Since Talmudic times, the context for the Rabbis has been a life devoted to Torah study.
For better or worse, I don’t live in such a context. I’m a modern man – I spend my time gardening, watching movies, playing D&D with my kids.
So, welcome to a short blog series where I attempt to recontextualise the daily Tanya. I’m not so concerned about grappling with the Alter Rebbe’s work in the way he intended. Rather, I’m asking what about this speaks to me? What can I take from this?
So let’s start. Here’s Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 29.
This is the meaning of the statement in the sacred Zohar, Parashat Pekudei (p. 229b), that “the good deeds (i.e., the mitzvot) which man does elicit a garment from the light of the supernal splendor…(i.e., from the level of keter), and they behold…the ‘pleasantness of G-d…,’” and also, as the Zohar concludes, they experience the “pleasurable thirst” (i.e., the pnimiyut of keter).
Though there, [the Zohar] speaks of the Lower Garden of Eden, where the garments derive from the truly practical commandments so that they result not from the supernal will, as above, but from the merit of physical action,
while in the Upper Garden of Eden, the garments derive from the love and devotion of the heart with respect to Torah and prayer, as stated in the Zohar ad loc. (p. 210),
Once again, the Tanya feels just out of reach. It’s always this way for me. I know there’s something profound sitting right there, so close. But I just can’t quite grasp it.
Yet, I suppose garments here must refer to mitzvot. In a “lower” sense – that is, in our everyday common existence – our good deeds must be performed physically. Our best intentions (“thoughts and prayers”) are not sufficient. It is not enough to feel love, compassion, or generosity – these must be actioned. Prayer must be uttered, not merely thought.
So it is with our work (here I go recontextualising). There’s a place for planning, organising, and scheduling – but the work still needs to be done.
And then there’s Upper Eden – a supernal, transcendent state. We don’t live here, but I think we can visit.
I’m sure the Alter Rebbe would cringe, but I like to think of this as a state of flow. Or, more than that, the kind of flow which engages you with a project over the course of weeks, months, or years. When the work comes easy, and it feels meaningful.
To find that place, you must start in Lower Eden. Get stuck in, and do the work. The physical component is still required. Only then can you mix in “love and devotion of the heart”, to elevate the work and give it meaning.
That level of energy around a project can’t be derived from a greedy desire for fame or fortune. You can’t get there on a startup that’s aimed at an exit. It requires passion – a powerful love – which, in turn, requires that the project brings meaningful positive change into the world.
Which, I suppose, means that our most productive work is a good deed.