#beinoni

What No One Understands About the Human Soul: 3 Parts Eternal

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Divine Wisdom animates the soul & gives vitality; new opportunity is allowed those who come from wicked parents by way of GOD's Sovereign Choice. #family#Generation Curse

In the previous chapters, the Alter Rebbe discussed the difference between the Tzaddik and the Beinoni. The Tzaddik has no evil inclination. Since there is no longer any evil in his own soul, evil holds no attraction for him. In the Beinoni, however, the evil remains strong. The Beinoni therefore finds evil desirable, and it is only through the constant vigilance and struggle of his divine soul that he is able to prevent his animal soul from implementing its desires in thought, speech, and action. With this distinction in mind, we may understand the verse: “And you will return and see the difference between the righteous man & the wicked one, between he who serves GOD and he who serves HIM not.” [Malachi 3:18]

The Talmud [Chagigah 9b] raises the question: The term “righteous man” is identical with “he who serves GOD,” and “the wicked man” is obviously “he who serves HIM not.”

Why, then, does the text repeat the contrast? In answer, the Talmud states: “Both ‘he who serves GOD’ and ‘he who serves HIM not’ are fully righteous, yet one who reviews his studies one hundred times cannot compare to he who reviews his studies 101 times.” [The significance of the 101st revision will be explained further in this chapter]

However, this answer seems to clarify only the second set of seemingly repetitive terms—“the wicked man” and “he who serves HIM not.” Far from being wicked, “he who serves HIM not” is so described only because he reviews his Torah studies no more than one hundred times. Yet we remain with the difficulty posed by the first set of identical descriptions—“the righteous man” and “he who serves GOD.” In fact, the above-quoted Talmudic interpretation of the verse adds yet a third category: “he who serves HIM not,” yet is also righteous! It is this difficulty the Alter Rebbe now resolves, based on his previous distinction between the Tzaddik & the Beinoni.

The difference between “he who serves GOD” (oved) and a righteous man (Tzaddik) is that “he who serves GOD,” written in the present tense, describes one who is still presently laboring in his divine service. This service consists of the struggle against one’s evil nature with the aim of overpowering it and banishing it from the “small city” i.e., the body, which is like a city whose conquest is the objective of both the good & the evil nature, [Ecclesiastes 9:14; Nedarim 32b; and see above, CH9] so it should not vest itself in the organs of the body through evil thought, speech, or action. [See CH12] Doing battle against his evil nature is the avodah (“service”) of “he who serves GOD.”

This constant battle with one’s evil nature truly entails much effort (“service”) and toil.

This is the Beinoni.

It is he who must wage this battle; it is the Beinoni who is called “he who serves GOD,” for he is actively engaged at present in his service. The Tzaddik, on the other hand, is designated “a servant (eved) of GOD,” as a title conferred on the person himself; it is not merely a description of one’s active role as is the designation “one who serves.”

The term “servant” is similar to the title “sage” or “king,” bestowed on one who has already become a Sage or King. So, too, he (the Tzaddik) has already effected and completely accomplished his “service” of waging war with the evil in him. He has banished it, and it is gone from him, leaving the seat of evil nature in his heart “void within him.” [See CH1] Having completed this task, the Tzaddik has earned the title “Servant of GOD.”

We now see that the expressions “a righteous man” and “he who serves GOD” are not repetitious; “he who serves GOD” is not a description of a Tzaddik but of a Beinoni.

The Alter Rebbe now goes on to discuss the difference between “he who serves GOD” and “he who serves HIM not,” who, as the Talmud declares, is not wicked. In the category of Beinoni, there are also two levels:

[a] “he who serves GOD” and [b] “he who serves HIM not.”

Yet he who “serves HIM not” is not wicked, although he does not wage war with his evil nature, for never in his life has he committed even a minor transgression in the realm of negative commandments. He has also fulfilled all the positive commandments which he was able to fulfill, including the precept of Torah study—which is equal to all the other commandments combined—to the extent that his mouth never ceased from study, despite the difficulty involved in this. Yet he is still described as one who “does not serve GOD,” for he does not wage any battle against his evil inclination to vanquish it through the aid of the Divine light that illuminates the godly soul abiding in the brain, which rules over the heart—as explained above [See CH12 & 13] that the godly soul & the Divine light illuminating it are the Beinoni’s answer to his evil inclination. He (“who serves HIM not”) does not struggle with it—for his evil inclination does not oppose him at all in an attempt to deter him from his Torah study & divine service, and thus, he need not wage any war against it.

So it is, for example, with one who is by nature an assiduous student due to his stolid temperament & who is also free of conflict with sexual desire due to his frigid nature, and similarly with other mundane pleasures he need not exert himself to master a desire for them, for he naturally lacks any feeling for enjoyment. For this reason, he does not need to contemplate so much on the greatness of GOD to consciously create a spirit of knowledge & fear of GOD in his mind in order to guard himself from transgressing any prohibitive commandments.

He also need not create a love of GOD in his heart, which would motivate him to bind himself to HIM through fulfilling the positive commandments & through Torah study, which equals all the other commandments together.

The hidden love of GOD found in the heart of all Jews, who are called “the lovers of HIS Name,” [Psalms 69:37] is sufficient for him to motivate his fulfilling the commandments, since he is naturally so inclined.

For a Jew who must engage in battle with his evil inclination, the love hidden in his heart is not enough. He must arouse it to an active, conscious state. For the person who is free of conflict with evil, however, this hidden love (together with his naturally favorable character traits) is sufficient.

For this reason, he is not considered “one who is serving GOD” at all, for this latent love is not of his making or achievement by any means. It is our inheritance, bequeathed by our Patriarchs to the entire Jewish Nation, as will be explained further. [CH 18, 19, and 44]

With this, the Alter Rebbe concluded the thought that within the level of Beinoni, there are two subcategories—“he who serves GOD” and “he who serves HIM not.”

He now goes on to say that even one who is not naturally endowed with traits favorable to GOD’s service may yet come under the category of “he who serves HIM not.” So, too, he who is not inherently studious but has accustomed himself to study diligently so that this habit has become his second nature; thus, diligence is now natural for him,

for him, too, the hidden love of GOD is now sufficient, unless he wishes to study more than he usually does.

To do so, he must arouse a conscious love of GOD in his heart. Only such a love can supply the strength necessary to free himself from the restraints of his acquired nature.

The Alter Rebbe now continues:

Now, the rank of beinoni is one that is attainable by every man; each person should strive after it if he has not yet attained it and should not think it beyond his reach, for every person can, at any time or hour, be a beinoni,

bc a beinoni does not abhor evil; unlike the tzaddik, he does not find worldly pleasures revolting and loathsome,

for this is a matter entrusted to the heart, and as explained earlier, the beinoni has yet to conquer [the evil in] his heart; consequently, he does not loathe evil.

Also, not all times are alike.

There are times—such as during prayer—when one’s heart is open and receptive; at such time, he may evoke a loathing toward evil. At other times, the heart may be “blocked” and spiritually insensitive, and one is incapable of loathing evil. Inasmuch as the beinoni’s attitude toward evil varies while his status of beinoni remains constant, it's understood loathing evil is not the measure of beinoni.

Rather, the task of the beinoni is only to “turn away from evil and do good” in actual practice—in deed, speech, and thought.

In these matters, as opposed to “matters of the heart,” every man is given the choice, ability, and freedom to act, speak, and think even that which is contrary to the desire of his heart and diametrically opposed to it.

For even when one’s heart craves and desires a material pleasure, whether permitted, in which case it is only the lustful nature of the desire that is evil (instead of desiring the pleasure “for the sake of heaven,” as he should, he seeks self-gratification), or whether, GOD forbid, he desires that which is forbidden, and the desire is intrinsically evil; whatever sort of craving it is—he can conquer [this desire] and divert his attention from it altogether by declaring to himself (“saying to his heart”) [as follows]:

“I do not want to be a rasha—in succumbing to the blandishments of the animal soul—even for a moment, because under no circumstances do I want to be parted and severed, Heaven forbid from GOD.. as is written, “Your iniquities separate…[you from GOD].” [Isaiah 59:2]

By reflecting that sin separates one from G-d, one will conclude that he does not wish to be a rasha, since he will thereby sever his bond with Him. In this way, one can always “turn away from evil” and refrain from sin, although his heart craves it.

Similarly, in order for one to “do good” and actively perform the mitzvot, he should declare to himself:

“I desire, instead, to unite my nefesh, ruach, and neshamah with GOD through investing them in ‘HIS’ three garments, namely: Action, speech, & thought dedicated to GOD, HIS Torah, and HIS commandments.

These are called “HIS” (GOD’s) three garments because they lend expression to HIS wisdom (Torah) and will (mitzvot), which are one with GOD HIMSELF.

“This desire to unite with GOD arises out of the love of GOD that is (surely) hidden in my heart though I do not feel it, just as [this love is found] in the heart of all Jews, who are called ‘lovers of Your (GOD’s) Name’ [Psalms 3:12] by reason of their inherent love of GOD, although they do not all feel this love consciously.

Kal Shebekalim

“For this reason, even a kal shebekalim (a most unworthy Jew) is capable of sacrificing his life for the sanctity of GOD should he be forced to deny HIM, GOD forbid. Surely, I am not inferior to him.

As will be explained in later chapters, the ability of even the lowliest Jew to give up his very life for GOD stems from every Jew’s innate, hidden love of GOD, which is activated and aroused whenever he feels that he is being torn away from HIM. But if the kal shebekalim indeed loves GOD so deeply he will surrender his life for HIM:

Why is he a kal shebekalim?

Why does he sin?

Why does he not observe the mitzvot?

Spirit of Folly

“It is only that a spirit of folly has overcome (lit., ‘entered’) him, as our Sages say: ‘No man sins unless overcome by a spirit of folly’ [Sotah 3a]; he imagines that committing this sin will not affect his Jewishness and that his soul will not be severed thereby from the GOD of Israel.

In fact, at the moment that a Jew sins, he becomes separated from GOD. Were the kal shebekalim to realize this, he would never sin. The “spirit of folly,” however, deludes him into thinking otherwise.

“Similarly, the kal shebekalim neglects the positive mitzvot, although his natural love of GOD dictates he fulfill them, because he also forgets the love of GOD hidden in his heart. Were he aware of this love, he would seek mitzvot to perform in order to unite with GOD.

“All this applies to the kal shebekalim. But as for me”—one should say to himself—“I have no desire to be such a fool as he to deny the truth!”

Truth of the matter is sin separates man from GOD & one does have a natural love of GOD that dictates the performance of mitzvot. “These truths,” one must say to himself, “I do not wish to deny.”

Such arguments are effective in a conflict with one’s animal soul over actual thought, speech, and action. Using the abovementioned reasoning, one can prevail over his evil inclination at all times (in both “turning from evil” and “doing good”) and thereby attain the rank of the beinoni.

It is different, however, with something entrusted to the heart, i.e., involving one’s feelings, meaning, in our case, that one’s heart actually abhor and despise the evil that he now craves, [whether] with absolute hatred, as the perfect tzaddik does, or even not quite so utterly, as does the “incomplete tzaddik.”

This cannot be attained in complete truth except through that level of intense love of GOD called “love which experiences delights,” which consists of delighting in godliness,

akin to [the bliss of] the World to Come,

concerning which our Sages say that souls “will bask in the radiance of the Divine Presence.” Only such “love which experiences delights” creates a hatred of evil, as explained in the previous chapters.

Concerning one who experiences this [“love of delights”], our Sages said, “You shall see a glimmer of your reward in the World to Come in your lifetime.” [Berachot 17a] Not every man is privileged to attain this state, for it is in the nature of a reward received from above, and a reward can only be received, not taken.

Thus, it is written, “I (GOD) shall grant [you] your priestly service as a gift,” [Numbers 18:7]

Service of GOD with this ecstatically blissful love is designated “priesthood” even though it is not restricted to the Kohanim, members of the priestly family of Aaron. The above-quoted verse tells us this lofty level of divine service is a gift from GOD, as is explained elsewhere.

Consequently, the rank of tzaddik is not within every man’s reach: it is dependent upon one’s loathing of evil, which is in turn contingent on his experiencing that blissful love which is a gift from GOD. The level of beinoni, however, is attainable by all.

With this in mind, the Alter Rebbe clarifies the Talmudic passage that describes Job as saying to GOD: “YOU have created tzaddikim (righteous men), YOU have created resha’im (wicked men).” In the first chapter of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe asked: How can GOD be said to have “created” righteous & wicked men?

If man is wicked, it is his own doing.

GOD ordains only whether one shall be clever or foolish, strong or weak, and the like; HE does not declare whether one will be righteous or wicked, for doing so would negate man’s freedom of choice. How, then, could Job say, “YOU have created men as tzaddikim and resha’im”?

The matter becomes clear, however, in light of the Alter Rebbe’s statement here that the ability to become a tzaddik is a gift from GOD, not granted to every man. “You have created tzaddikim” thus means that GOD created souls capable of attaining the rank of tzaddik. In the Alter Rebbe’s words:

Therefore Job said, “YOU have created tzaddikim….” [Job 27]

We can now understand Job’s statement as a reference to those souls created with the capacity of attaining the rank of tzaddik. (meaning of “You have created resha’im” is explained in CH27.)

As stated in Tikkunei Zohar [Introduction 1b], there are many grades and degrees in Jewish souls:

Pious men (chassidim), strong men (gibborim) who gain mastery over their evil inclination, scholars of the Torah, prophets…tzaddikim, and so forth. Note there.

Accordingly, within the ranks of the souls, there are those who are categorized as tzaddikim.

Furthermore: even in the mind alone, with respect to sinful thought, the evil has not the dominion & power to cause him (GOD forbid) to think such thoughts consciously, i.e., [to cause the mind] to accept willingly, GOD forbid, the evil thought that rises of its own accord—unbidden—from the heart to the mind, as explained above.10

Evil thoughts will occur to him involuntarily, because the evil in his heart craves evil; however, the evil does not have the final say on what he will let his mind accept willingly; the beinoni’s conscious mind is dominated by the divine soul.

Instead, immediately upon [the thought’s] rising to [the mind], he—the beinoni—thrusts it aside as it were with both hands, and averts his mind from it, the instant he realizes that it is an evil thought.

He will refuse to accept it even as a subject for mere conscious thought & will certainly not entertain the notion of acting on it, GOD forbid, or even speaking of it, for he who willingly indulges in such thoughts is deemed a rasha at that moment, while the beinoni is never wicked, even for a single moment. Obviously, then, the beinoni would not willingly entertain evil thoughts.

The discussion of his mastery over his animal soul has thus far centered on matters pertaining to man’s relationship with GOD. It now moves to another area:

So, too, in matters “between man and his fellow man.”

The beinoni will not grant expression in thought, speech, or action to any evil feelings toward his fellow. As soon as there rises from his heart to his mind any animosity or hatred, GOD forbid, or jealousy, anger, or a grudge and their like, he will bar them from his mind and will, refusing even to think of them.

Beinoni, The: (lit. “intermediate one”); an individual whose spiritual labors have brought him to a level of perfection in thought, word and deed, despite his still-active evil inclination; see Tanya, ch. 12.

On the contrary, his mind will prevail over and dominate the feelings of his heart to do the exact opposite of that which the heart desires, namely, to conduct himself toward his fellow with the quality of kindness (as opposed to the quality of “severity,” where hatred and anger originate), and to display toward his fellow a disproportionate love, in suffering from him to the furthest extreme, without being provoked into anger, GOD forbid, or to take revenge in kind, GOD forbid, even without anger, but, on the contrary, to repay offenders with favors, as taught in the Zohar that we should learn from the example of Joseph’s conduct with his brothers, when he repaid them for the suffering they brought upon him with kindness and favors.

Thus, in his relations with his fellow man as well, the beinoni does not permit the evil in his heart to express itself in thought, word, or deed. It is thus understood from this chapter with regard to practice, the divine soul is the beinoni’s only master. He neither thinks, speaks, nor does anything forbidden but acts only in accordance with Torah and mitzvot. In regards to his essence, however, i.e., his intellect and emotions, he has another master as well; his animal soul is still powerful, and it can and does arouse evil desires in his heart. In connection with the statement made earlier in this chapter, that the time of prayer is propitious for spiritual elevation, an aphorism of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe,12 comes to mind: When a Jew studies Torah, he feels like a student before GOD, his teacher, WHOSE wisdom he is studying. When he prays, he feels like a child before his FATHER.

"Keep turning it [the Torah/GOD's Word] until it talks to you. If it is not talking to you, then you are probably not reading it right. The Rebbe would always derive personal applications in life from Jewish Law, from Talmud."

What is Talmud vs Torah? Compiled between the 3rd and 8th centuries, the Talmud is the staple of Jewish religion after the destruction of the Second Temple and the primary source of halakha, religious law. What makes this book such an important aspect of Judaism to this day? The Torah is what non-Jews may understand as the Old Testament.

Teacher: So there's always this emphasis on how doe it practically talk to me in my life. But Tanya from the outset was written as a manual for understanding what our purpose is spiritually, and what is attainable & what are GOD's expectations. So the Tanya is not indirect in that regard, that is its stated goal [personal application of GOD's Word].

MC: The Alter Rebbe, the author of the Tanya, brings up & introduces that most of us think there's good, there an average Joe & then there's, you know, the people who are not good. And counter to popular opinion, what most people assume is the average Joe [as according to the Alter Rebbe] is a really lofty state.

Teacher nodding his head.

MC: You know the Beinoni is really s/o who doesn't sin & who overcame to a large degree - the actuality of sinning. [Thank you!] So they may struggle with it perhaps, but that's a really, that's lofty. So are you saying that's something in the Tanya that you're going to be teaching? Is that something which is aspirational or is it actually practical? [3:56] great question!

Teacher: Well first, the average is not a good translation of beinuni actually, but if you're going to use it already; then you might say the Alter Rebbe has demonstrated to us that the average is a far higher bar than we may have previously considered it to be.

But I think more than anything else, Tanya is saying, "Yeah, you can be a beinuni." [4:27]

Now being a beinuni doesn't perforce mean that you always have & always will be & always are! It's not like a mountain peak & once you're there, you know, you're there. The beinuni is a work in progress..

MC: It's like walking on a treadmill, if you stop you fall off, you got to keep on, you got to keep it up. [Teacher: Right, right] OK. So it is s/t attainable, but obviously s/t you got to work on all the time?

Teacher: It's attainable, but it's an ongoing, you know, struggle [MC: You can loop in & out of it?] to attain that.

But the point is that most ppl don't necessarily see themselves as even attaining mastery over thought/speech/action. [5:07]

MC: Okay. So in the Tanya there is a concept introduced where the Alter Rebbe is premising a lot of the way you can overcome the challenges you have by the fact that mo'ach shalit al haleiv, that the mind can dictate to the heart what it should feel & what it should desire. And therefore, the Alter Rebbe continues to say that if you desire s/t which is inappropriate, or it's not according to the dictates of Torah, you can actually change that through the power of your mind.

[5:43] Are we focusing too much on our minds & intellectual ability? Shouldn't it be less intellectual, and you know, service to GOD should be more a service of the heart? [5:54]

So why would we control the heart with our minds? [This guy seriously asks great questions]

Teacher: Well I mean, in this aspiration to attain beinuni level mastery, the Alter Rebbe talks about different approaches. One of them being that we are inherently wired so that, what it means is the way we think influences the way we feel. I mean that's not such an abstract concept. [6:16]

But it takes a lot of mind filling to start thinking a certain way.

So in one of the classes we'll talk about practially when we talk about this very concept, what are you reading? What kind of information are you filling your mind with?

And that generally will be the type of stuff that excites you & it stokes your feelings, and your passions, and so on & so forth. [6:51]

MC: We're going to be talking about a lot of ideas, like you said the beinuni is one of them, and you know, mo'ach shalit al heleiv, the mind over heart. These are like you're saying in a certain sense aspirational, they are very lofty & greater than what we think we are capable of today. Are they for anyone, or do you have to be a rabbi, or an observant Jew? Or can really anyone attain that? [7:17]

A brief biographical overview of the founder of the Chasidic movement, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760).

Can anyone if they worked hard enough at it, and they put in the effort & they made that a priority for themselves. Is that something that could be for anyone? And thereby is this course something which is really relevant to anyone, or would it be relevant to ppl who are learning in yeshiva, or s/o who has had an education? [7:33]

Teacher: The best response is the Alter Rebbe's words himself, that the beinuni is midas kal adam ve'achareha kal adam yimshoch, that yeah it's attainable to every person & every person should pursue it & aspire to it. [7:45] Judaism does not in general maintain any sort of hierarchy in terms of things that are only applicable for clergy & things that are only applicable to the laymen. A rabbi doesn't enjoy any status, a rabbi simply means a teacher & s/o who imparts information & knowledge & so on. [8:10]

So yeah, absolutely & I think that's one of the most refreshing & empowering things about Tanya. And the Alter Rebbe writes in the introduction to Tanya that a lot of what he's writing is in response to a wide spectrum of people coming forth & you know sharing their struggles with him. And here's a manual that will work for everybody, that covers all the bases. [8:38]

And even though it was written +200 years ago, human nature hasn't changed. Technology has changed, but people are people, and the struggles are the same. So what he wrote then is as alive & well and applicable today. [8:56]

MC: This is the middle course of a series of three courses on Tanya. And they are connected bc they're following each other up. But at the same time, each one of them has tremendous lessons, practical lessons that a person that watches it will walk away with.

So we have than in course one, and I would like if you can maybe give a little sneak peek to the viewers about what they can walk away with: Just one or two things that they can absorb into their lives.

And it's not just intellectual, it may not even just be a spiritual awakening for a few minutes, but s/t very practical that would make a difference in their life today. [9:35]

Teacher: Well I think the most practical thing is drawing sort of the lines, the battle lines as it were. I think first & foremost it's understanding that we're programmed to be in a battlefield.

We are a battlefield.

[9:55] So if you feel yourself being pulled in different directions & you wonder like, who am I? [OMG this is exactly how I feel at the crack of dawn..] There are in fact not only two tendencies within all of us, there are two souls. So it's almost like there's two ppl occupying the same space. So we are fundamentally bifurcated in many ways. [10:17] So I think that is in & of itself maybe alleviating in terms of why do I feel so pulled? Well there's really two souls..

But these two souls inhabit the same space bc they're both trying to occupy the space & ultimately there's this point of convergence to some degree a fusion. And there the question becomes also:

To what degree? [10:47]

To what degree can I as a human being, which is encapsulated, let's say in the biological soul: So to what extent can I become godly? Which is to say, to what extent does my godly soul, or can my godly soul influence & impact me as a human being? [11:06]

So in terms of charting a course for your life, as far as what are my spiritual goals? And how am I going to be measured? [11:17]

Both personally: How would I measure progress in life & how am I going to be ultimately measured by GOD? These are really basic fundamental issues that are good to know.

MC: I agree :D So this course is going to be taking place shortly.. and of course there is going to be a vibrant dicussion on our FB group for the course, as well as in the comments section below the video...

Teacher: Definitely join us, tune in & let's get the conversation rolling.

Rabbi Ruvi New is the director and spiritual leader of Chabad of East Boca Raton , Florida. Rabbi New serves on the Editorial Board of the Jewish Learning Institute. Australian born, he is a much sought after lecturer on Kabbalah, and is also a professional recording artist, whose recent album Storm the World, reached #8 on the Itunes World Music Charts. Together with his wife Ahuva, they are the proud parents of 10 children and one grandchild.

Look at what the write up is for this course, exactly how I feel after hearing Manis Friedman discuss about how generosity is feeling for others rather than self emoting: