Sefiras HaDaas: Difference between revisions

The Ten Sefiros, in their classic division, are presented in a pyramid of three triangles: the intellectual triangle (upper - parallel to the human brain), the emotional triangle (middle - parallel to the heart and chest area), and the practical triangle (lower - parallel to the groin and legs area). Sefiras HaDaas is located in the center of the upper triangle, parallel to the brain stem and cerebrospinal fluid, to which characteristics parallel to Sefiras HaDaas are attributed.

The meaning of the word Daas is like in the verse "And Adam knew Chava his wife," meaning he connected and bonded with her. Similarly, the purpose of Sefiras HaDaas is to connect between intellect and emotion until the birth of Middos.

Daas in the system of Sefiros connects between the Mochin (Chochma and Bina) and the Midos. Meaning, through Daas, the Midos are influenced by the Mochin. Because of this, some of its qualities are connected to Mochin, and some are connected to Midos. It is what gives strength both to the intellectual understanding in the mind and to the feeling that follows in the heart.

After an idea is well understood with all its intellectual details in the mind of Chochma and Bina, it passes to Daas which adds recognition, feeling, and identification with the idea. From this stem several differences between Chochma and Bina versus Daas, and several matters that Daas specifically adds:

When the intellectual concept is in Chochma and Bina, even when a person understands it thoroughly, they still don't feel a connection and identification with the matter. When the concept reaches the mind of Daas, they feel and recognize well that the matter is indeed so (and this is the reason why emotion awakens from Daas, as will be explained).

When the intellectual concept is in Chochma and Bina, it is still not decisive, and can be changed through arguments in different directions - which is actually the whole purpose of intellectual discussion and pilpul, to sway the intellect from side to side, and to seek for each argument a counter-argument. Even when there is a tendency in Chochma and Bina toward a certain argument, it isn't a clear and decisive ruling as one of the sides, but only a strengthening of one side over the other. However, when the matter reaches the mind of Daas and there is clear recognition of the matter, then arguments back and forth are not relevant, and the decision is crushing so that no room remains for discussion.

The power that Daas has to decide in a matter where in Chochma and Bina there were still tendencies in different directions - stems from the fact that Daas has a higher and deeper root than Chochma and Bina. Daas is rooted in Ratzon, which is deeper than intellect, and from it comes the power to divide the Midos into Chesed and Gevurah and to decide between them (and in Kabbalistic terms - an illumination is drawn in Daas from the Sefira of Kesser, "Kotzei D'Sa'arei D'Arich Anpin").

From the power of decisive ruling that exists in Daas, also branches the power to make Havdala and to separate absolutely between good and evil. Chazal established that the power to separate depends on Daas: "If there is no Daas, from where is Havdala?" When the concept is still in Chochma and Bina, one cannot completely separate between good and evil, and can only make a Havchana that still requires additional consideration (as in the text of the blessing "Who gives the rooster Bina to distinguish," from which it implies that the power to distinguish depends on Bina). But the absolute decision, the separation between good and evil after clear free choice, depends specifically on Daas.

An additional difference bound up with the previous differences is - that Chochma and Bina can be taught to a person who lacks them; both to make a person wise in general and expand their intellectual vessels, and in a particular point, to teach them a specific reasoning. In contrast, Daas cannot be taught to another person who has no Daas - since Daas is not a particular reasoning of how to understand the matter, but rather recognition and feeling of the essence of the matter, and this cannot be received from another person.

Da'at is the root from which middot are born and gives them their existence. It's important to note that the birth of middot from Da'at is not part of the essence of Da'at (which is inherently an intellectual power, as mentioned above), but rather a natural result of it.

Da'at is called in the Zohar "maftecha d'kalil shit" [the key that contains six], meaning it opens and enables the existence of the six middot that follow it. The reason for this: First, the concept of Da'at is a person's self-awareness; therefore, since one cares about oneself, one naturally loves good and hates evil (as we see, when a person is preoccupied and less self-aware, they care less about other things they usually love or hate). Similarly, the concept of Da'at is connection and recognition of the essence of a matter; therefore, since one feels the matter thoroughly, feeling naturally awakens toward it.

Chassidus explains that the connection between Da'at and middot is a natural result - when one feels the essence of a matter, the appropriate feeling awakens within them automatically, without need for additional action. From this we learn that the main effort should be invested in yegiat hamoach - to engrave the matter well in one's mind until reaching feeling of its essence, and the proper middot will awaken automatically; rather than starting directly with work on the middot themselves.

The birth of middot needs to come after Da'at, as mentioned above, since only then is their existence guaranteed. Da'at gives the middot strength and force. When a person generates middot only because they reached a conclusion in their intellect (Chochma and Binah) that these are appropriate middot, but without connecting with their Da'at and feeling that indeed the matter is so - the feeling in their heart is artificial and not authentic, in the words of the Alter Rebbe "false imaginations"; and therefore can change easily (this is the nature of a fickle person, who lacks stable Da'at). Only a feeling born of Da'at, absolute recognition and feeling in a matter, is stable and authentic.

The middot themselves are not objective, and in every middah - even good ones - personal inclinations may be mixed in. When the middot are based on Da'at, Da'at reveals the inner dimension of the middot - the middot as they are in their purity, without mixture of foreign inclinations.

Since Da'at naturally generates middot, therefore one who learns something and uses the power of Da'at naturally seeks in every matter - even theoretical intellectual matters - mussar that they can learn from this and fix their nefesh. This is the meaning of the verse "without Da'at the nefesh is not good" - that when a person lacks Da'at, they do not fix their nefesh.

* Kedushas HaBayis HaYehudi