Textpertise Jun 7, 2010:

'לה makes no sense in context None of the suggestions: to Hashem or for Hashem or Hashem's Tanya makes any sense in the context, Desert Fox. I have tried to find out whether there is a Tanya (i.e. a Baraitha) anywhere that begins with the word Lashem but have not found one, although that doesn't mean there isn't one. I agree with your own proposal to simply list it as Tanya.

Chaya Cohen Jun 7, 2010:

If its the name of the course then obviously it doesn't need to be translated. It's the name of the book being studied. Probably chapter 35 but may be " Hashem's Tanya" or "Tanya for Hashem" or something similar

Gad Kohenov (asker) Jun 7, 2010:

it's a name of a course in a transcript. Has nothing to do with the other courses.
ל"ה would be 35, but 'לה means to God. I think I will write Tanya and let the client decide if she wants to change anything. I have no way of contacting her.

Textpertise Jun 6, 2010:

It could be Tanya Chapter 35 However, it is extremely unlikely that one would study Chapter 35 of Tanya in isolation. Is there really no other text before or after these words in your curriculum that would assist us to assist you?

Chaya Cohen Jun 6, 2010:

So what exactly do you need translated?

Gad Kohenov (asker) Jun 6, 2010:

I should have gven anything but the two words : ' תניא לה

That's the name of a subject matter in the said college.

The rest of what I wrote later appears in Babylon/Wikipedia. It has no relation to the name of the course. I just mentioned it as reference.

Chaya Cohen Jun 6, 2010:

I think we are unclear as to the source of the translation. On the one hand, some of us are referring to תניא as the opening word, meaning, according to Texpertise, "it is taught" and on the other hand, others are talking about the Tanya as the name of the book. I'm not familiar enough with the Tanya to decide how it should (or shouldn't) be translated - there surely is an official translation written by a Scholar who has properly expressed the meaning intended. What is for sure, is that the book begins with the word Tanya and Tanya is not it's proper name, nor the name of the Scholar who wrote it - it has only become so years after it was written. Unless, of course, you are translating a later preface which mentions the book as Sefer ha Tanya which of course doesn't need to be translated.

aqanai Jun 6, 2010:

Textpertise,

Again, the asker knows the title of the book and that its author is referred to as בעל התניא because the first line of chapter one of his book opens with that word. He wanted to know what does תניא mean there. As I wrote, the first line of the chapter one of the book reads: תניא בסוף פרק ג׳ דנדה: משביעים אותו
It is related in the end of chapter 3 of (Tractate) Niddah: “They make him take an oath…”

In this context, the word תניא is Aramaic for said/related, the equivalent of Hebrew אמר or הגיד , said/related/repeated/taught.

What is inane is to say that the beook beging with the word because that is the title.

Textpertise Jun 6, 2010:

Authors are commonly called by their books Aqanai. Elli is right. Authors of religious books are commonly called by the names of their books. So much so, that often one doesn't know the actual name of the Rabbi and simply refers to him as the "Chofetz Chayim" or the "Sfat Emet" or the "Noam Elimelech". It is not inane. That is how it is.

aqanai Jun 6, 2010:

Elli,

>>The reason that the first word is important is because the book is called by it.<<

That is inane, like saying that George Washington was called Washinton because he was born on Washington’s Birthday. The book is popularly called תניא by Lubavitch Hasidim because that is the first word of the book. It is the first word of the book because the author wanted to say “תניא בסוף פרק ג׳ דנדה: משביעים אותו
It is related in the end of chapter 3 of (Tractate) Niddah: “They make him take an oath…””, not that he wanted the book to be called תניא . This is just like the citation I gave from the Talmud Yerushalmi: רבי יונה תניא דרב שמכון בר יוחי “Rabbi Yonah said/related of Rabbi Shim‘on Bar Yohai ....” The Aramaic root תנא means to relate/repeat/say/tell, like the Hebrew שנה (Aramaic מתניתא = Hebrew משנה ; the Hebrew ושננתם לבניך is translated in Aramaic as ותתנינון לבניך ). Look at the Targum to תהלים ל':ו where the Hebrew ויגידו שמים צדקו is translated into Aramaic as ויתנון אנגלי מרומא זכותיה .

elli_fischer Jun 6, 2010:

First words The reason that the first word is important is because the book is called by it. Though technically the book is titled "Likkutei Amarim," everyone calls it "Tanya" because that's the first word (not an uncommon phenomenon for rabbinic works). Thus, the line should be translated "the book 'Likkutei Amarim,' which begins with the word 'Tanya'. No "it was taught".

Textpertise Jun 6, 2010:

Desert Fox - please clarify Confusion is rife over exactly what you are asking. In any case the two words at the top of the question need to be changed. Aqanai seems to think you are asking for the meaning of the word תניא. Elli and I both think that here in this context it is simply the title of the book which is cited to explain why Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady is called the Baal HaTanya. It would help to have your guidance on what you mean by your question.

aqanai Jun 6, 2010:

Elli,

Again, the original question was:
שֵׁם סִפְרוֹ הָעִקָּרִי "לִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים" הַפּוֹתֵחַ בַּדִּבּוּר "תַּנְיָא".

ובמקרה שלנו מה התרגום
He was not asking for a translation of the name of the book. He was asking what does the word תניא mean at the beginning of the first line of chapter one.
The opening line of chapter one of the book reads:
תניא בסוף פרק ג׳ דנדה: משביעים אותו
It is related in the end of chapter 3 of (Tractate) Niddah: “They make him take an oath…”

elli_fischer Jun 6, 2010:

"It is taught" Technically, the word "tanya" specifically connotes the introduction of a Beraita, a non-Mishnaic teaching from the Tannaitic era. That's beside the point here. It is a course description, and the name of the book is Tanya. Nobody calls the work "It was taught." There is no quote from the book that need be translated in this entry.

Chaya Cohen Jun 6, 2010:

Agree with Texpertise - but not with Elli. Here the word Tanya has to be translated, and by an official translation as you have so aptly provided.

Textpertise Jun 6, 2010:

Agree with Elli The Tanya is the single most important book of teaching in Chabbad Chassidut and is always translated as the Tanya. The first word of the Tanya is translated "It is taught". The expression "בַּעַל הַתַּנְיָא" will either be rendered as "Baal HaTanya" or as "the author of the Tanya" or it is often detailed that it refers to Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady because that term בַּעַל הַתַּנְיָא means the person who has written the Tanya. Finally, the Baal HaTanya is often also referred to as "The Alter Rebbe". However, I have no idea why the question is phrased as 'תניא לה and should be changed to read what I believe is being asked, namely בַּעַל הַתַּנְיָא.

elli_fischer Jun 6, 2010:

The name of the book is "Tanya". There is no need to translate the title of the book.

Gad Kohenov (asker) Jun 6, 2010:

just a transcript of studies I am not doing any work for Chabad

Chaya Cohen Jun 6, 2010:

Tanya means a tractate, a teaching (as in Tana) Giving the meaning and usage of the word in our sources, the simple verb "to say" is inappropriate - there are official translations of the book of Tanya and I think if you are doing work for Chabad you should check them out.
(same for other questions you've asked today!)