Daily Tanya 9th Adar 1: Chapter 29: A Remedy for a heart of stone & spiritual Insensitivity

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Chapter 29: A Remedy for a heart of stone & spiritual Insensitivity

(LY) 9th Adar 1

1.      Dealing with apathy-Timtum Halev and Moach:

  • Heart of stone-Unable to feel emotion during prayer: There is another issue for which we must give advice for the Beinoni, and that is regarding the occasional, and at times frequent, experience of heart of stone, in which the heart is not capable of having any emotion or feeling for G-d. In this state, one is unable to open his heart at all in any way to serve G-d during prayer using his heart and with emotion.
  • Unable to control his lust for the permitted: Likewise, on occasion the Beinoni is unable to battle his evil inclination, to sanctify himself with that which is permitted, due to the heaviness of his heart.

3.      The advice-To break the heart and spirit of evil:

  • The teaching of the Zohar to break the body: The advice to be followed for one who is experiencing such a state of apathy and lack of emotion, is based on the following teaching of the Zohar. The Zohar states that the head of the Yeshiva in Gan Eden taught that one who is unable to light a log on fire is to break the log to small pieces, and accordingly if a body is unable to light the soul then it is to be broken.
  • The soul’s intellect does not shine: What this means is as follows: The light of the soul refers to its revelation and intellect. When the soul is not shining it means that its intellect is not able to shine and control the coarseness of the body.
  • The comprehension of G-d’s greatness does not penetrate the heart: This applies even if the person understands and comprehends in his mind the greatness of G-d, nonetheless, these ideas do not grasp and stick to his mind to the point that it is able to control the coarseness of the heart, and make movements within his emotions and feelings.

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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