Chapter 1 - Part 6 Binah’s depth, width & length

As we said before, Kesser or depth of Binah is the "non-existence", the self-nullification that acts as the connection to receive the intellectual light of the Hokhma. This connection is absolutely essential, for without it, the faculty of Binah is worthless. Sometimes a person can study many explanations and still not get the point. This is because his comprehensive faculty, his Binah, is not self nullified to the essence of the concept (the Hokhma). He is lacking on the level of depth of Binah and can therefore not grasp the Hokhma. Take someone who isn’t into football and try to explain him how different plays are executed. No matter how many times or how well you explain, he won’t get it. He may get the basic idea, but he won’t really get the point of each play. Why? Because he is not given over to the game. He is too "existent" in his own separate world and not self-nullified enough to the "world of football". If, however, you were to take someone who loves football and were to try to teach him a new play, he’d probably catch on in a wink. This is because he is "given over". He is self-nullified. Now remember what we said before about Kesser (Daas). When passion is weak, so too the Kesser, the "non-existence", the powers of self-nullification will also be weak. And as a result, the higher level cannot be brought down to enlighten (intellectually) the level that lacks this non-existence.

The width of Binah, as we said, is the actual self of the explanation, for the width of a level is the essential self of that level. The length of a level is it’s coming down to be able to effect a lower entity (as we said about the length of Hokhma, which is the coming down of the Hokhma in order to affect Binah). The length of Binah or Binah of Binah is the coming down of the Binah, the coming down of the explanation through simplifications, allegories and examples to where it may even be explained to a child. To better understand these levels let us look at the coming down of a concept. A teacher wishes to teach 1+1=2, which in this case is the point of the concept, the width of Hokhma. Since, however in his lofty mathematical mind the concept is so simple that it requires no thought, he must bring it down (length of Hokhma) into an explanation or width of Binah ("1 item put together with another 1 item is 2 items"). This requires some humility or self-nullification on his part (depth of Binah), for after all why should he, the great mathematician have to think about a base concept as 1+1! Now lets say this is a very small child and even the explanation doe not suffice. Then the teacher must lower the concept even further (length of Binah), by simplifying it with examples or allegories - "If you take 1 lollipop and put another lollipop beside it, you’ll have 2 lollipops." Now he’s not trying to teach the child about lollipops (as if the child needs teaching). Lollipops have nothing to do with the actual subject matter (1+1=2). The only reason the teacher is talking lollipops is because he must bring the explanation down to where the student can relate to it.

The classic allegory used by the Hassidic Masters for the 3 levels of Binah is that of the river (which comes out of the "spring" of Hokhma). The depth of the river is it’s primary current, through which the spring is revealed in the river - the stronger the spring, the stronger the current. The width is the self of the river, the actual river as it "widens out" to all sides from its source. The length of the river is it’s coming down, such that even those hundreds of miles away from the river’s source can still benefit from it’s waters.

The same holds true for the "river" of Binah. The depth is the non-existence (just like by a river that you can’t see its depth), which receives from the "spring" of Hokhma. The width is the essential self of the Binah, the actual explanations, although they have not yet come down in level (through allegories and examples), but rather is just the concept as it’s been "widened" into explanations, particulars and details on the same level, like a mathematician explaining a concept to another mathematician on his own level. The length is how the explanations are brought down in level, so as to benefit those who may be distant, to the point where even a child may be able to benefit.

(Please note: In most discussions the DEPTH or KESSER is considered the essential self of any level. Rb. Mendel's system uses a slightly different approach whereby he calls the Width or Chochmah of a level its essential self. Another approach is to call the level itself of the level the essential self eg Binah of Binah or Chochmah of Chochmah. In the New improved Kabbalah Series we use the 1st and sometimes 3rd approach. These do not negate each other but are different ways of looking at the same thing - Rabbi Yossi Markel)