Tanya 157 _verified_ Jun 2026

If you find that your edition’s page 157 falls elsewhere (e.g., in Kuntres HaMitzvot ), the difference is simply a matter of ; the underlying concepts are still part of the broader discourse on unity and practice.

Why? Because tears are not a language of intellect or even emotion. Tears are the language of the essence of the soul ( etzem haneshamah ), which is beyond intellect, beyond sin, beyond the body. When a person weeps out of genuine existential helplessness—not theatrical self-pity—they are not speaking from their animal or divine soul. They are speaking from the core of their being, which is literally “a part of God above.” tanya 157

What makes Tanya 157 distinctive is its fierce legalism . It does not reject the 613 commandments or the structured prayer book. It insists that you must love the gates even as you weep that they are locked. The tears are not a rejection of law; they are the law’s ultimate fulfillment at the level of essence. If you find that your edition’s page 157

The Tanya teaches that within each individual lies a cosmic struggle between the yetzer tov (the good inclination) and the yetzer ra (the evil inclination). This battle is not about good versus evil in a conventional sense but rather about the pull of our higher selves towards spiritual growth and connection, and the pull of our lower selves towards material gratification and distraction. Tears are the language of the essence of

At that exact moment of spiritual paralysis, the person should not suppress their frustration. Instead, they should direct it at themselves —but not in a guilt-ridden, self-hating way. They should feel a profound, wordless anguish: “I want to connect, but I cannot. I am trapped in this gross body. Even my ‘good’ thoughts are selfish. I have no entry.”