בעל התניא

The Baal HaTanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, is the man who taught the mind to serve the heart. A disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch, founder of Chabad Chassidut, he wrote the book 'Tanya,' which turned emotional Chassidut into a complete system of thought, in which the intellect, 'Chochmah, Binah, Da'at,' leads a person to the love and awe of God.

The Baal HaTanya was not content with the heart's enthusiasm, but sought that a person understand in his mind the greatness of the Creator, and from that understanding a true and grounded emotion would be born. 'The mind rules the heart,' he taught, and in this gave every Jew tools to serve God not in a momentary leap but in constant, deepening work.

And here too is valor: the Baal HaTanya was arrested twice by the Russian authorities on libels that his opponents informed against him, and sat in prison in mortal danger, but was released. The day of his release, the 19th of Kislev, became the 'New Year of Chassidut.' At the time of Napoleon's invasion he chose the side of Russia, fearing that a secular liberty would distance Jews from their faith.

What do we learn from him? That the intellect is not the enemy of emotion but its leader, and that a love of God grounded in deep understanding is stronger than passing enthusiasm. The Baal HaTanya teaches that every Jew can serve his Creator in a service both intellectual and emotional, and that a systematic inner path, 'the mind ruling the heart,' endures over time.