There is a story recorded by the previous Rebbe of Chabad as follows. A year after the Tanya was published in 1796, a group of chassidim came to its author, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, with a problem: They couldn’t understand the Tanya. Said Rabbi Shneur Zalman, “You can’t get half of anything. To understand the Tanya you need the music that comes with it.” It was from that point on that he began to teach the chassidim his melodies (from here.) Why does one have to know the song to understand the book?
Rebbe Nachman (Likutay Moharan part 2 Torah 63) writes: דַּע, כִּי יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ, כְּשֶׁשָּׁלַח אֶת בָּנָיו עֲשֶׂרֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים לְיוֹסֵף, שָׁלַח עִמָּהֶם נִגּוּן שֶׁל אֶרֶץ־יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְזֶה סוֹד: קְחוּ מִזִּמְרַת הָאָרֶץ בִּכְלֵיכֶם וְכוּ' (בראשית מ״ג:י״א), בְּחִינַת זֶמֶר וְנִגּוּן, שֶׁשָּׁלַח עַל־יָדָם לְיוֹסֵף, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י: מִזִּמְרַת – לְשׁוֹן זֶמֶר וְכוּ'. כִּי דַּע, כִּי כָל רוֹעֶה וְרוֹעֶה יֵשׁ לוֹ נִגּוּן מְיֻחָד לְפִי הָעֲשָׂבִים וּלְפִי הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁהוּא רוֹעֶה שָׁם, כִּי כָל בְּהֵמָה וּבְהֵמָה יֵשׁ לָהּ עֵשֶׂב מְיֻחָד, שֶׁהִיא צְרִיכָה לְאָכְלוֹ. גַּם אֵינוֹ רוֹעֶה תָּמִיד בְּמָקוֹם אֶחָד. וּלְפִי הָעֲשָׂבִים וְהַמָּקוֹם שֶׁרוֹעֶה שָׁם, כֵּן יֵשׁ לוֹ נִגּוּן. כִּי כָל עֵשֶׂב וָעֵשֶׂב יֵשׁ לוֹ שִׁירָה שֶׁאוֹמֵר, שֶׁזֶּה בְּחִינַת פֶּרֶק שִׁירָה, וּמִשִּׁירַת הָעֲשָׂבִים נַעֲשֶׂה נִגּוּן שֶׁל הָרוֹעֶה. In English: {“Take from the choice products of the Land in your pouches, and bring down to the man as tribute some balsam and some honey, and gum, resin, pistachio nuts and almonds” (Genesis 43:11).} Know! when our forefather Yaakov sent his sons, the ten tribes, to Yosef, he sent with them a melody of the Land of Israel. This is the deeper meaning of “Take from the ZiMRot (choice products) of the Land in your pouches…”—the concept of ZeMeR (song) and melody, which he sent through them to Yosef. This is as Rashi comments: me’zimrat—it connotes zemer. For know! each and every shepherd has his own special melody, according to the grasses and specific location where he is grazing. This is because each and every animal has a specific grass which it needs to eat. He also does not always pasture in the same place. Thus, his melody is dictated by the grasses and place he pastures. For each and every grass has a song which it sings. This is the concept of Perek Shirah. And from the grass’s song, the shepherd’s melody is created.
The Tanya says in his intro. that his sefer contains a message for everyone because ביודעי ומכירי קאמינא. The book isn't written as a general self-help book, it has a specific message for every soul. It's not a broadcast but a direct ping to the IP address of your soul. Of course you can give an intellectual explanation of the words of the book without the song, but then it won't necessarily be speaking to you. It will be nice words from a holy book but won't transform the individual. In order to tap into the message, to really understand the book, one must know the niggun and be able to match it up with one's one's own personal niggun.
The Yerushalmi Shabbos says: בקושי התירו לומר דברי תורה בשבת. So what is one supposed to do on Shabbos if not learn? The Alter Rebbe (Torah Or pg. 113 at the top) explains that Shabbos is the time for niggun. Shabbos is a day of when one is able to tap into the niggun of their soul and let it burst forth.
It is when everyone plays their strings together that the song of the greatest conductor is complete.
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