Tanya - Torah Close To You. The Long And Short Way.

Said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah:

"I was traveling, and I met a child at a crossroads. I asked him, 'which way to the city?' and he answered: 'This way is short and long, and this way is long and short.'

"I took the 'short and long' way. I soon reached the city but found my approach obstructed by gardens and orchards. I retraced my steps and said to the child: 'My son, did you not tell me that this is the short way?' Answered the child: 'Did I not tell you that it is also long?'"

Also in life there is a "short but long" way and a "long but short" way.

In his Tanya. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, whose anniversary of his passing was yesterday, sets down the fundamentals of the Chabad-Chassidic approach to life.

He based his book on the verse: 'For the Torah is something that is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it'-- he explains how it is indeed close, in a long and short way."

But can the ordinary "everyman" be expected to conduct his every act, word and thought in accordance with the Torah's most demanding directives?

The Torah is a practical and attainable goal to achieve. "For the mitzvah which I command you this day, it is not beyond you nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven... nor is it across the sea... Rather, it is something that is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it."

The Chabad approach to life is that the mind and intellect play the leading role. First, a person must study, comprehend and meditate upon the all-transcendent, all-embracing, reality of G-d.

Then he is to translate this knowledge and comprehension into emotional feelings. The love and awe of G-d.

Finally, when a person has so oriented his mind and so transformed his heart, his observance of the Torah's commandments becomes a compelling need since they are the only means by which he can connect to his Creator.

This is the long but short way. It is winding, steep, tedious, and long as life itself. It is full of ups and downs, setbacks and frustrations. But it is a road that leads, steadily and surely, to the aspired-to destination, his purpose in life.