Schneur Zalman of Liadi. Sepher Likutei Amarim [“Tanya”]

THE EDITIO PRINCEPS OF THE TANYA. THE FUNDAMENTAL EXPOSITION OF CHABAD CHASSIDIC PHILOSOPHY. Composed by R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1813) - or the "Alter Rebbe" as he is affectionately referred to -the Tanya is universally acknowledged as a seminal work of Jewish thought. This first edition includes Part One, “Sepher shel Beinonim” (Book of the Middle Class), and Part Two, “Chinuch Katan / Shaar ha-Yichud ve-ha-Emunah” (Gate of Unity and Faith). In the course of subsequent printings, three additional parts would be added, for a total of five parts. Although originally entitled “Sepher shel Beinonim,” the celebrated works has become known as “Tanya,” after the first word of the text. Chassidim relate that it was the author’s intention by beginning with this word to thereby neutralize a certain “kelipah” or demon, by that name. Rabbi Schneur Zalman provides in the work spiritual guidance for the Jew who is neither a wicked, nor wholly righteous person, but sets one’s goal to reach that of the “beinoni” - a middle ground, defined as a struggle between one's two souls, the Animal and the Divine: the soul that draws downward toward the Earth and the soul that aspires upward towards Godliness. This ongoing tense encounter can be so grueling, that in Lubavitch circles, the highest compliment that may be paid a chassid is that he (or she) is the “Beinoni of the Tanya.” A Paradigmatic Work in the Development of Jewish Thought