I've been reading the Tanya -- the central philosophical text of the Chabad Hasidic movement of Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and published in 1796. You can read a page a day and finish it in exactly a year.
I had tried reading it in 1999, when I was a student at Pardes, the liberal modern Orthodox yeshiva in Jerusalem. My cousin, Raymond, in South Africa, who is part of the Chabad movement, gave it to me. I made it through the beginning.
The beginning is amazing enough. Rabbi Shneur Zalman describes the Benoni -- the intermediate one, whose good and evil impulses are nearly balanced, but who chooses good. That, it turns out, is the best to which we can aspire.
There are some other amazing things in the Tanya. Once concerns the spiritual implications of Hebrew letters, a concept drawn from the Kabbalah. Each has its significance -- none more than the letter Hay (ה), which has an "h" sound.
Hay is the letter of breath. It is also the letter of the definite article "the." It is almost abstract, and yet fundamental. Its shape suggests the role of God in the world: mundane reality is the detached foot, part of God but also independent.
Another is the idea of how one's soul should love God. There are two forms of loving God -- and these, in turn, are opposed by mundane desires. The Tanya describes the latter as a kind of "rival wife," which is a fascinating concept.
I've still got about 3 months to go, and this won't be my last time studying the Tanya, because I'm only reading it at a superficial level, but it's really a privilege to engage in any meaningful way with old or ancient texts and spiritual insights.
This week, we are tackling two major areas of contention between the Trump administration and Democrat governors: fighting crime, and redistricting. The president is sending the National Guard to blue cities -- and blue states are trying to stamp out Republican representation. Is this a civil war situation?
Special guests:
- Bradley Jaye -- Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on redistricting
- Tom Manza, California Business and Industrial Alliance, on Gavin Newsom
- Jon Fleischman, veteran California political expert, on the special election
- Dan Backer, veteran political lawyer and consultant, on corruption
- DJ Mark Anthony, on a recent visit to Rome and visiting Pope Leo XIV
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This week's portion is the last of the month of Av -- also known as Menachem (Comforter) Av -- which begins in mourning and ends in celebration and anticipation of the New Year and the process of repentance and renewal.
In a similar vein, the portion features Moses offering the Israelites a choice between a blessing and a curse. They are masters of their own fates: if they obey God's commandments, they receive the blessings -- and vice versa.
The key commandment is to reject idol worship. There is said to be something magnetic about the practice of worshiping idols in the new land, such that it would be constant moral battle, both individually and collectively, in the land.
Nowadays, according to Jewish tradition, humanity has lost the urge for idol worship (and the antidote, which is divine prophecy) -- but there are several near substitutes, such as lust or excessive appetites for worldly pleasures.
We are wired for compulsive behaviors, bad habits, and even addictions. These ...
We have so much to talk about this week -- Trump's efforts to negotiate peace through negotiation, and Gavin Newsom's efforts to divide Americans through gerrymandering. We'll also talk about Playboy leaving LA and California.
Special guests:
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Russia & Ukraine
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on Newsom
Harmeet Dhillon - DOJ Civil Rights Division chief, on the fight against DEI
Jessica Vaugn - Playboy model on political commentator, on California
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Call: 866-957-2874
