sequence of the Tanya's original text.