Tanya the Masterpiece of Hasidic Wisdom: Selections Annotated & Explained
Tanya "It Was Taught," is one of the most powerful and potentially transformative books of Jewish wisdom. Written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the found of Chabad Hasidism, Tanya sets forth the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. While a focus of daily study by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, Tanya is little know outside the world of Jewish mysticism. Until now, its kabbalistic terms and esoteric language have made this essential text of Jewish spirituality inaccessible to most readers.
In this engaging volume, Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers a contemporary English translation of key selections of Tanya coupled with commentary designed to clarify and amplify the wisdom it contains. He also outlines the philosophical and spiritual framework on which Tanya is based--God's nonduality; the five dimensions of reality and their corresponding intelligences (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit); the purpose of mitzvot, the practices of Jewish life, as catalysts to God realization and the hallowing of all life through godliness--to help you understand the selected Tanya translations in a way that enhances your own spiritual development.
Now you can benefit from the wisdom of Tanya even if you have no previous knowledge of Judaism or Hebrew terminology. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the core teachings of Tanya, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that will deepen your understanding of the soul and how it relates to and manifests the Divine Source from which all life comes, in which all life lives, and to which all life returns.
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Book details
- Author
- Rami Shapiro
- Imprint
- SkyLight Paths, an imprint of Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Formats
- Paperback, Hardcover
- Subjects
- Religion › Judaism › Sacred Writings
- Topics
- Hasidic Judaism · Jewish mysticism · Kabbalah · Jewish spirituality · sacred texts · annotated scripture · Chabad
- ISBN-13
- 9781594732751 (Paperback)9781683363262 (Hardcover)
About the author
RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO is an American Reform rabbi and the author of more than three dozen books on religion and spirituality. His recent books include Surrendered―The Sacred Art, The World Wisdom Bible, and Recovery―The Sacred Art.
Shapiro holds a Ph.D. in religion from Union Graduate School and received rabbinical ordination from the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. He has served as a congregational rabbi for twenty years, including as the founding rabbi of Temple Beth Or in Miami, Florida, and has been an adjunct professor of religious studies at Middle Tennessee State University.
When he’s not writing, Shapiro co-directs the One River Foundation and writes a regular column for Spirituality and Health magazine. His poems, short stories, and prayers appear in anthologies and prayer books around the world.