Da'at (Kabbalah)

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Category:Sephiroth

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Daat or Daas ("Knowledge", Hebrew: דעת 'daʕaθ) in Jewish mysticism, called Kabbalah, is the location (the mystical state) where all ten sefirot in the Tree of Life are united as one. It is sometimes wrongly described as an eleventh sefira.

In Daat, 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. Since all sefirot radiate infinite self-giving Divine Light, it is no longer possible to distinguish one sefira from an other. Thus they are one.

Properly, the Divine Light is always shining, but not all humans can see it. The concealment or revelation of the Divine Light shining through Daat does not actually happen in Daat itself. It only seems that way from the human perspective within Malkhut. The perception of change can only occur in Malkhut. Humans who become self-giving like the Light become able to see it, and for them the benefits of Daat's Light seem "revealed". However, humans who remain selfish cannot see it, and for them its benefits seem "hidden".

1 Meaning
2 Levels
3 Lower level
4 Spiritual States
5 Non-Jewish Kabbalah
6 References
7 External link

[edit] Meaning

Daat is the third and last conscious power of intellect in Creation.

According to scholars of this mystical knowledge, Daat is associated in the soul with the powers of memory and concentration, powers which rely upon one's "recognition" (hakarah) of, and "sensitivity" (hergesh) to, the potential meaningfulness of those ideas generated in consciousness through the powers of chochmah ("wisdom") and binah ("understanding"). This sensitivity itself derives from Daat's connection to the "superconscious" origin of the soul.

Generally, daat is only enumerated among the sefirot when keter is not. This is due to the fact that Daat represents the "reflection of" (the "inner dimension" of) keter itself within the realm of consciousness (as described above). Hence Daat appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the middle axis, directly beneath keter; and, corresponds in the tzelem Elokim (the "image of God imbedded in Man) to the cerebellum (i.e. the "posterior brain").

[edit] Levels

Daat operates on two levels:

The higher level, referred to as Daat elyon ("higher knowledge") or Daat hane'elam ("the hidden knowledge"), serves to secure the continuous bond between the two higher powers of intellect -- chochmah and binah;
The lower level, referred to as Daat tachton ("lower knowledge") or a'at 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.

[edit] Lower level

Of this level of Daat it is said (Proverbs 24:4): "the rooms are filled with Daat." "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 Daat fills these rooms and enlivens them as does the soul to the body. In the Zohar, this level of Daat is referred to as "the key that includes six." The "key" of Daat opens all six chambers (attributes) of the heart and fills them with lifeforce. Each of these six chambers, when filled with Daat, is referred to as a particular dei'ah ("attitude," from the root of Daat) of the soul.

[edit] Spiritual States

The spiritual state identified in Hasidism as corresponding to the sefira of Daat is that of yichud ("unification").

[edit] Non-Jewish Kabbalah

Daat is considered the point of creation, when the active principle of Chokmah, 'wisdom', ( knowledge which comes from without ), meets with the passive principle of Binah, 'understanding', and creates the archetypal idea of 'knowledge'.

However, this sephirot is often not shown on the tree of life, and instead there is an empty space, straddling The Abyss. In fact, there are often two trees depicted, one which shows Daat but not Malkuth ( the kingdom ), and the other which shows Malkuth but not Daat. These are considered as being before The Fall of Man, and after The Fall, in which the fruit of knowledge is taken from the tree, humanity loses paradise, and falls into the earthly state of suffering represented by Malkuth.

In comparing with Eastern systems, some compare Daath to the Vishuddha chakra in the throat, concerned with creativity, and others compare it with the secretive Bindu chakra at the back of the head, closely related to Vishuddha, which among other things is concerned with the point at which the universe was created.

In some occult methods of thought, Daat is a gateway which, upon passing through, inverts the qualities of the sephirothic spheres. The idea most likely derives from Daat being situated upon The Abyss. Aleister Crowley described the abyss as such:

"This doctrine is extremely difficult to explain; but it corresponds more or less to the gap in thought between the Real, which is ideal, and the Unreal, which is actual. In the Abyss all things exist, indeed, at least in posse, but are without any possible meaning; for they lack the substratum of spiritual Reality. They are appearances without Law. They are thus Insane Delusions...Now the Abyss being thus the great storehouse of Phenomena, it is the source of all impressions."

This leaves the impression that being situated upon that veil provides a gateway into "the void".