The “Practical Tanya” is opening up Chassidus for a new generation. All three volumes are now on sale.
Since the book’s release, scholars and laymen around the world have praised the work as a major breakthrough in the understanding and translation of Chassidus.
Some of the most positive feedback for the Practical Tanya is coming from teenagers and young adults. Here is what people are saying:
“Hi, there! I bought your book, The Practical Tanya, last year, ה’ טבת. Since then, it has become my FAVORITE book of all time. I’m only 17 years old, and had a hard time comprehending, and appreciating the Tanya before I became familiar with your book. Truthfully, I never enjoyed Tanya throughout high school, and am proud to say I’ve come a long, long, way from there since I’ve been learning from The Practical Tanya… I can’t even go on to thank you enough, Rabbi Miller. This was definitely more than just a reading, or even a learning. This was an experience for me, one that definitely has impacted my life, and one I am ever so grateful for.”
Another young woman writes:
“I wanted to express a big thank your edition of the Tanya you have put together. It was given to me as a gift almost half a year ago and it has deeply changed my life in the most profound way. I take it with me everywhere I go for shabbos and have learned it with people who have never learned any chassidus before.”
The book is also proving extremely popular in Litvish communities. One reader shared:
“A friend was in Monsey and bought me a copy of The Practical Tanya as a gift. What can I say? Just fantastic. So many things I like about it. Let me list a few first impressions: Speaks in the language of contemporary spirituality without dumbing things down. Totally at ease with the corpus and various schools of intra-Chabad commentary and acts as a tour guide to the best, most important things for those of us who don’t know that world. Meanwhile, at ease with the Jewish studies world too. And most importantly, it is practical. About real life. Real spirituality.”
In Yeshivah University, Mashpia, Rav Moshe Weinberger has cited the Practical Tanya extensively in his shiurim and “strongly recommends” it. Rabbi Mark Wildes, director of the Manhattan Jewish Experience, praised it as “A wonderful work which makes the Tanya accessible and understandable to a whole new generation of spiritual explorers.”
In the academy, Dean of Touro College, Henry Abramson, found that the book was helpful for “emphasizing the concrete strategies for personal spiritual growth that might be otherwise lost by novice readers wading through kabbalistic arcana.” Hebrew College Professor Nehemia Polen described the book as “A miracle of expository brilliance! The complex strands of this hasidic classic have been translated into sparkling English prose… Rabbi Miller is to be congratulated for this landmark achievement, which reflects the profundity and scope of his understanding, together with his remarkable abilities as a sophisticated translator, interpreter, and presenter of our great religious texts.” Daniel Matt, translator of the Pritzker Zohar was impressed that the book is “simultaneously profound and practical… this book will awaken, inspire, and challenge you.”
The Practical Tanya is available in Judaica stores everywhere and online at https://www.kolmenachem.com/itemdetail.asp?ItemID=39
