B"H

Inner Dimension Weekly Torah Message
for the weekly Torah portion of "Bo"
65#12

the following is a summary of an audio lecture by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh
now available here

Bridging Mind and Heart (part 1)

(for a reference guide to the sefirot, their inner psychological attributes and division into intellectual, emotive and behavioral, see here)

Introduction

Da’at is translated literally as “knowledge,” but in Chassidut stands for “consciousness,” especially in the sense of “contacting” something on the inside. In the Torah the first occurrence of the word da’at is in the verb form in the verse: “And Adam knew his wife Eve.”¹

Its role is to serve as a “bridge” between the intellectual and emotive sefirot or attributes of the psyche, creating a motivation to act (habitual or behavioral).

Da’at is therefore viewed as the all-inclusive sefirah, or faculty of the psyche.

The sages say: da’at kanita ma chasarta, da’at chasarta ma kanita – “if you have gained da’at you lack nothing, if you lack da’at what have you gained?”²

Though we are familiar with archetypal figures for the emotive and habitual sefirot, da’at also has such an exemplar: Moshe Rabbeinu, or Moses.

(for a reference guide to the sefirot and their corresponding archetypal figures, click here)

Moses is also considered to be the inner quality of Jacob (“Moshe milegav, Yaakov milebar”³). This is reflected in the relationship of the sefirot: Jacob is associated with the sefirah of tiferet, while da’at (associated with Moses) is just above it on the middle axis, making it tiferet’s inner soul. Thus, Moses is the central faculty of the intellect, while Jacob is the central faculty of the emotions.

Hence Moses is the essence of Jewish consciousness, or awareness. Each Jewish soul has an element of Moses in it.⁴

How can we balance the mind with the heart?

At first sight they are opposites. In Kabbalah, the mind is likened to water (cool and damp), while the heart is likened to fire (hot and dry). The mind overlooks the body, and should ideally be “cool and collected.” The heart’s experience is one of excitement (hitpa’alut), without which it cannot continue to beat and pump blood.

The mind strives for objectivity – to observe reality as it is (with all 5 senses; sight corresponds to wisdom, hearing to understanding, etc.) – whereas, the heart strives to have subjective feeling for others. We can say that the mind perceives, while the heart experiences. The mind is associated with the male aspect of our being, while the heart is associated with the female aspect. Eve’s name is the root for the word “experience” in Modern Hebrew.

From this we learn that striking a balance between them is to actually join them in metaphorical matrimony within each of us. The goal of Torah is always to unite. The first such task should be in relation to our perceptions and our experiences.

Experiences more easily lead to action than do perceptions.

Da’at as a Bridge

Kabbalah speaks of three types of “interrelating” conduits in the soul.

• 32 Pathways of Wisdom (chochmah)

• 50 Gateways of Understanding (binah)

• 72 Bridges of Knowledge (da’at)⁵

(note: sometimes the 72 bridges are related to loving-kindness, as the numerical value of the word for loving-kindness in Hebrew, chesed, is equal to 72)

The role of a bridge is to connect two things that are divided by a chasm, that is, they are opposites.

These three numbers (32, 50, and 72) are part of a mathematical series known as the “double squares.” Every number in the series is twice the value of a square:

• 32 = 2 ^. 4²

• 50 = 2 ^. 5²

• 72 = 2 ^. 6²

The full series (whose function is: 2n²) is: 2, 18, 32, 50, 72, 98, …

That 72 is a composite of two 36’s, relates to the sages statement that in every generation there are 36 righteous souls. The Zohar adds that in addition to the 36 “revealed” righteous souls (those that we know of), there are an additional 36 who remain “concealed” (sometimes even from themselves) – altogether 72 righteous souls. The task of these righteous tzadikim is to bridge the gaps between the Jewish people.

In Kabbalah, a square number represents a consummate state of inter-inclusion, or holography, where every part of something reflects the whole.

There is another reason to correspond the 72 bridges with da’at. Phonetically, the Hebrew word for “bridge” (gesher) and the Hebrew word for “connection” (kesher) are related (the two letters g-gimel and k-kuf interchange). Da’at is defined in Chassidut as the faculty that creates connections, not just once, but continuously like a bridge.⁶

The continuous nature of the bridging that da’at provides between intellect and emotion, helps us to “stay real.” Without da’at’s ability to bridge the objective perceptions of the mind, the emotions lose touch with reality.

Notes:
1. Genesis 4:1.
2. Vayikra Rabbah 1:6; see Talmud Nedarim 41a.
3. Tikunei Zohar 13 [29a].
4. See Tanya chapter 42.
5. See Zohar III, 227a; Alter Rebbe’s Likutei Torah III, 36d.
6. Tanya, end of chapter 3.

-- to be continued next week --

click here to listen to an audio lecture by Rabbi Ginsburgh for the Torah portion of

Bo

Gal Einai Institute
"Open my eyes and I will behold the wonders of Your Torah" (Psalms 119:8)

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