B"H

From a class given by Miriam:

Tanya Chapter 2: Remembering Who You Are Beneath the Noise

There is the animal soul: the survival instinct, the conditioned self, the anxious voice that wants certainty, control, and proof that we are “enough.” It is loud, immediate, and often feels like the first identity we meet inside ourselves.

And then there is the divine soul: the deepest self, the inner point of Godliness within us.

Tanya describes the divine soul with an image that is meant to stop us in our tracks. When the Torah describes the creation of the human being, it says that Hashem blew a soul into us. Speech is external. Breath comes from the deepest place. The message is simple and radical:

Your truest life-force is not your panic.
Your truest life-force is not your fear.
Your truest life-force is the breath of Godliness within you.

When the world feels unstable, when anxiety rises, when the nervous system tightens, Tanya is inviting us to remember: there is a place within you that can see deeper than the moment. A place that can hold the moment without being consumed by it.

Everything else is “speech” — but you are “breath”

Tanya points out that much of creation is described through divine speech: “Let there be…” The world is sustained through the divine word.

But the human being is described differently. Not only speech. Breath. Essence to essence.

This is not just mystical poetry. It is a spiritual practice. It means that your core identity is not defined by external circumstances. Your core identity is defined by an inner source that remains intact even when life feels chaotic.

A zoo taught me something about the soul

When we were in Argentina, we spent time in nature, and then we visited a zoo.

I have always loved animals. I love seeing the beauty of creation. But after being in open nature, the zoo felt different. It felt heavy. Constricting. Even when it is “nice,” captivity is still captivity.

And then it hit me: this is what happens to us spiritually.

Some animals are born into captivity and never even know what freedom feels like. They learn the limits as “normal.”

So do we.

We can live inside our own inner cage and forget that our essential nature is vast, alive, connected, and God-breathed. We can get used to tightness and call it reality.

Tanya is a reminder: you were not created to live in spiritual captivity.

Your soul came from God’s thought

Tanya adds another layer: the divine soul is rooted in God’s thought.

Speech is communication outward. Thought is intimate. Inner. Self-to-self.

So if the soul arises from divine thought, it means something startling: your existence is not random. Your life is not an accident. Your inner world is not meaningless. You are expressing something deep about the divine intention in creation, in a way that nobody else can.

This also reframes the way we relate to our inner experiences. Even your struggles carry information. Not because pain is good, but because nothing in you is “wasted.” There is meaning, even when it is buried.

“My firstborn son” and unconditional love

Tanya then brings in another image: “My firstborn son, Israel.”

A child carries the DNA of the parent. And spiritually, a child carries the essence of the parent. That is the point of the metaphor: our relationship with Hashem is not only Creator-to-creation. It is also Father-to-child.

And that changes everything.

Because so many people grew up with conditional love: perform, succeed, behave, please, achieve. Tanya counters that with a deeper truth:

Your connection to Hashem is not based on your accomplishments.
It is based on your essence.

That is also why the divine soul is your greatest resource. Spiritual growth is not mainly about becoming someone new. It is about revealing who you already are beneath the noise.

Why do negative thoughts feel so automatic?

Someone asked a question that so many of us carry: why do thoughts so easily go negative? Why do we get stuck on the hamster wheel of self-criticism?

Tanya offers a framework: the animal soul often speaks first. It is the survival voice. It is wired to scan for danger, threat, lack, and inadequacy. That is part of the design of this world: we are meant to refine, transform, and earn what we become, not receive it as “bread of shame.”

The goal is not to pretend the animal soul does not exist. The goal is to remember that it is not the driver.

We are given a daily practice for rewiring: Modeh Ani. Gratitude first. Identity first. Soul first.

A letter from the Rebbe that tied it all together

While preparing this class, I opened a letter from the Rebbe that felt like it was speaking directly to this exact conversation. He writes to someone struggling with despair and reframes it through a powerful metaphor: an artist learns to see past the surface and reveal the inner essence. That is also our work in divine service: to look at life and at ourselves and train the eye to perceive the Godliness beneath the external layer.

In other words: the darkness is not the full story. The surface is not the truth. The soul remains pure, and life’s challenges are part of how that purity is reclaimed and revealed.

A practice for this week

This week, take a few moments each day for a small inner shift:

When a fearful or negative thought arises, pause and ask:

What does my divine soul see right now that my survival-self cannot see?
What would it mean to relate to this moment as a child of Hashem, held in unconditional love?
What is one breath I can take that returns me to my essence?

You do not need to win a war in your mind. You just need to remember who is driving.

Because the more we learn these ideas, the more we rewire the mind and nervous system to see what is true: your essence is God-breathed, your soul is pure, and even in exile, there is a place within you that remains free.

From our Light Warrior Program: https://www.livekabbalah.com/Becoming-a-light-warrior