Tanya (תניא, Aramaic for "it was taught") is a book more commonly known by its opening word although titled Likkutei Amarim (ליקוטי אמרים, Hebrew, "collection of statements"), an early work of Hasidic Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, in 1797 CE.

Subject matter

The Tanya deals with Jewish spirituality and psychology from the point of view of Hasidic philosophy and Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). Most of the work's first part, "The Book of the Average Man", the beinoni, serves as a fundamental and basic guide to the spiritual service of God.

Unlike other early Hasidic works, this book is not a collection of sermons or stories, but rather a systematic exposition of Shneur Zalman's philosophy. Lubavitcher Hasidim are enjoined to study from this work each day as part of Chitas - an acronym for Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya. The Rebbes of Chabad taught that it is a sacred duty to publish and distribute this book as widely as possible.

The Tanya seeks to demonstrate to the "average" Jewish man or woman that knowledge of God is there for the taking, that spiritual growth to ever higher levels is real and imminent, if one is willing to engage in the struggle. Although many view the Tanya as a work of explanation on Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism, its approbations make clear that Tanya is first and foremost a book of advice in the practical service of God.

Levels of divine service

The Tanya describes five levels:

• The complete tzaddik ("righteous person") has transformed his animal soul completely, to the point that it is able to reach intense Godly delight in its connection to Godliness, and is disgusted by all worldly pleasures.
• The incomplete tzaddik no longer desires evil in a way that will be externally expressed, even on the level of thought; however, a minute amount of desire for very subtle evil remains.
• The beinoni (lit. "intermediate one") possesses an animal soul that still desires evil, but he succeeds at constantly restraining himself from sin in action, speech, and even thought; this, however, requires ongoing tension and struggle. This struggle is not simply the confrontation between good and evil, but rather the ongoing encounter between one's two souls - the animal and the divine - the soul that draws downward toward the earth, and the soul that aspires upward toward Hashem.
• The incomplete rasha ("evil person") has committed sin without doing teshuva, but does good deeds as well.
• The total rasha has sinned so frequently that none of his thought, speech, or action are controlled by the divine soul (though it remains within him), and he is exclusively controlled by his animal soul.