Daily Tanya Friday 6th Nissan Chapter 38 Part 5: Human versus animal Kavana

6^th Nissan/(LY) 26^th Adar 2

2. “Human” Kavana-Intellectual:

• The first, higher, level of Kavana is intellectual love and fear.
• This refers to one who has ability of knowing G-d, to contemplate His greatness and as a result of his understanding to arouse higher fear in his mind and love of G-d in the right chamber of his heart.
• The soul thirsts to attach to G-d: The love is aroused to the point that his soul thirsts for G-d, to attach to Him through fulfilling the Torah and Mitzvos which draw the infinite light of Ein Sof onto his soul.
• Human Kavana: When such an individual learns Torah and fulfills Mitzvos and prays to Hashem and says blessings, then this Kavana is like the soul of a human who contains intellect and freedom of choice and can speak with knowledge.

3. “Animal” Kavana-Emotional:

• The second, lower, level of Kavana is a natural and instinctive love and fear.
• Lack of intellectual capability: This refers to one who does not have the intellectual ability of knowing G-d, to contemplate His greatness, and as a result of his understanding to arouse a revealed love in his heart or fear of Hashem in his mind or heart.
• Arousing hidden love: Rather, such a person through remembering his love can only arouse the natural love that is hidden in his heart. He brings out this love from its concealed state to its revealed state, at least in his mind.
• The soul agrees to attach and give up his life to G-d: This means that the will of his mind and the hidden chambers of his heart readily agree and desire with complete and true compliance to actually give up his life for the sake of G-d’s unity, in order to attach to Him his G-dly soul and its garments and incorporate them in His unity which is found in the Torah and Mitzvahs.
• Fear of G-d: This hidden love also includes fear of Hashem, to accept the yoke of Heaven to not rebel against Him, Heaven forbid.
• Animal Kavana: When one then uses this intent to abstain from performing transgressions and to perform the commands, and he learns and Davens and says blessings with the simple meaning of the words without love and fear aroused in his heart and mind, then this Kavana is like the soul of an animal which does not contain intellect or freedom of choice, and all of its emotions are natural instincts.
• Natural instinctive emotions like animals: The fear an animal has for matters that threaten it and the love it has for matters that it lusts, are all natural to it and not a result of its understanding or knowledge. Similarly, the fear and love that is hidden in the hearts of every Jew is an inheritance from our forefathers and is like a nature in our souls.