If someone were to ask you, “Who are you?” How would you answer?Would you respond with your name?Would you point at your body, a flesh and blood entity?Would you answer that you’re a spiritual being and that you have a soul?Would you describe yourself regarding your family, your occupation, your culture or your values?
While each of these descriptors would be an accurate response to the question, they are not the most precise answer. You have a body, you have a mind, you have skills and relationships, but these things are not, in essence, you. When the sages tell us that אדם is the roshei tevot (acronym) of “דע מה אני”, they are saying that we need to understand what it is to experience “I,” the fundamental self independent of our external trappings. Myriad sources point us to the answer that there is something deeper that sits very still and quiet, behind all these descriptions of who we are, something that defines our identity. It is our awareness. More specifically, it is our conscious, awakened awareness, called da’at. Some refer to this as our sechel. Regardless of the word we use, the process of comprehending and acknowledging that we have a deeper self that observes and is conscious of everything happening within us and around us, and aware of Hashem’s presence, is the key to personal growth and success.In order to develop our da’at, it is imperative to understand the architecture of the soul, to examine the various parts of human experience and how they contribute to our perception of reality. A Bat Kol calls out every day (Pirkei Avot 6:2), but most of us don’t hear it because of the cacophony of physical sensations, emotional responses, and mental processes calling for our attention. Without awareness, we function from habit and reaction. We struggle to embody our deepest values, beliefs, and priorities, so we live with dissonance and a lack of clarity. There are several sources worth reviewing now that demonstrate this tool has been with us for a very long time:
- In Bereisheet 24:21 we read “The man was astonished at her, reflecting silently to know (לדעת)…” On this verse, Onkelos comments that Eliezer was looking silently/observing (da’at).
- In Nedarim 41a, Rashi quips that one who has da’at has everything. One who lacks da’at has nothing.
- Rabbeinu Yonah on the Riff, Brachot chapter 5 comments that the bracha of chonen hada’at in the amida allows us to experience the exalted quality of menucha.
- Midrash Rabbah (seder Vayikra, 1:15) states that a carcass is better than a chacham, a wise person, who does not have da’at.
Our sages go on to say that the quality of our awareness determines the quality of our life. With wisdom, guidance, and practice, we may learn to quiet the noise that is drowning out our da’at so that we can reveal Hashem’s light in this world in the ideal state of simcha, ahavah, and oneg. Imagine a world populated by ba’alei da’at (masters of da’at), and you are imagining the world of Yemot HaMashiach.
