Chapter 1 - Part 7 The Depth, Width & Length of Daas

Before we discuss the 3 levels of Daas let us quickly recap how the 3 levels of depth, width and length are actually the self same levels of Hokhma, Binah and Daas (Kesser). Let’s go back to our basic definition of Hokhma - the essence of the concept, the "point". This is the same thing as width, the essence of a level, so width of Binah (Hokhma of Binah) is the essence of Binah, the actual Binah, the "self" of Binah.

Binah is how the concept comes down into an explanation, how the concept comes down so that it can be given over to another person. This is length, the coming down of a level to be able to affect another level.

Daas is the power of the mind to become self-nullified, to forget any other concept and focus (the powers of Hokhma and Binah) only on this concept at hand, so as to be able to receive from the Binah above it. This is the level of depth, the "non-existence", the self-nullification of banishing all else (emptying ones self and thus becoming a vessel) so as to be able to receive light, whether intellectual, spiritual or G-dly light, from the level(s) above itself.

Now that we have summarized the 3 levels, let us see how they work in the faculty of Daas. The depth of Daas is the "non-existence", the power of self-nullification that allows the mind to connect with the essence of the object of his desire (be it physical, intellectual or spiritual). This is the power that awakens the Maskil to give over to depth of Hokhma to motivate the mind to move toward that object. The width of Daas is the essential Daas, the power of focus. This is the power to withstand antagonism, as we can see by one who is extremely concentrated and completely focused on something, that he is not disturbed by noise, taunting, competition, threats, etc. Thus the term "He is a very focused person - he is not affected by antagonism."

The length of Daas is it’s coming out to affect other entities, which are the outer vessels of the desire. For example when someone wants to be rich, he ends up getting a mansion, a Cadillac, custom made clothing and other fine luxuries. Why does he get all this? These items don’t make him rich - money makes him rich! The reason he gets these things is because they are items that are connected to being rich, i.e., they are the outer vessels of the desired object (to be rich).

We can better understand this whole concept by looking at the differences between an adult and a child, for we know that an adult (hopefully) has a much longer attention span and much better concentrational powers. When a child wants something, he is usually not well connected with the object of his desires, his depth of Daas is weak - he’s not obsessed with the candy, but rather just happens to want the candy until something better comes along to entertain him. But how about an adult who has devoted his life to building a multi-million dollar corporation? His depth of Daas is much stronger, his mind is completely tied in with the object of his desires; it is an obsession. And as we said before, the depth of Daas is the regulator of the width and length of Daas. So an adult, because of his strong depth of Daas, also has a strong width - the ability to withstand antagonism. He may face financial challenges, tax audits, competitors, angry clients and vendors, etc., yet he remains unfazed. His width of Daas is strong. A child, however, when he faces antagonism, backs down and changes the object of his desire. I see this by my 2-year-old son. Although a very smart boy, he is but a child and as such, has a weak (depth and therefore) width of Daas. One minute he may want one toy, the next minute a different toy and the 3rd minute a candy. A child cannot connect completely with the object of his desire, because his Daas is not fully developed. Thus children appear to be selfish beings, because they don’t have the focus to be able to self nullify themselves to accomplish a greater goal. So we see that by the adult who has a stronger depth of Daas, that his capacity to endure adversity, his width of Daas is stronger. The same holds true for the length of Daas, which as we said before, is the power of creating vessels for the desire. When my son wants a toy, all he wants is that toy. He can think of nothing but that toy. The entrepreneur, however, wants not only the corporation that he is building, but also all of the accessories, so to speak. He wants the company Cadillac, the house, the tailored suits, the company mansion and anything else that goes along with being a successful corporate head. He wants many vessels with which he can show to himself and others that his success can be rated by. It’s not enough for him that he knows that he has successfully attained the object of his desire. He must have the outer vessels, because due to his strong depth of Daas, he has a strong length of Daas, which as we’ve just explained is the need for outer vessels to his original desire. In other words he needs expression of his desire, for what is the Cadillac if not an expression of his success (which is his original desire, not the Cadillac).

I think it important to note that in this allegory, even by an adult, it ultimately comes down to selfishness, albeit a somewhat more sophisticated selfishness than the child wanting candy. For even though he has the self-nullification to put off his momentary desires (like those to sleep late, take it easy, etc.) for a higher desire, it still comes down to "me" - self-gratification. In the analog however, namely the focus of the mind and the self nullification to the end of understanding and meditating on G-d, there can not be any physical type of selfishness, there can be no "me". If one is to succeed in truly understanding how to meditate and what to meditate on, there can be only one type of selfishness and this is the selfishness of the essence of the soul, the desire to be closer to G-d. Now this is not to say that if you’re reading for ulterior motives (like for purely intellectual or philosophical) that you should stop reading, for as it states in Torah "Thru that which is not for it’s own sake (learning for ulterior motives), you come to (learn for) it’s own sake." As the Hassidic Masters explain, one cannot learn Kabbalah without it having a positive effect on him. Even if ones original intentions are less than 100% pure, through the learning of the Hassidic teachings, his heart will eventually be made pure to the point where he will eventually study for only one purpose - to become closer to G-d.

Another way to explain this is that Daas is the attention span and interest - One with long Daas has a long attention span while one with short Daas has a short attention span. of course the interest in a subject affects the attention span. A wide Daas means an interest and therefore attention in many different subjects.

(Please note: . Rb. Mendel's system uses a slightly different approach than the New Improved Kabbalah Series. These do not negate each other but are different ways of looking at the same thing and actually complement each other - Rabbi Yossi Markel)