Daily Tanya Thursday 21st Tamuz Igeres Hateshuvah Chapter 7 Part 2: How to be brokenhearted-Fasting and Cheshbon Nefesh

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21st Tamuz/26th Tamuz

  • How to be brokenhearted-Fasting and Cheshbon Nefesh: How does one accomplish a broken and humble heart? Some of it is accomplished through mortification and fasting. However, in our generation that we do have the strength to fast as did King David, who indeed killed his evil inclination through fasting, then the main humbling of the heart and being of broken spirit in order to remove the spirit of impurity, is accomplished through doing deep and proper accounting of the soul.
  • How to do the Cheshbon Nefesh: One is to invest one hour per day, either during daytime or night prior to Tikkun Chatzos, to deeply contemplate the effects of one’s sins and how it has caused the exile of the divine presence, and caused his divine soul to be uprooted from its source in God the source of all life. He should contemplate, that instead of his soul receiving from God, he has sunk his divine soul to a place of death and impurity, to the chambers of evil, and that the divine soul has now become a receptacle for the chambers of evil to receive from it energy [of evil] to enliven one’s body. On this the sages state that evildoers are called dead even when they are alive, meaning to say that their source of life comes from a place of death and impurity. Likewise, on this the verse states that people who are dead do not praise of God, as this is not referring to the actual dead of which it is forbidden to scoff at, but rather refers to the evildoers who are called dead even when alive, being that their minds are filled with forbidden thoughts [and are thus unable to praise God] so long as they remain in their wickedness without repentance.

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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