View source for Da'at

{{Short description|Location where all ten sefirot in the Tree of Life are united as one}}
{{redirect|Daat}}
{{distinguish|text=the band [[Dååth]]}}
{{sefirot}}
In the branch of [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[mysticism]] known as [[Kabbalah]], '''Daʻat''' or '''Da'ath''' ({{Langx|he|דַּעַת|translit=Daʿaṯ}}, in [[pausa]]: {{lang|he|דָּעַת}} ''{{transliteration|he|Dāʿaṯ}}'', {{literal translation|knowledge}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 1847. daath |url=https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1847.htm}}</ref> is the location (the mystical state) where all ten ''[[sefirot]]'' in the [[Tree of life (Kabbalah)|Tree of Life]] are united as one.
In Daʻat, all ''sefirot'' exist in their perfected state of infinite sharing. The three sefirot of the left column that would receive and conceal the [[Divine light]], instead share and reveal it.{{sfnp|Kaplan|1990}} Since all sefirot radiate infinitely self-giving Divine Light, it is no longer possible to distinguish one ''sefira'' from another; thus they are one.
Daʻat is not always depicted in representations of the ''sefirot''; and could be abstractly considered an "empty slot" into which the germ of any other sefirot can be placed. Properly, the Divine Light is always shining, but not all humans can see it.{{sfnp|Kraemer|1990}}
The revelation or the concealment of the Divine Light shining through Daʻat does not happen only in Daʻat itself. It can appear by a human perspective also within the worldly affairs ([[Malkuth]]). The ''perception of the Divine Light shining'' can clearly occur also in Malkuth, all the times that humans become self-giving ([[Altruism]]). However, humans who remain selfish ([[Selfishness]]) cannot see it, and for them its benefits seem "hidden".{{sfnp|Laitman|2005}}
==As a representative sefirah==
Properly, Daʻat is not a sefirah, but rather is all ten sefirot united as one. Nevertheless, Daʻat is sometimes counted as a sefirah instead of [[Keter]], from the perspective of finite creation, using Daʻat to represent the "reflection of" (the "inner dimension" of) the infinity of Keter.{{sfnp|Scholem|1974}} Thus Daʻat appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the middle axis, directly beneath Keter. It corresponds to the [[image of God]]. Alternate countings of the sefirot produce 10 powers ("10 and not 9, 10 and not 11" - ''[[Sefer Yetzirah]]'') by either including Keter or Daʻat. In the scheme of [[Moses ben Jacob Cordovero]], Daʻat is omitted, while in the scheme of [[Isaac Luria]], Keter (Will) is omitted. Cordovero describes the sefirot as one light in ten vessels.{{sfnp|Cordovero|1592}} Luria follows this, but lists sefirot beginning with [[Chokmah]] (Wisdom) to describe their outer dimensions.{{sfnp|Luria|1573}}
==As spiritual state==
The [[kochos hanefesh]] "spiritual state" corresponding to the sefirah of ''Daʻat'' is ''[[yichud]]'' ("unification").{{sfnp|Green|2004}}
==As aspect of intellect==
According to the ''[[Tanya (Judaism)|Tanya]]'', Daʻat is the third and hidden more special unconscious power of intellect. But in this context, it is actually the divine aspect of Daʻat to the ''[[partzufim|partzuf]]'' of ''[[Zeir Anpin]]'' (connection directly to the upper Daʻat of [[Adam Kadmon]]).{{sfnp|Schneur Zalman|1796}}
''Zer Anpin'' refers to the 'personification' (''partzuf'') of six sefirot from Chesed to Yesod - and as a whole embodies its own ten sefirot and its own Daʻat. Zer Anpin personifies the revelation of the [[Torah]] and relates to the second level of the human soul called "spirit" (''ruach''), that corresponds to mental aspects, including reason and emotion.{{sfnp|Wolfson|1997}}
Accordingly, Daʻat is associated in the soul with the powers of memory and concentration, powers that rely upon one's "[[recall (memory)|recognition]]" (''hakarah'') of, and "[[sensory processing|sensitivity to]]" (''hergesh''), the potential meaningfulness of those ideas generated in [[consciousness]] through the powers of ''Chokmah'' and ''[[Binah (Kabbalah)|Binah]]'' "understanding".{{sfnp|Matt|1995}}
==Levels==
Daʻat operates on two levels. The higher level, referred to as ''[[Da'as Elyon and Da'as Tachton|Daʻat Elyon]]'' ("higher knowledge") or ''Daʻat [[hane'elam]]'' ("the hidden knowledge"), serves to secure the continuous bond between the two higher powers of intellect -- ''chokmah'' and ''Binah'', wisdom and understanding. This is Daʻat within Keter.{{sfnp|Kaplan|1990}}
The lower level, referred to as ''[[Da'as Elyon and Da'as Tachton|Daʻat Tachton]]'' ("lower knowledge") or ''Daʻat [[hamitpashet]]'' ("extending knowledge"), serves to connect the [[intellect]] as a whole with the realm of [[emotion]]; thereby enhancing one's determination and resolve to act in accordance with the essential truths that one has integrated into [[consciousness]]. This is Daʻat as the third power of the intellect.{{sfnp|Scholem|1965}}
===Lower level===
Of this level of Daʻat it is said ([[Book of Proverbs]] 24:4): "And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches." "The rooms" are the chambers of the heart, the emotions of the soul (as alluded to by the word ''[[cheder]]'', "room," which is an acronym for ''[[chesed din rachamim]]'', the three primary emotions of the soul). The inner consciousness of Daʻat fills these rooms and enlivens them as does the soul to the body.{{sfnp|Vital|1997}}
In the [[Zohar]], this level of Daʻat is referred to as "the key that includes six." The "key" of Daʻat opens all six chambers (attributes) of the heart and fills them with [[Energy (esotericism)|life-force]]. Each of these six chambers, when filled with Daʻat, is referred to as a particular ''[[dei'ah]]'' ("attitude," from the root of Daʻat) of the soul.{{sfnp|Idel|1988}}
Daʻat corresponds with the [[interstitium]] in the human body. In the brain, Daʻat is represented by the [[claustrum]]. Though their form is seemingly separate and dissimilar, their function is fairly similar.{{sfnp|Gikatilla|1964}}
<!--Below merged from [[Da'as Elyon and Da'as Tachton]] -->
'''Daas/Daat Elyon''' ("Higher Knowledge") and '''Daas/Daat Tachton''' ("Lower Knowledge") are two alternative levels of perception of reality in [[Hasidic thought]]. Their terms derive from the [[Kabbalistic]] [[sephirot]]: [[Keter]] (above conscious ''Will'') and Da'at (conscious ''Knowledge''), considered two levels of the same unifying principle; the first [[Ohr|encompassing]], the second [[Ohr|internalised]] within the person. In Kabbalah either Keter or Da'at are listed in the 10 sephirot, but not both. While the significance of this duality is limited in Kabbalah to its discussion of the Heavenly realms, the significance, and the terminology of "Higher" and "Lower Knowledge" emerges in the Hasidic internalisation of Kabbalah to describe alternative, paradoxical conscious perceptions of Divine [[Panentheism]] in this material World. ''Upper Knowledge'' refers to the Divine view "from Above", ''Lower Knowledge'' to the Created view "from Below".{{sfnp|Elior|2006}}
===Description===
The terms ''Daas Elyon'' and ''Tachton'' are used particularly in the [[Habad]] philosophical systemisation of [[Hasidic thought]]. The alternative [[Kabbalistic]] terms [[Ayin and Yesh]] ("Non-Being and Being") are more commonly used in wider Hasidic mysticism. Habad differed from Mainstream Hasidism by its intellectual investigation of the Kabbalistic terminology and concepts that [[Hasidism]] had adapted to its psychologically focused mysticism. In this ''Daas Elyon'' and ''Tachton'' take on a related, but wider conceptual connotation than Ayin and Yesh, as they become the two alternative conscious perception paradigms of all Hasidic mysticism. Hasidism had extended the significance of [[Ayin and Yesh]] beyond its Heavenly abstract Kabbalistic meaning, to describe how this physical realm is alternatively Being or Non-Being, as perceived by Creation, in its nullification in the [[Panentheism|Panentheistic]] Divine All. ''Higher'' and ''Lower Knowledge'' broadens this further to any spiritual level of existence, or any concept under consideration.{{sfnp|Moskowitz|2000}}
In historical Kabbalah, [[Keter]] ("Crown") is the transcendent Divine Will above conscious internalisation, while Da'at ("Knowledge") is the internalised aspect of the same principle, channeling the Creative [[Ohr]] lifeforce into existence. Consequently, Keter is the "Hidden Knowledge", that becomes revealed in Da'at. [[Moshe Cordovero]] lists Keter as the first [[sephirah]] and excludes Da'at, while [[Isaac Luria]] excludes Keter as being too transcendent to consider as the first cause of Creation, while substituting Da'at instead.{{sfnp|Ben-Shlomo|2005}} Where Keter is the hidden soul root of the intellectual sephirot, Da'at is the hidden soul root of the emotions that emerge subsequently. Keter is revealed in Intellect, and Da'at is revealed in Emotions.{{sfnp|Silberstein|1994}}
[[Hasidic thought]] adapted Kabbalistic terminology to its own concern with direct psychological perception in [[deveikut]] cleaving to God. It related the [[sephirot]] to their corresponding parallels in the [[Kochos hanefesh]] (soul powers) devotional experience in Man. Similarly ''Da'at Elyon'' and ''Tachton'' emerge as the two alternative perspectives of Creation, the Divine consciousness "from Above", and the Created consciousness "from Below". While Hasidic thought universally retains the Kabbalistic meaning of ''Ayin'' (Non-Being) to refer to the inaccessible grasp of the Infinite Divine from the Creation's perspective, and ''Yesh'' (Being) to refer to Creation's perception of its own existence, this ascription only reflects the Lower Knowledge view. From the Divine view of Higher Knowledge, in truth only God exists, who is the ''Yesh Amity'' ("True Being"). Creation is nullified into [[acosmism|acosmic]] non-existence (Ayin) within its Divine source, "as the light of the sun is nullified within the sun's orb". Nonetheless, as Hasidic mysticism describes man's devotion to God, it still uses the terms Ayin and Yesh in their Lower Knowledge, traditional Kabbalistic reference, and not reversed.{{sfnp|Schneerson|1986}}
===Examples===
''Yichudah Ilaah'' ("Higher Unity") and ''Yichudah Tataah'' ("Lower Unity"), the two levels of perceiving [[God in Judaism|God's Monotheism]]. This alternative paradox is explained in the second section of the [[Tanya (Judaism)|Tanya]], reflecting the author's most metaphorical interpretation of the [[Lurianic Kabbalah|Lurianic]] [[Tzimtzum]], tending to [[Acosmism|Acosmic]] [[Monism]]. See [[Divine providence (Judaism)#Divine unity in Hasidism|Divine Unity in Hasidism]].
<blockquote>...&nbsp;It seems to the lower worlds as if the light and lifeforce of the Omnipresent, blessed be He...were something apart from His blessed Self&nbsp;... Yet in regard to the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no tzimtzum, concealment and occultation that would conceal and hide before Him&nbsp;... for the tzimtzumim and garments are not things distinct from His blessed Self, heaven forefend, but (Genesis Rabba 21:5) "like the snail whose garment is part of its very self"{{sfnp|Schneur Zalman|1796}}</blockquote>
Higher and Lower Da'at relates to the Upper and Lower [[Chokmah]] (Wisdom), the first of the three intellectual [[sephirot]]. The [[Zohar]] predicts, based on its interpretation of the upper and lower waters of [[Noah's flood]] (rains from above, wellsprings from below), that in the sixth century of the Hebrew sixth millennium (corresponding to the secular years 1740-1840) Wisdom will flood the World in preparation for the [[Jewish messianism|Messianic era]]. In the [[Likkutei Sichos]] talks of the [[Lubavitcher Rebbe]],{{sfnp|Schneerson|1973}} he relates this prediction to the Higher Wisdom of [[Hasidic thought]] (called the [[Baal Shem Tov]]'s "Wellsprings") and the Lower Wisdom of secular Science and thought. In Kabbalah the two levels of Water/Wisdom correspond to the Higher and Lower Waters in the account of Creation in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] I.{{sfnp|Fine|2003}}
In Kabbalah's interpretation of the [[Tetragrammaton]] name of God, the first two letters are the "Concealed World" of Divine Intellect, corresponding to [[Atziluth]] and [[Beri'ah]] in the Four Worlds, and the last two letters are the "Revealed World" of Divine Emotions, corresponding to [[Yetzirah]] and [[Assiah]]. In the first section of [[Tanya (Judaism)|Tanya]],{{sfnp|Schneur Zalman|1796}} the Talmudic directive to bless God for misfortune as well as fortune is related to misfortune stemming from the higher hidden realms. In its source, the misfortune descends from a blessing too high to descend in revelation, as "no evil descends from above".{{sfnp|Schneerson|1973}}
The [[Tetragrammaton]] and [[Elohim|Elokim]] Divine Names in Kabbalah correspond to infinite [[Divine transcendence|transcendent]] [[Ohr|encompassing light]] and finite [[Divine immanence|immanent]] [[Ohr|filling light]]. In [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] chapter 1 Creation takes place through Elokim, while in Genesis 2 through both names. In Hasidic interpretation the essential Tetragrammaton Divine Infinitude enacts creation Something from Nothing, but shines through the concealment of Elokim to allow Creation to seem independent from God.{{sfnp|Elior|1993}} In this Elokim becomes the means for revelation, as a Creation directly through the Tetragrammaton would be nullified. This corresponds to two levels of [[Ohr|Bittul]] (Nullification): ''Bittul HaMetzius'' ("Nullification of Essence") and ''Bittul HaYesh'' ("Nullification of Ego"). As the highest of the Four Worlds [[Atziluth]] is still emanation, before perceived Creation, relatively it reflects Essential Nullification. In comparison to the lower two Worlds, also [[Beri'ah]] has some relation to Higher Bittul through the enclothement of Wisdom (Atziluth) descending into Understanding (Beriah). Prophecy is explained in Kabbalah{{sfnp|Vital|1997b}} to be the letters of Creation in Atziluth, as they descend into Beriah. This means Divine transcendent insight descending into some understanding. Similarly, Beriah is described in Kabbalah as the realm of the Divine "[[Seraph|Throne]]", as the full emanated Divinity of Atziluth cloths itself through descent in Beriah, metaphorically as if descending onto a throne, to govern lower creation from above as a King.{{sfnp|Fine|2003}}
==See also==
*{{anli|Abyss (Thelema)|Abyss}}
*{{anli|Atzmus}}
*{{anli|Divine providence (Judaism)|Divine providence}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Works cited==
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ben-Shlomo |first=Joshua |title=The Mystical Theology of Moses Cordovero |publisher=Suny Press |year=2005}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cordovero |first=Moses |title=Pardes Rimonim |publisher=The Brandeis Library |year=1592}}
* {{Cite book |last=Elior |first=Rachel |title=The Paradoxical Ascent to God: The Kabbalistic Theosophy of Habad Hasidism |publisher=Suny Press |year=1993}}
* {{Cite book |last=Elior |first=Rachel |title=The Mystical Origins of Hasidism |publisher=Littman Library of Jewish Civilization |year=2006}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fine |first=Lawrence |title=Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2003}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gikatilla |first=Joseph |title=Sha'arei Orah |publisher=Hebrew University |year=1964}}
* {{Cite book |last=Green |first=Arthur |title=A Guide to the Zohar |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2004}}
* {{Cite book |last=Idel |first=Moshe |title=Kabbalah: New Perspectives |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1988}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Aryeh |title=Innerspace: Introduction to Kabbalah, Meditation and Prophecy |publisher=Ktav |year=1990}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kraemer |first=David |title=The Mind of the Talmud: An Intellectual History of the Bavli |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1990}}
* {{Cite book |last=Laitman |first=Michael |title=The Kabbalah Experience |publisher=Zohar |year=2005}}
* {{Cite book |last=Luria |first=Isaac |title=Etz Chaim |publisher=Zalman Shazar |year=1573}}
* {{Cite book |last=Matt |first=Daniel C. |title=The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism |publisher=HarperOne |year=1995}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moskowitz |first=Eva |title=The Power of Kabbalah |publisher=Red Wheel/Weiser |year=2000}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schneerson |first=Menachem M. |title=Likkutei Sichos |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=1973}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schneerson |first=Menachem M. |title=On the Essence of Chasidus |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=1986}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schneur Zalman |first=of Liadi |title=Tanya |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=1796}}
* {{Cite book |last=Scholem |first=Gershom |title=On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism |publisher=Schocken |year=1965}}
* {{Cite book |last=Scholem |first=Gershom |title=Kabbalah |publisher=Meridian |year=1974}}
* {{Cite book |last=Silberstein |first=Laurence |title=The Other in Jewish Thought and History |publisher=New York University Press |year=1994}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vital |first=Chaim |title=Shaar HaGilgulim |publisher=Mosad Harav Kook |year=1997}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vital |first=Chaim |title=Shaar HaNevuah |publisher=Mosad Harav Kook |year=1997b}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wolfson |first=Elliot R. |title=Through a Speculum That Shines: Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1997}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
* [https://inner.org/Nav_library/0006d/content/ Inner.org about Kabbalah]
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=6237 Lessons in Tanya]
* [http://devekut.com Devekut.com] A compendium of teachings related to da'at
* Daʻat The Knowing I, by Rabbi [[Tzvi Freeman]] [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/299648/jewish/Daat.htm Daʻat - The Knowing I]
[[Category:Hasidic thought]]
[[Category:Kabbalistic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sefirot]]