תענוג (Delight) is a faculty in the soul of man for delighting in what is delightful to it, such as the conception of a new insight.[1]
This entry is severely incomplete.
Definition
The faculty of תענוג is a most deep-seated and innate faculty of the soul, beyond any apprehension.[2] It is the basis for a person's רצון (will); by nature, a person wills that which is agreeable to him and realizes his capacity for delight. The faculty of will is considered the external aspect (chitzoniyut and achorayim) of the soul's capacity for delight.[3]
While the faculty of delight exceedingly surpasses the faculty of the intellect and חכמה (wisdom), it is vested within the intellect. When a person conceives some wondrous new insight, a wondrous delight is born in his mind at that moment.[4]
In the Divine
Metaphorically, the same structure exists in the Divine. The רצון of the Supreme One is the external aspect (*chitzoniyut* and *achorayim*) of the Supreme delight. This Supreme delight is termed the “pleasantness of the L–rd,” the *tzachtzachot*, and the “worlds of longing” (*almin diksufin*).[5]
This delight is also identified with *Eden*, which transcends the World to Come and is the source of life, welfare, and delight. Because this level is not apprehensible, one may imagine they have sufferings, but in truth, no evil descends from above.[6] The source of the Divine intellect, the *lavnunit* of כתר (crown), is the supreme delight and desire to bring the light down into the 248 organs of the Minor Visage.[7]
Teachings of the Rebbeim
The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that the attribute of יסוד (*tzaddik yesod olam*) is for one's soul to be bound up in the L–rd, the Fountainhead of life, cleaving to Him by an attachment and desire out of a wondrous love and delight.[8]
References