BAI Megazine
The gates of structured religion may close. But the gate of tears—the raw, unmediated, broken-hearted cry of a being that knows it cannot save itself—that gate has no lock. It never did. It was never a gate at all. It was a wound in the universe through which the infinite pours in.
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
The chapter describes a scenario: A person is praying, but their mind is scattered. They feel nothing. They try to concentrate on the meaning of the words, but a vulgar image intrudes. They attempt to feel awe of God, but they feel only boredom or hunger. The gates of structured religion may close
And that part, being divine, cannot be blocked. The “gates” are celestial bureaucracies. They exist to process prayers that come from the personality. But the essence-soul has no personality, no past, no sin. It is pure, naked, absolute nothingness before God. Its cry is God crying to God. Here is the counterintuitive genius of Tanya 157. In most spiritual systems, you must elevate yourself—purify your thoughts, master your impulses—to approach the divine. Tanya 157 inverts this: Your very inability to elevate yourself becomes your highest elevator. It was never a gate at all
The chapter’s core subject is . But not ordinary prayer. This is the prayer of one who feels utterly trapped—trapped by their own body, their past sins, their low spiritual rank. How can such a person speak to an infinite God? The answer in Tanya 157 will change how you understand divine mercy. II. The Problem: The “Obstacle of the Body” To grasp the revolution of Chapter 157, you must first understand the dilemma facing the Beinoni. Unlike a Tzaddik, who has fully sublimated their animal soul, the Beinoni never truly vanquishes their dark side. Evil is perpetually present, always equally attractive, yet never actualized in action. The Beinoni’s life is an endless, exhausting war of attrition.