## Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah

###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:1
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:1)

**וְאוּלָם,** דֶּרֶךְ הָאֱמֶת וְהַיָּשָׁר לִבְחִינַת תְּשׁוּבָה תַּתָּאָה, הֵ״א תַּתָּאָה הַנִּזְכֶּרֶת לְעֵיל – הֵם ב׳ דְּבָרִים דֶּרֶךְ כְּלָל.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
In the true and direct path to the lower *teshuvah*, returning the latter *hey* noted above, there are two general elements.


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:2
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:2)

הָאֶחָד, הוּא לְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים הָעֶלְיוֹנִים מִמְּקוֹר הָרַחֲמִים עַל נִשְׁמָתוֹ וְנַפְשׁוֹ הָאֱלֹקִית, שֶׁנָּפְלָה ״מֵאִיגְּרָא רָמָה״ – חַיֵּי הַחַיִּים בָּרוּךְ־הוּא לְ״בִירָא עֲמִיקְתָּא״, הֵן הֵיכְלוֹת הַטּוּמְאָה וְהַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא, וְעַל מְקוֹרָהּ בִּמְקוֹר הַחַיִּים, הוּא שֵׁם הַוָיָ׳ בָּרוּךְ־הוּא; וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וְיָשׁוֹב אֶל הַוָיָ׳ וִירַחֲמֵהוּ״, פֵּירוּשׁ, לְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים עַל הַשְׁפָּעַת שֵׁם הַוָיָ׳ בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּלְשְׁלָה וְיָרְדָה תּוֹךְ הֵיכְלוֹת הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא הַטְּמֵאִים לְהַחֲיוֹתָם, עַל־יְדֵי מַעֲשֵׂה אֱנוֹשׁ וְתַחְבּוּלוֹתָיו, וּמַחְשְׁבוֹתָיו הָרָעוֹת; וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״מֶלֶךְ אָסוּר בָּרְהָטִים״ – בִּרְהִיטֵי מוֹחָא וְכוּ׳ הִיא בְּחִינַת גָּלוּת הַשְּׁכִינָה, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
The first is to awaken supreme compassion from the Source of mercy for his spirit (*neshamah*)¹, *ruach*, and *neshamah*. *Likkutei Amarim*, Part I, ch. 1 describes the “animal *nefesh*” and ch. 2, the “Divine (or G–dly) *nefesh*.” (*Bereishit Rabbah* 14:9; *Devarim Rabbah* 2:37) notes two more discussed at length in Chasidut—*chaya* and *yechidah*. and divine soul (*nefesh*) that has fallen from a lofty peak, the true Life, into a deep pit, the chambers of defilement and *sitra achara*. [Divine compassion is] also to be aroused for the source [of the soul] in the Source of life, the Name of *Havaya*, blessed is He. “He shall return to G–d, and He will grant him mercy.”² “Him” would refer to G–d here, arousing mercies for the life-giving power issuing from His Name, that has descended into the chambers of the impure *sitra achara*, to give them vitality. This was brought about through the deeds of man, his scheming and evil thoughts. “The king is bound with tresses”³ is interpreted as “bound with the tresses of the mind….”⁴ 21b; 124b. This is the “Exile of the *Shechinah*,” as noted above.

footnotes:
¹ There are three elements in the soul, and it may be known by any of these names according to the context—nefesh
² Isaiah 55:7.
³ Song of Songs 7:6.
⁴ Cf. Tikkunei Zohar


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:3
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:3)

וּזְמַן הַמְסוּגָּל לָזֶה, הוּא בְּתִיקּוּן חֲצוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּסִּידּוּר בְּהֶעָרָה, עַיֵּין שָׁם בַּאֲרִיכוּת. וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם: ״נָפְלָה עֲטֶרֶת רֹאשֵׁינוּ, אוֹי נָא לָנוּ כִּי חָטָאנוּ״.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
The auspicious time for this arousal of mercies is *Tikkun Chatzot*, the midnight prayers, as stated in the *Siddur*, in the Note;⁵ 151c (Kehot, 1965). see there at length. We find there, “The crown of our head is fallen; woe to us, for we have sinned.”⁶

footnotes:
⁵ Siddur Im Dach
⁶ Lamentations 5:16.


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:4
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:4)

וְלָכֵן נִקְרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא ״מֶלֶךְ עָלוּב״ בְּפִרְקֵי הֵיכָלוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָרַמַ״ק זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה, כִּי אֵין לְךָ עֶלְבּוֹן גָּדוֹל מִזֶּה, וּבִפְרָט כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתְבּוֹנֵן הַמַּשְׂכִּיל בִּגְדוּלַּת אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, מְמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין וְסוֹבֵב כָּל עָלְמִין, כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְפִי שִׁיעוּר שִׂכְלוֹ וַהֲבָנָתוֹ, יִתְמַרְמֵר עַל זֶה מְאֹד מְאֹד.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
Therefore the Holy One is called the “humiliated King” in *Pirkei Hechalot*,⁷ as R. Moshe Cordovero wrote, for there is no humiliation deeper than this. Especially when a thoughtful person meditates on the greatness of the Infinite, who encompasses⁸, Explanatory Notes. all worlds and permeates all worlds, each person according to the range of his intellect and understanding, will they be extremely grieved over this.

footnotes:
⁷ Ch. 18.
⁸ See On Learning Chassidus


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:5
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:5)

וְהַב׳, לְבַטֵּשׁ וּלְהַכְנִיעַ הַקְּלִיפָּה וְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא, אֲשֶׁר כָּל חַיּוּתָהּ הִיא רַק בְּחִינַת גַּסּוּת וְהַגְבָּהָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״אִם תַּגְבִּיהַּ כַּנֶּשֶׁר וְגוֹ׳״, וְהַבִּיטּוּשׁ וְהַהַכְנָעָה עַד עָפָר מַמָּשׁ – זוֹהִי מִיתָתָהּ וּבִיטּוּלָהּ.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
The second element is to crush and subdue evil, the *kelipah* and *sitra achara*, whose entire being is simply grossness and arrogance. “Though you exalt yourself as the eagle….”⁹, Part I, ch. 27. This crushing and subjugation is to be absolutely to dust, for this is its death and nullification.

footnotes:
⁹ “…from there I will bring you down, says the L–rd.” Obadiah 1:4 (cf. Jeremiah 49:16). See Likkutei Amarim


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:6
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:6)

וְהַיְינוּ, עַל־יְדֵי ״לֵב נִשְׁבָּר וְנִדְכֶּה״, וְלִהְיוֹת ״נִבְזֶה בְעֵינָיו נִמְאָס״ וְכוּ׳, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ עַל פָּסוּק: ״זִבְחֵי אֱלֹקִים רוּחַ נִשְׁבָּרָה, לֵב נִשְׁבָּר וְנִדְכֶּה וְכוּ׳״, כִּי כָּל קָרְבָּן מִן הַבְּהֵמָה – הוּא לְשֵׁם הַוָיָ׳, הִיא מִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים, אֲבָל לְשֵׁם אֱלֹקִים, הִיא מִדַּת הַדִּין – אֵין מַקְרִיבִין קָרְבַּן בְּהֵמָה, כִּי אִם לְשַׁבֵּר וּלְהַעֲבִיר רוּחַ הַטּוּמְאָה וְהַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא, וְזֶהוּ ״רוּחַ נִשְׁבָּרָה״.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
Evil is crushed through a broken and shattered heart, a sense of personal unworthiness, repugnance, and so forth. This is described in the *Zohar* on the verse, “The offerings of G–d (*Elokim*) are a broken spirit, a heart broken and shattered….”¹⁰ All animal offerings are dedicated to G–d (*Havaya*), the attribute of mercies. To *Elokim*, the Name indicating the attribute of justice, no animal offering is brought. Instead the offering is the sundering and removing of the spirit of defilement and *sitra achara*. This is the meaning of a “broken spirit.”

footnotes:
¹⁰ Psalms 51:19.


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:7
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:7)

וְהַאֵיךְ נִשְׁבְּרָה רוּחַ הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא? כְּשֶׁהַ״לֵּב נִשְׁבָּר וְנִדְכֶּה״ וְכוּ׳.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
How is the spirit of the *sitra achara* broken? When the heart is broken and crushed….


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:8
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:8)

וְהַאֵיךְ נִשְׁבָּר הַלֵּב וְנִדְכֶּה? הִנֵּה, מְעַט מִזְּעֵיר הוּא עַל־יְדֵי סִיגּוּפִים וְתַעֲנִיּוֹת, בְּדוֹרוֹתֵינוּ אֵלֶּה שֶׁאֵין לָנוּ כֹּחַ לְהִתְעַנּוֹת הַרְבֵּה כְּדָוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה עַל פָּסוּק: ״וְלִבִּי חָלַל בְּקִרְבִּי״ – שֶׁ״הֲרָגוֹ בְּתַעֲנִית״.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
And how is the heart to be broken and crushed? Only a minor part of this can be through mortifications and fasts in our generations. We cannot fast as did King David. Our Sages remark on the verse, “My heart is a void within me”¹¹—he destroyed it with fasts.¹² 61b; *Likkutei Amarim*, Part I, chs. 1, 13, etc. David utterly destroyed the evil impulse within him.

footnotes:
¹¹ Psalms 109:22.
¹² Berachot


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:9
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:9)

אַךְ עִיקַּר הַכְנָעַת הַלֵּב, לִהְיוֹת נִשְׁבָּר וְנִדְכֶּה וְהַעֲבָרַת רוּחַ הַטּוּמְאָה וְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא, הוּא לִהְיוֹת מִ״מָּארֵי דְּחוּשְׁבָּנָא״ בְּעוֹמֶק הַדַּעַת, לְהַעֲמִיק דַּעְתּוֹ וּבִינָתוֹ שָׁעָה אַחַת בְּכָל יוֹם אוֹ לַיְלָה לִפְנֵי תִּיקּוּן־חֲצוֹת, לְהִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּמַה שֶּׁפָּעַל וְעָשָׂה בַּחֲטָאָיו בְּחִינַת גָּלוּת הַשְּׁכִינָה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וְגָרַם לַעֲקוֹר נִשְׁמָתוֹ וְנַפְשׁוֹ הָאֱלֹקִית מֵחַיֵּי הַחַיִּים בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, וְהוֹרִידָהּ לִמְקוֹם הַטּוּמְאָה וְהַמָּוֶת, הֵן הֵיכְלוֹת הַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא, וְנַעֲשֵׂית בִּבְחִינַת מֶרְכָּבָה אֲלֵיהֶם לְקַבֵּל מֵהֶם שֶׁפַע וְחַיּוּת לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לְגוּפוֹ, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
But the true humbling of the heart, that it be broken and crushed, and the removal of the spirit of impurity and *sitra achara*, is achieved through being of the “masters of accounts,”¹³ III:178a. with all the profundity of the mind. He must concentrate his intellect and understanding deeply for a period every day, or at night before *Tikkun Chatzot*, to realize that through his sins he wrought the exile of the *Shechinah*, as noted above. He will also ponder that he [caused] the uprooting of his spirit and divine soul from the true Life and demeaned it to a place of defilement and death, the chambers of the *sitra achara*. He must become deeply aware that his soul has become a vehicle for them, receiving from them vitality to endow his body, as noted above.

footnotes:
¹³ Cf. Zohar


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:10
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:10)

וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: ״רְשָׁעִים בְּחַיֵּיהֶם קְרוּיִים מֵתִים״, כְּלוֹמַר, שֶׁחַיֵּיהֶם נִמְשָׁכִים מִמְּקוֹם הַמָּוֶת וְהַטּוּמְאָה, (וְכֵן מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב: ״לֹא הַמֵּתִים יְהַלְלוּ וְגוֹ׳״, אֵינוֹ כְּ״לוֹעֵג לָרָשׁ״ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם אֶלָּא הַכַּוָּונָה עַל הָרְשָׁעִים שֶׁבְּחַיֵּיהֶם קְרוּיִים מֵתִים, שֶׁמְּבַלְבְּלִים אוֹתָם בְּמַחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת בְּעוֹדָם בְּרִשְׁעָם וְאֵינָם חֲפֵיצִים בִּתְשׁוּבָה, כַּנּוֹדָע).

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
Our Sages declared that “The wicked while alive are dead.”¹⁴ 18b. Their ability to live is derived from the site of death and defilement. (Hence, the verse, “The dead will not praise…”¹⁵ is no mockery of the impoverished,¹⁶ 18a applies the verse to wearing *tefillin* in a cemetery, etc., a “mockery of the impoverished” who cannot perform the *mitzvah*. G–d forbid. Rather, the reference is to the wicked who, while living, are called dead, for they are confused with alien thoughts while in their wickedness and do not desire repentance, as is known.)

footnotes:
¹⁴ Berachot
¹⁵ Psalms 115:17.
¹⁶ Proverbs 17:5. Berachot


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:11
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:11)

וְאַף מִי שֶׁלֹּא עָבַר עַל עֲוֹן כָּרֵת, וְגַם לֹא עַל עֲוֹן מִיתָה בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם שֶׁהוּא הוֹצָאַת זֶרַע לְבַטָּלָה וּכְהַאי גַּוְנָא, אֶלָּא שְׁאָר עֲבֵירוֹת קַלּוֹת, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן, מֵאַחַר שֶׁהֵן פּוֹגְמִים בַּנְּשָׁמָה וְנֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹקִית, וְכִמְשַׁל פְּגִימַת וּפְסִיקַת חֲבָלִים דַּקִּים כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, הֲרֵי בְּרִיבּוּי הַחֲטָאִים יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת פְּגַם כְּמוֹ בְּלָאו אֶחָד שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ כָּרֵת אוֹ מִיתָה, וַאֲפִילוּ בִּכְפִילַת חֵטְא אֶחָד פְּעָמִים רַבּוֹת מְאֹד.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
One who has never violated a sin of excision or a sin incurring death by divine agency, for example, vain emission and the like, but other, less severe sins, nonetheless suffers a defect in the spirit and divine soul, as in the analogy of the defects and severance of the fine strands of cord, as noted above: Through an accumulation of sins, there can eventually be a defect as grave as from one prohibition involving excision or death. This would be true even when a single sin is repeated numerous times.


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:12
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:12)

כְּמוֹ שֶׁהִמְשִׁיל הַנָּבִיא הַחֲטָאִים לְעָנָן הַמַּאֲפִיל אוֹר הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״מָחִיתִי כָעָב פְּשָׁעֶיךָ״ – הֵם עֲבֵירוֹת חֲמוּרוֹת, [הַמַּבְדִּילִים] בֵּין פְּנִימִית הַשְׁפָּעַת שֵׁם הַוָיָ׳ בָּרוּךְ־הוּא לַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹקִית, כְּהַבְדָּלַת עָנָן עָב וְחָשׁוּךְ, הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לָאָרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים עָלֶיהָ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל: וְכֶעָנָן חַטֹּאתֶיךָ הֵן ״עֲבֵירוֹת קַלּוֹת שֶׁאָדָם דָּשׁ בַּעֲקֵבָיו״, הַמַּבְדִּילִים כְּהַבְדָּלַת עָנָן קַל וְקָלוּשׁ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
The prophet compares sins to a cloud that dims the light of the sun. “I have wiped away your transgressions like a cloud”¹⁷, has been translated as a Supplement to *The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement*, p. 100. The reader is warmly urged to study that discourse, for it treats much of the material in this chapter of *Iggeret Hateshuvah*. It was originally delivered before Jewish soldiers in the Czarist army in 1843 (ibid. p. 55).—these are the grave sins [that are barriers] between the interior of the power flowing forth from G–d and the divine soul. This barrier is like the separation of a thick cloud that stands between the sun and the earth with its inhabitants. “And like a cloud your sins”—these are the lesser sins that man tramples under heel,¹⁸ 18a; *Rashi* on Deuteronomy 7:12. sins that separate as does a thin and wispy cloud.

footnotes:
¹⁷ Isaiah 44:22. A discourse on this verse by Rabbi Menachem Mendel (1789-1866), author of Tzemach Tzedek
¹⁸ Avodah Zarah


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:13
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:13)

וְהִנֵּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁבַּמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה, אִם מֵשִׂים אָדָם נֶגֶד אוֹר הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בַּחַלּוֹן מְחִיצוֹת קַלּוֹת וּקְלוּשׁוֹת לָרוֹב מְאֹד, הֵן מַאֲפִילוֹת כְּמוֹ מְחִיצָה אַחַת עָבָה וְיוֹתֵר – וְכָכָה מַמָּשׁ הוּא בַּנִּמְשָׁל בְּכָל עֲוֹנוֹת שֶׁאָדָם דָּשׁ בַּעֲקֵבָיו. וּמִכָּל שֶׁכֵּן הַמְפוּרְסָמוֹת מִדִּבְרֵי רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה, שֶׁהֵן מַמָּשׁ כַּעֲבוֹדָה־זָרָה וְגִילּוּי־עֲרָיוֹת וּשְׁפִיכוּת־דָּמִים.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
In the illustration, if one obscures the sunlight streaming through a window with many fine and lacy curtains, they will darken as much as one thick curtain will, and even more. Exactly so is the parallel, with all those sins that man tramples indifferently, and certainly those well known from the words of our Sages to be actually like idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed.


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:14
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:14)

כְּמוֹ הַעֲלָמַת עַיִן מִן הַצְּדָקָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן יִהְיֶה דָבָר עִם לְבָבְךָ בְלִיַּעַל וְגוֹ׳״, וּ״בְלִיַּעַל״, הִיא עוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדַת אֱלִילִים וְכוּ׳, וְהַמְסַפֵּר בִּגְנוּת חֲבֵירוֹ, הִיא לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, הַשְּׁקוּלָה כַּעֲבוֹדָה־זָרָה וְגִילּוּי־עֲרָיוֹת וּשְׁפִיכוּת־דָּמִים, וְכָל הַכּוֹעֵס כְּאִלּוּ עוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָה־זָרָה, וְכֵן מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ גַּסּוּת הָרוּחַ, וְכָהֵנָּה רַבּוֹת בַּגְּמָרָא. וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: ״וִיתֵּר הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא עַל עֲבוֹדָה־זָרָה וְכוּ׳״.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
Examples of these are sins like ignoring the needy¹⁹ 5:13.—“Beware lest there be in your heart something *beliyaal* (unworthy)….”²⁰ *Beliyaal* is used in reference to idolatry….²¹ 31b. Or talebearing,²² 33; *Bava Batra* 164b; *Erchin* 15b. the evil tongue that is equated with idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed. The vile-tempered²³ 105b; *Avot* 2:10. is like the idolatrous, and so is the arrogant.²⁴ 4b. There are many such described in the Talmud. Torah study equals them all,²⁵ 1:1. as our Sages assert, “G–d has pardoned idolatry….”²⁶

footnotes:
¹⁹ Cf. Avot
²⁰ Deuteronomy 15:9.
²¹ Berachot
²² Cf. Shabbat
²³ Cf. Shabbat
²⁴ Sotah
²⁵ Mishnah, Peah
²⁶ See above, ch. 1 and note 18.


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:15
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:15)

וְלָכֵן סִידְּרוּ בִּקְרִיאַת־שְׁמַע שֶׁעַל־הַמִּטָּה, לְקַבֵּל עָלָיו ד׳ מִיתוֹת בֵּית־דִּין וְכוּ׳. מִלְּבַד, שֶׁעַל פִּי הַסּוֹד, כָּל הַפּוֹגֵם בְּאוֹת יוּ״ד שֶׁל שֵׁם הַוָיָ׳ – כְּאִילּוּ נִתְחַיֵּיב סְקִילָה, וְהַפּוֹגֵם בְּאוֹת הֵ״א – כְּאִילּוּ נִתְחַיֵּיב שְׂרֵיפָה, וּבְאוֹת וָי״ו – כְּאִילּוּ נִתְחַיֵּיב הֶרֶג, וּבְאוֹת הֵ״א אַחֲרוֹנָה – כְּאִילּוּ נִתְחַיֵּיב חֶנֶק: וְהַמְבַטֵּל קְרִיאַת־שְׁמַע – פּוֹגֵם בְּאוֹת יוּ״ד, וּתְפִילִּין – בְּאוֹת הֵ״א, וְצִיצִית – בְּאוֹת וָי״ו, וּתְפִלָּה – בְּאוֹת הֵ״א וְכוּ׳.

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
For this reason the order of *Kriat Shema* at the bedside includes acceptance of the four executions of the Court…. Besides, according to the mystical interpretation of *sod*, impairing the *yud* of the Name of *Havaya* is like incurring lapidation; impairing the *hey* is like incurring burning; impairing the *vav* is like incurring the sword; and the latter *hey* is like incurring strangulation. Neglecting the *Shema* impairs the *yud*, and *tefillin* the *hey*, *tzitzit* the *vav*, and prayer the latter *hey*….


###### Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:16
[Tanya, Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah 7:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tanya/s/Part%20III%3B%20Iggeret%20HaTeshuvah/r/7:16)

וּמִזֶּה יָכוֹל הַמַּשְׂכִּיל לִלְמוֹד לִשְׁאָר עֲוֹנוֹת וַחֲטָאִים, וּבִיטּוּל תּוֹרָה כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן:

**Kehot Publication Society (English Translation):**
From this the intelligent, thoughtful person can infer for other sins and transgressions, and for neglect of Torah, which equals them all.