Understanding Da’as

The freedom to choose.

March 8, 2024 | Adar I 28, 5784

Contextual Preface

This piece is really a prequel to last week’s piece. Whereas last week was focused around how we’re meant to use our Da’as; to align our mind with our actions (Da’as) towards a unified mission of a higher consciousness (Mesiras Nefesh), this week is focused more on understanding Da’as itself. Here we will take a deeper look at the unique attributes and significance Da'as plays in our lives, religion and wider reality.

Daas is for humans 

What is the connection between Pharoah, Moshe, Amalek and the Eigel (Golden Calf)? In this piece I'd like to share an insight that helps weave these stories together into a cohesive progression that offers insight into humanity’s unique power and responsibility.

In the Sefirot of creation Da’as does not exist. Instead it begins with a different Sefirah - Keser. But from the human perspective we do not access Keser. Instead it is exchanged with Da'as, a uniquely human attribute¹. Understanding this deeply goes far beyond this piece, or my limited knowledge, but it is clear that Da’as is where our inner thoughts transform into outer action in this world². Essentially this is the power to choose our reality. It’s worth noting that this is different from knowledge itself. There’s plenty of things we know that we choose to ignore. Similarly, there’s plenty of things we feel subconsciously that we cannot explain either. Da’as, while it combines knowledge with lived experience, represents the ability to choose how to manifest one’s reality. It is this exclusively human quality that allows us to choose between our higher and lower selves. And by choosing the former, we manifest a divine relationship of Malchus³ in reality.

Galus of Da'as 

Galus Mitzrayim (Egypt) is referred to as the “Galus of Da’as”⁴ What does this mean? A true slave is not only indentured financially but also in mind. His free will too is subjugated to his master. On a deeper level, even in if he has an alignment between his Chochma - aspirations of freedom, and his Binah - an innate frustration with his situation, his inability to bring this unified will to fruition means that his Da’as - the place where the inner desires transform into outer action - is unavailable to him. Essentially then, his Da’as, being inaccessible to him; is in Galus.

This repression of freedom was the essential energy of Mitzrayim. Anatomically this is represented by the back of the neck, where the brain stem meets the spinal cord and intention transforms into action. The hebrew word for this is “Oref '' (ערף) and is hinted to in the name Pharaoh (פרעה) which share the same root letters. Whereas on a person's face where we can perceive one’s individuality, from the back everyone looks the same. So too, the name Pharaoh remained unchanged across multiple kings, representing their control over the Oref, repressing individuality and free will.

Freedom to Choose

Moshe is often referred to as the “Sod of Da’as”, representing the ultimate personification of the Middah. Moshe, having been brought up in the house of the king, was not subject to the same oppression as the rest of the nation. He had the ability and will to truly change the narrative. In doing so he became an unprecedented two way channel of spirituality. Through the Makkos he delivered a new consciousness to physical reality and became the leader of a new philosophy and religion; one where we actively engage our mind with the divine, where facing our internal struggle becomes the mission and where freedom to choose the divine leads to the ultimate destination. It is no surprise then that Moshe was not only the ideal redeemer of the Jewish nation, but the ultimate teacher, example and guide. 

This perfectly aligns with Amalek showing up upon the leaving of Egypt. We previously explored their defense mechanism (externalizing) and why it's directed at us (choosing commitment) but we didn't discuss why they chose that moment to attack. Now we can appreciate that upon the exodus when this new consciousness of freedom was born, and we chose to align that uniquely human power with the soul, did Amalek’s corruption of Da’as, where he refuses to commit to anything but his base self, feel existentially threatened.

With this new understanding we can introduce an entirely new dimension to the Eigel, the golden calf. As Gd sees the event take place he references the people with a very unique and novel phrase. He refers to them as “Am Kashei Oref” (עם קשה עורף). I always wondered why this idea of stubbornness, which becomes a common theme for us over time, is specifically introduced here. It's a unique term and at surface level does not seem to describe their action.  Perhaps we can suggest that Gd is pointing to the golden calf as evidence to the Jewish people reverting to “Oref” (עורף), their Egyptian state. Instead of exercising their newfound freedom to choose they opted for mindless subjugation to a golden deity. 

We learn that the Mishkan was in response to the Eigel. Essentially suggesting that if there must be a divine representation of Gd in this world, then the Mishkan is the only acceptable version; a place where there is no deity, rather a holy environment with divinely ordained tools to interact and service the Creator. Instead of subjugation to a deity, we are to mindfully participate in Gd’s service.

Leaving Egypt was about freeing the mind to choose over blind subjugation. Living in the desert was about learning how to grapple with this freedom to choose to align our soul rather than our lower selves. This was the true journey across the desert, each story representing the progressing trajectory of struggle and triumph on the path towards true freedom. 

This story is our story

At the outset you might have been asking yourself, what makes Da’as a timely topic? At this point though I think it’s become clear that it is exactly the unshackling and progressive mastery of Da’as, which begins with Nissan and culminates in Adar, that is not only timely but relevant. As we learn, time is not linear but cyclical. It is not just historical record but our story as well.

Through life, we each go through this same journey. As children we are brought up a certain way, we learn and we internalize, but we don’t choose. As we mature, we continue carrying on as we always did. We become victims of circumstance, mindlessly surrendering our freedom to a path we never set. But inevitably at some point, life will stare us in the face, where passivity is no longer an option and we are forced to choose. This can be overwhelming, but know that it is for this exact moment that Creation exists. It is the power to choose that allows us the opportunity to build a relationship like no other - within ourselves, with others and with the divine.

May we each find the clarity and strength to unshackle ourselves from our personal Egypt of victimhood, disengage from our golden calf of mindless circumstance, and discover and embrace our inner power - the freedom to choose - to commit⁵ and reunite with our higher selves⁶ - our soul - on a divine path towards transcendence.

1.  Sefer Yetzira by R’ Aryeh Kaplan

2.  Action in this context also includes speech

3.  Malchus, the final Sefirah/Middah is described as the intention of creation and only achievable in a world of free will.

4.  Bnei Yissaschar, Nissan Maamer 4 Drush 5 

5.

6. This is why 248 (Eivarim in this world) + 248 (Eivarim in the next world) = 496 Malchus - which is the intention of creation. Also Avraham (= 248) Avraham (=248) after the Mesiras Nefesh of the Akeidah refers to this concept of perfection. (Bnei Yissaschar, Adar, Maamer 2, Drush 3)