Knowledge is Connecting
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
In this study I would like to develop an understanding of, daat, that is knowledge, in the Torah sense. daat leads to bina, understanding, which leads to chokmah, wisdom.
The first time we see knowledge is in:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 2:9 And out of the
ground made HaShem God to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good (beneficial) and evil.
This fruit, when eaten, connected Adam with tov, beneficial, and ra evil. In the same way, the Torah talks about sexual intercourse as knowledge:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 4:1 And Adam knew Eve
his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from
HaShem.
When Adam knew his wife, he knew her intimately. So intimately that Eve bore Adam a son names Cain. This gives us our first clue as to what knowledge is. Knowledge is connection. When Adam knew Eve, they connected sexually and bore the fruit of the womb, Cain.
In the same way, when we have knowledge of any subject, we connect with that knowledge. To connect with a matter is to change theoretical information into a connection that pierces to our neshama, our soul.
The human body gives testimony to the fact that knowledge equals connection. The Sages understood that every organ in the center of our body is used for connection, for knowledge. For example, the backbone, in the center of our body, connects our lower body’s motor functions to our brain, in our higher body. In the same way, our mouth, which is in the center of our body, is used for connecting, for knowledge. The Sages say that when one organ is used for multiple functions, then those functions are all related. The mouth is used for talking, eating, and kissing.
How are these related?
Talking is when our soul communicates with another soul. Talking is the only way that our soul can communicate with the world.
If we fail to eat for a few days, we begin to feel faint because our soul is beginning to separate from our body. If we continue our fast, we will die. The soul will completely separate from our body. So, eating connects our soul to our body.
In the same way, the korbanot, the sacrifices, are said to be HaShem’s food in that they connect man with HaShem.
Kissing is where two souls join in intimacy.
In the same way, all of the organs in the center of our bodies are used for daat, for connecting. It is also noteworthy that whenever we achieve daat, connection, we always bear fruit. We saw that Adam and Eve bore fruit from their connection.
We can see, for example, that a belly button, in the center of the body, connects a baby with its mother. This connection yields a baby who grows.
This is what daat, knowledge, is. Daat is connection.
In Mishlei (Proverbs) 1:4, we see daat:
Mishlei
(Proverbs) 1:1-4 The proverbs of
Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to
perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom,
justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young
man knowledge and discretion.
The mashal of King Shlomo, will bring daat, knowledge or connection, to a young man. The connection is not only to HaShem, but to His people, Israel. This connection is essential to the administration of justice.
We must connect rather than collect facts. We must connect, we must have an intimate relationship with HaShem and with our people if we are to be wise and just.
The Sages equated the written Torah to the discipline of the Father, and the Oral Torah to the law of your Mother:
Mishlei
(Proverbs) 1:8 My son, hear the
instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of
thy mother:
If this is so, which it is, where does Mashiach come in? Mashiach represents oral and written Torah. Mashiach is The Word of HaShem. What do we call this harmonious combination? Torah calls it YOUR CHOKMAH, “YOUR WISDOM”:
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 4:6 Keep therefore
and do [them]; for this [is] your wisdom and your understanding in the
sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this
great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.
So, Mashiach, the embodiment of the Word of HaShem, the written and the oral Torah, IS our chokmah, our wisdom.
So, when we lack chokmah, wisdom, it is because we do not seem to be able to apply the Torah to our circumstances. This should be apparent from the above Torah verse. This daat, knowledge, as a relationship with HaShem and His Mashiach is spoken about in:
Yochanan
(John) 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Yeshua Mashiach, whom thou hast sent.
We can see, therefore, that daat, knowledge, is not as the Greeks say. It is not just knowing facts, it is as the Hebrew mind understands. It is an intimate connection.
A person that prays has entered Gan Eden since HaShem created humanity as praying beings. Praying is how we achieve daat, knowledge or connection with HaShem. Praying is an action that allows us to establish intimacy, to establish daat, with the Creator of the Universe. Prayer is the means to marital intimacy with HaShem!
From daat, knowledge, we gain understanding. Understanding is given proportionate to Torah daat, Torah knowledge. Midda kneged midda, measure for measure. In this way understanding is synonymous to discernment. Now the word discernment, in Greek, is diakrino from which root you get such words, in English, as criticism, a pulling apart and differentiating and distinguishing between what is Tov, beneficial, and what is Ra, going nowhere.
Now please note, not all that is good is Tov, beneficial, and not all that is Tov, beneficial, is good. For example, an amputation of a leg may be beneficial but not good. So Tov does not mean good but beneficial. As the song says:
Henay ma tov umanayim shevet achim gam yachad.
Behold How TOV it is for brethren to dwell together.
Not good but beneficial, despite the fights and squabbles. So in order to be tov, there must be of necessity some evil. For as our Hakhamim say in the Talmud: If it would not be for the Yetzer Ha-Ra, the evil inclination, man would not build a home, and be industrious, and make new discoveries, etc. etc. Women would not spend millions of dollars on beauty products and thousands of people would be out of a job. So, a certain measure of evil is indispensable and necessary and even tov! And making the ra serve the tov and not the other way around.
So now we have dealt with daat = Knowledge. Then we found out what was Binah = Understanding, and now we need to get Chochmah, wisdom. How do we get there after having had attained to Binah, understanding? We must apply the daat and the Bina. This is what Hakham Shaul, Paul, meant when he said:
Romans
This is what Hakham Shaul meant when he said:
Romans
12:2 And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the “renewing of your
mind”, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will
of God.
Renewing the mind comes to daat = knowledge.
So this is a step by step thing and measure by measure. Wisdom, commensurate to understanding, commensurate to knowledge of Torah.
This process was illustrated in our lesson with the forty days that Moshe spent on the mountain, the forty days Mashiach spent in the wilderness, and the forty days that King Shlomo spent praying for Chokmah, wisdom.
Forty is a Midrashic term which indicates a change of state. For example, after forty weeks in the womb, a baby is born. His state changes from one of comfort and inaction, to one of new birth, action, and discomfort.
Moshe, Shlomo, and Mashiach all fasted for forty days while gaining daat - Knowledge and Bina – Understanding.
At forty years of age, a Kohen finishes his apprenticeship and becomes a professional, so to speak.
So, what happens after Mashiach finishes the forty days? What happened after Moshe finished the forty days on Sinai? They starting acting as Rabbanim - Hachamim. They become professional.
* * *
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
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