Episode 517 - 2 Iyar (Regular Year) - Why Do Women Like Lipstick?

In this episode of the It Is Taught Tanya Podcast, host Sarit Switzer explores the profound connection between the human desire to be alive and the ultimate spiritual yearning for God. Drawing from Chapter 44 of The Tanya, she explains that the deepest form of human pleasure is not derived from external things like beauty or material success, but from the intrinsic desire to live. This fundamental craving for life, she argues, is ultimately a yearning for God, who is the source of all life. Using the metaphor of a woman buying lipstick, Switzer illustrates how surface-level desires (like beauty) mask deeper psychological needs (like self-worth, love, and admiration), which in turn point back to the primal desire to be alive. The Tanya teaches that this innate love for life is not something to be earned through intense meditation or divine gift, but an inherited, universal love for God that already exists within every person. The episode concludes with a call to awaken this awareness daily, recognizing that loving life is synonymous with loving God, and that this realization should inspire a deeper, more intentional relationship with the Divine. Key takeaways include: 1) The deepest human pleasure is the desire to be alive, which points to God as the source of life; 2) Surface-level desires (like wearing lipstick) are expressions of deeper, hidden psychological needs that ultimately stem from the need for self-worth and connection; 3) The love of God is not something we must earn through effort or meditation—it’s an inherent, shared inheritance; 4) True spiritual growth begins not with striving, but with awareness of what we already possess; 5) The Torah and mitzvot are universally revealed, but love and fear of God are deeply personal and internal, shaped by one’s inner capacity; 6) The Zohar’s interpretation of 'my soul desires You at night' reveals that even in weakness, we instinctively crave life and soul, which should inspire us to seek God constantly; 7) We should strive to internalize the awareness that our life is God, and thus loving life is loving God; 8) This awareness can transform our daily actions, even inspiring us to serve God in the middle of the night, as a metaphor for constant spiritual vigilance.