Living Torah Archives

Tanya opens with a Talmudic passage: “Every Jew, before he is born, is administered an oath: ‘Be righteous, and be not wicked’” -- if it is not possible for you to achieve the level of the righteous, at least do not be wicked; be a ‘Beinoni - intermediate.’ This is followed by an extensive discussion defining the spiritual level and service of the Beinoni - that “he has never sinned, and never will sin…”