Utilizing Your Da'as - 02 Deciding

(Summary of Previous Chapter:We have begun, with Hashem’s help, to explain the power of our da’as. We have briefly explained the three uses of our da’as – for havdalah (differentiating), for hachraah (deciding), and for chibbur (connecting knowledge). Previously we explained how to use daas for havdalah, differentiating. Now we will explain how to use daas for hachraah, deciding.

We have three mental abilities – Chochmah, Binah and Daas. Chochmah is to see the information we learn from our teachers. Binah is to compare that information, and Daas, as we explained thus far, is to differentiate between the Chochmah and the Binah.)

Daas D’Hachraah – Deciding Between Chochmah and Binah

Now we will address the second aspect of da’as, which is daas d’hachraah, deciding.

One’s chochmahsees the information he has received from his teachers, and his binah analyzes the chochmah for further understanding.  The da’as can decide between the information. This is called daas d’hachraah – using our da’as to “decide.”

We will explain here how to use daas d’hachraah to decide between the information of your chochmah and the information of your binah.

Da’as In Relation To Higher Binah and Lower Binah

When a person is only at the stage of mochin d’katnus (his mind is still at the immature level), he compares things that are really not similar. To counter this problem, we need daas d’havdalah to see differences.

Binah, when used through the lower level of the mind, compares two facts that bear no similarity, yet the person compares them through his imagination. We can use our daas d’havdalah to take apart the imagination [as explained in the previous chapter].

Comparing information through the higher use of our binah is done through mental reflection, as opposed to visualization or imagination. When our binah is analyzing the information through mental reflection, this requires more subtle work to refine it; this is when we compare things which indeed are similar, and it is harder to notice differences in such scenarios. This is the higher kind of binah – when we compare things that are similar. It needs a higher kind of daas to refine it.

So our lower binah [or medameh, or tevunah] makes comparisons that are not really similar, either through the means of visualization or imagination, and not through mental reflection. But our higher binah compares things which indeed are similar, through mental reflection. It’s a more subtle kind of medameh, and using daas d’havdalah alone won’t be able to take it apart and show us the differences.

Lower binah works in tandem with medameh\imagination, while higher binah is more of a logical presumption. Our lower binah leads us to compare things that are not similar at all, while our higher binah leads us to compares thing that indeed look similar.

We know that no two things are exactly the same, because Chazal say that all faces and all de’os (opinions) are different[1]. Therefore, just because two things appear to the same doesn’t mean that they are the same. So even when A and B are very similar, we need to see how they are different.

When we analyze one kind of logic and compare it to another kind of logic, we can find how they are very similar at first glance, but upon deeper reflection, we can see how the two points we have compared are really different.

Previously, we dealt with how to use daas d’havdalah to counter medameh\lower binah, which is how to see differences in things that are indeed very different from each other; too see both the similarities and the differences between A and B. Our lower medameh\lower binah (or tevunah) tells us that A and B are similar, whereas our higher binah\higher medameh is aware that A and B are different, and here we don’t need daas to show us the differences. Here the binah itself is aware of the differences between A and B.

In the morning blessings, we thank Hashem for giving the rooster the ability of binah to differentiate between night and day. Where do we ever find that binah can differentiate? The Talmud Yerushalmi says that “if there is no daas, there is no Havdalah”, so it seems that only daas can separate. But we also find that the rooster has binah to differentiate between night and day. So what differentiates – our daas, or our binah?

The answer is, it depends on if we are dealing with the lower or higher mode of thought. In the lower mode of thought, our binah cannot differentiate, and only our daas here can differentiate. In the higher mode of thought, even the binah can differentiate (and this is the kind of binah that the rooster has).

Thus, havdalah (differentiation) can happen either through our daas or our binah. So there is “daas d’havdalah” as well as “binah d’havdalah”.

The Difference Between Daas D’Havdalah and Binah D’Havdalah

What is the difference between these two kinds of havdalah?

Daas d’havdalah comes to differentiate between something that was originally a total medameh, something that was completely false. Binah d’havdalah – which is really higher binah – already sees the differences between A and B and is aware of them; so here the medameh did not begin as a complete falsity. Rather, the binah comes to notice between the very subtle differences that are contained in the medameh.

This is essentially the difference as well between the lower state of the mind (mochin d’katnus) and higher state of mind (mochin d’gadlus). A child is entirely in mochin d’katnus; he only has lower binah, so he is found in total medameh, and as he matures, he develops some daas. His original perception is total medameh, and then he gains daas which he can use to take apart his medameh. An adult can access his higher state of mind, in which his initial perception of medameh is not a total medameh and his binah is aware that there is medameh which it needs to sort out.

Initial Perspective and Second Perspective

In simpler terms, this can be explained in terms of your “initial perspective” (“mabat rishon”) and your “second perspective” (“mabat sheini”).

When it comes to mochin d’katnus, the lower state of mind, the “initial perspective” of the mind is a “total” level of imagination, and the “second perspective” that then comes to the mind can take apart the imagination.

When it comes to mochin d’gadlus, the “initial outlook” is only a “partial” kind of medameh; part of the information in the medameh has made an erroneous comparison between A and B, and the other part of the information in the medameh has made a correct comparison. A “second perspective” in the mind can then take the comparison apart, separating between what is “medameh” (imagined) and what isn’t medameh.

Daas D’Hachraah: The Power of Bechirah\Choosing

What is daas d’hachraah, when we use our daas to “decide”?

The simple understanding of it is that it is essentially our power of bechirah, choosing.

A child doesn’t access his bechirah, even though he can have some daas. He can have daas d’havdalah, but he has no daas d’hachraah yet. Chochmah, binah and daas are not fully accessed by someone unless he is over 13, where he becomes a “bar daas”, to be capable of sensible thinking; in other words, one who has bechirah. Before 13 years of age, a child is not a “bar daas”. The Sages state that a child can still have “daas purta” – a “little bit” of daas – because he can have daas d’havdalah, but he can’t have daas d’hachraah.

As a person gets older, he gains daas d’havdalah, by default; but he doesn’t always gain daas d’hachraah, which is the power of bechirah.

Deciding, hachraah, is really the power to choose, bechirah. Whenever you decide something, this is enabled because you have the ability to choose.

Two Sources of Decisions: The Mind and The Will

There are two kinds of hachraah (decisions). The elementary kind of hachraah is deciding how to act in the practical sense, but here we are dealing with our soul’s power to decide; this has two sources to it.

One kind of deciding is coming from our ratzon (will), and this equates with using our bechirah (power of free choice).

The second kind of deciding comes from our mochin (mind), which means to mentally weigh out information (shikul hadaas) and then decide. This is when you see two options in front of you and you have to decide; this does not test your bechirah [or ratzon]; rather, it tests your mind (mochin). You can use your daas to be machria (decide) if you will stick with A or B. This is called shikul hadaas - weighing out information with your daas.

So there are two kinds of hachraah (deciding): a decision coming from either your will\ratzon, which is really your bechirah; or a decision that comes from your mind\mochin, which is really your ability of shikul hadaas.

Deciding Through The Mind: Mental Decisions

We will begin to explain hachraah of our mochin. Mental deciding is for a person to decide between two options: “There are two options. Which one is the one that makes more sense? A, or B?”

For example, we bring a question in front of two people, and we ask them both if A makes more sense or if B makes more sense. One person decides A, and another person decides B.

Every argument that ever takes place (when we argue about Torah) is like this. The first argument in our history was about if semichah (leaning the hands on an animal to sanctify it) on Yom Tov is permissible or not. Ever since then, all arguments about Torah discussions began. These are matters in which we use our mochin\mind to decide upon. Each Sage has a different hachraah.

If someone lacks daas, he has a superficial viewpoint on how to approach two different options. He thinks: “What I decide is right, and what the other decides is false.” Such a person might have daas d’havdalah, but he has not yet developed his daas d’hachraah. In his mind, what he decides is the truth, therefore, what the other one says is false. When he differentiates and decides, he thinks he is differentiating between “true” or “false”.

But if someone develops the ability daas d’hachraah, his thinking is more mature. When he decides A and his friend decides B, he doesn’t view his friend as having the “wrong” opinion. Rather, he feels his mind drawn towards deciding A, and that this is the opinion he will decide on; but he does not have the attitude someone who decides B is wrong. He is aware that both points are valid, and it is just that he has to decide between A and B, but not because deciding on A will “invalidate” B.

“Their words and their words are the words of the living G-d.”[2] This was said about Beis Hillel and Beis Shamai, who always argued, but it applies to all arguments of our Sages (as the Maharal has written). This statement is really describing the power of daas d’hachraah – that even when a person decides between A and B, it’s not because he’s invalidating the other option.

When a person uses his daas d’havdalah, his decision means that he’s deciding with A and invalidating B. But when a person uses daas d’hachraah, although he’s deciding upon A, he is not invalidating B. It’s a huge difference. Only of those who use daas d’hachraah can it be applied “Their words, and their words, are the words of the living G-d.”

When people argue, and they invalidate the other one’s opinion because they decide on a certain way, this means that they have not yet developed their daas d’hachraah.

Of course, even when one has daas d’havdalah, sometimes he will also have to invalidate others’ views, and this is true when it is indeed apparent that the other view is false. There are indeed false views out there.

But if someone always feels that his decisions are right and that all who argue on him are always wrong, you can know that he is only the level of daas d’havdalah, and he has never reached his daas d’hachraah. When he decides, he only makes use of havdalah, not hachraah. (There is some small degree of hachraah involved in every decision, of course, even when it’s only the level of havdalah and not hachraah; but this is not enough to be considered using the power of daas d’hachraah).

This is the major difference between daas d’havdalah and daas d’havdalah. When someone has only developed his lower level of thought (mochin d’katnus), all his decisions are only coming from daas d’havdalah. When someone works his way up to the higher level of thought, his decisions come from daas d’hachraah. Sometimes the decisions will still be coming from his daas d’havdalah, but mostly, from his daas d’hachraah. He decides between A and B, but he still realizes that they are both valid options.

With daas d’havdalah, a person disregards an assumption (hava amina) in the Gemara after he has learned the conclusion (maskanah). A person with daas d’hachraah, even after he has seen the conclusion of the Gemara, is still aware that the assumption of the Gemara contained validity.

So daas d’havdalah means that when I decide what’s right, the other option is always wrong. Daas d’hachraah means that even when I decide what I think is right, I still value the other opinion that argued on how I thought. A hint to this is that the word “hachraah” (deciding) comes from the word “erech”, “value” – that even when I decide, I still value the view that opposes me; that when someone argues with my view, I can still have respect him and his views, even though I do not agree with him.

Daas d’hachraah can only be accessed in the higher level of our mind, mochin d’gadlus. (Higher than this is daas d’chibbur, which is a level of ruach hakodesh). When one uses daas d’hachraah, he decides between A and B, and since his decision is not stemming from havdalah, rather from hachraah, he recognizes that his hachraah doesn’t have to make him feel separated from those who argue with him.

Refining Your Initial Understanding

Now we will get to the deeper ramifications of this concept.

Chochmah is the knowledge that one has seen and accepted from his teachers. Binah is to analyze what I have learned by comparing and understanding the information of the chochmah. But what is the role of daas d’hachraah? Why must I decide between the information, when I have already accepted the information (chochmah) and analyzed it (binah)? What needs to be ‘decided’ upon?

When I compare information using binah, I am using my own logic. I do not compare using the knowledge of my teachers, which is chochmah; I use my binah, my own logic, to compare the information I have learned. When I use my own logic, I am really using medameh, imagination. The information contained in the medameh always contains two options in it: the teacher’s understanding about the knowledge imparted, and the student’s understanding of what his teacher has said. We receive chochmah from the teacher, but we do not receive our medameh from a teacher. The understanding from the student’s medameh is his own novelty, and he did not get this part from his teacher.

This is where the role of “hachraah” (deciding) comes in. A person can use his power of hachraah in an ever deeper way than what was described until now – he can decide between what he has actually learned from his teacher, with what was just imagined from his own understanding. He can use daas d’hachraah to carefully discern which knowledge is the actual chochmah that his teacher imparted to him, and which parts of the information were deduced on his own binah\medameh.

This is the depth of the words of the Sages that “one does not understand his teacher’s daas until after 40 years”, in conjunction with the statement of the Sages that “at forty years, a person gains binah (understanding)”. Here is the secret behind the entire concept of binah: before 40 years, you can understand the chochmah of your teacher, and after 40 years, you can know the daas of the teacher; but in order to get to your teacher’s daas, you first need to get to his binah. You get to the teacher’s binah using your own binah; how? Through the power of daas d’hachraah. It is to discern between what I personally understand, with what the teacher actually imparted.

At that point, what exactly does one have to decide? I have to decide if the chochmah I have received from my teacher, which contains his binah, is perhaps being understood all along from only from my medameh!

To illustrate the concept, a student might think that has succeeding in comparing and understanding the knowledge he received from his teacher, but if the teacher is asked about the comparison his student made, the teacher might respond that it’s not an accurate comparison. We find all the time that there were arguments in the Gemara between student and teacher.

So the depth of daas d’hachraah is to decide what of the knowledge was accurately compared, and which of the information was not accurately compared (thus it came from my own medameh]; to analyze the information of the chochmah that one received from his teacher.

We are discussing daas d’hachraah, which can only be developed after one has reached higher binah - someone who already has gotten used to seeing differentiations in his comparisons. What is the role of daas d’hachraah, then? The binah knows what is similar and what is not similar. But that was only from my own binah, my own logic. Now I have another step: to discern if something came from my own logic or from my teacher.

This is the depth behind how after 40 years a person receives binah – the power to really compare information. After 40 years a person can gain binah, not Chochmah. The first 40 years are for knowing the Chochmah of one’s teacher, and after 40 years, the binah-understanding towards the chochmah begins. Until 40 years, my binah comes from myself, which is really medameh. A student is supposed to be meivin m’daato”[3] – someone who understands from within himself – and this is how he perceives the chochmah of his teacher. After 40 years, the student can now receive the binah\medameh of his teacher. After 40 years, it is now the avodah of the student to gain binah – to decide between his own binah, and the binah of his teacher. (After that a person can ascend to the higher level, which is daas d’chibbur; we will not get into this point right now).

Before 40 years, a person can’t do this, because he doesn’t have daas d’hachraah. You can’t decide on something you never dealt with. Before 40 years, you decide if your own binah is correct or not, but you don’t understand it completely until after 40 years. [4]

So after 40 years, the avodah of the student is to try to understand how the teacher came to use binah to deduce the understanding of the information. In order to know this, a person needs to make use of constant daas d’hachraah for this. It is to constantly decide not only between what’s chochmah and what’s binah, but to decide between two kinds of binah; (it is also called deciding between binah and tevunah). It is to differentiate between what my teacher understood with what I understand from myself. (What I understand from myself is tevunah, which is called “bas binah”, the “daughter of binah.”)

Daas d’hachraah thus decides between chochmah and binah, and some describe this as deciding within binah itself – to decide between what is the real binah of my teacher, and what is my own binah, which is tevunah.

What am I deciding between, when I decide between two binah­­­ thoughts? There are two parts to it: what my teacher actually understood, and what I personally understand.

To know the difference between what my teacher said and what I understand, it takes subtle thinking, and this is essentially the power of daas d’hachraah. It is not about seeing how A and B are similar and different. It is rather about what I have understood from my teacher’s words: Would my teacher agree with the comparison I made, or would he disagree with me?

This can only come after you are already clear how A and B are similar and different, which is viewed through your higher binah. After you have reached that kind of thinking, now comes the role of daas d’hachraah, which is to use your “shikul hadaas” - to weight out the information and see if the very comparison you made was even an accurate comparison to begin with.

“Shikul hadaas” of your “daas d’hachraah” is not something that can be written about or expressed about. Daas d’havdalah can be written down, because you can write down how A and B are similar and different. But daas d’hachraah is entirely a kind of “shikul hadaas”, which is a subtle discerning you can make in your mind, thus, it cannot be written down or expressed about. It is to decide in your own mind between a binah-thought and tevunah-thought. Binah is what my teacher said, and tevunah is how I understand what he said; this is daas d’hachraah.[5]

Deciding Because of What You Want

Now we will explain about the other source for decisions: when your decision comes from your ratzon (will), which isalso using your power of bechirah. Here, the decision is, that you decide what you want.

Part of our decisions comes from mochin (the mind). Chazal say that when a person sins, a ruach shtus (spirit of folly) enters him.[6] The meaning of this is that the person loses his chochmah, and that is why he sins; this implies that normally, when a person has his chochmah intact, he can have proper decisions. Thus, hachraah comes from our chochmah, which is in our mochin\mind.  The Ramchal as well writes that a person is machria (decisive when it comes to analytical thinking) using his power of chochmah.

But there is also hachraah that comes from our ratzon (will). This when a person is aware of two options, A and B, and because he wants A over B, that is why he decides upon A. This is a deeper kind of hachraah; it is to be machria what my ratzon is.

One’s ratzon is really the mechanics behind his binah. How can I use binah if I haven’t received it from my teachers? How can I ever understand something through my Binah? When I use my binah to compare and understand, I am understanding based on what I want, which is really “shochad” in the soul - mental bribery. I am understanding what I want to understand. Binah stems from my ratzon, which can get swayed. Thus, I have to decide if what my binah is telling me is correct or not.

There is a kind of person who has no shikul hadaas at all. He never makes any use of his binah; he doesn’t understand what his teacher said or what another teacher said. He understands things through binah solely because he feels inclined to understand A, and not B. A person can come up with all kinds of rationalizations even when he’s deciding what the halacha should be, and this can come from shochad; this is a well-known concept that our Rabbis wrote about.

Thus, hachraah is needed to discern what the reason is that I made the comparison - if it is coming from my ratzon to understand it a certain way, which is biased on my personal feeling coming from my ratzon, or if it is coming from my mochin, the actual chochmah which I received from my teacher.

This is what one needs to ask oneself: “Why do I understand something in a certain way? Why do I feel more inclined to choose A over B?”

Becoming Aware of The Personal Motives In Your Thinking

Most people understand things based on personal feeling, tainted with some personal agenda that’s causing them to think in a certain direction: “negios” (ulterior motivations).

Most people, in general, are still at the level of lower binah, so they need daas d’havdalah to sort out their mind. But bnei Torah, who are involved all day with their mochin and are thus regularly involved with higher binah, can still be very affected by “negios”. Even our greatest Gedolim always suspected that perhaps their understanding was coming from their “negios”, from some personal ratzon that was pulling them to think in a certain direction.

To counter this deeper kind of problem, we need to use a deeper kind of hachraah: we need to decide if our ratzon is good or not. This enables us to access our binah which can help us see if the ratzon is pure or not.

When you see an option in front of you, it appears a certain way; you feel inclined after A over B. That’s what you binah tells you. Your daas d’hachraah tells you, “True, it appears that Option A makes more sense than Option B. But what is the reason that’s making you be drawn after Option A? Are you concerned what the truth is - or do you have some personal motivation that is making you inclined after this?”

This is really the secret behind our bechirah. The simple use of our bechirah is to choose to do the mitzvos, so there are many ways we use our bechirah. But the depth of bechirah is to choose if I’m choosing something because I am seeking the truth, or because some personal interest is leading me to choose this.[7]

Thus, daas d’hachraah can stem from our very mind\mochin, and this is the lower use of hachraah. A higher kind of hachraah is coming from our bechirah, essentially our power of ratzon, which is also within our mochin. We will not get into the broader discussion about bechirah; we are rather discussing daas d’hachraah stemming from our bechirah.

The idea of this is to discern what kind of thought you are having. When you are thinking about A and B and you are trying to decide which of them is the truth, ask yourself if it is coming from your chochmah, binah or daas - or if it is perhaps stemming from some “negios”.

As we know, chochmah is what one received from his teachers, and binah is when a person begins to think about the chochmah. The chochmah is the original understanding of information; once you activate your binah, though, there can be “negios” involved. Thus, before you begin to think into the chochmah, first use your daas, by “cleaning yourself” off from any “negios”, and only after that should you use binah. So when you begin to think into the information you have learned, first think from a fresh place in yourself – start over your thought process from scratch, as if you’ve never seen A and B. Then, think into it again and analyze it as usual.

The Purified Thinking Process: First Chochmah, Then Daas, Then Binah

So there are two totally different ways to begin thinking about something. The way that most people are familiar with is to first see the chochmah, and then they think into it and analyze it, which is binah. After that, a person will look back at what he has learned and understood and now attempt to see why he thought the way he did, to see if perhaps he had any “negios” involved in how he thought. This is daas - to analyze the chochmah and binah.

The order that people are inclined to go in is chochmah-binah-daas. But we have described here a deeper way to begin the approach: first see the chochmah, then use your daas – and only after that should you use your binah.  Beginning with daas, as opposed to beginning with binah, is a much deeper approach to use when you think.

When you begin with chochmah and then you use binah (which you are naturally inclined to do), you are really learning the Gemara through your own logic. It’s much harder to refresh your thoughts after this and to try thinking from a fresh, clean place in your mind. There is an opposite approach you can take, which is deeper: you can start with chochmah, the thinking you received from your teachers, and then, use your daas to clarify if you are thinking from a pure place in yourself or not.

For example, you are learning a halacha. What is the first thing you do? Instead of first clarifying what the halacha is and then trying to remove your “negios” from how you may be thinking, instead, first ask yourself if you have any “negios” in the first place when it comes to this halacha. Maybe you are inclined to arrive at a certain conclusion, for whatever personal reason you have. Then, after making this clarification with yourself, you can begin to learn the halacha and clarify it.  

So the clarification you need to make is: to see if your binah is coming from a pure place in yourself, or if it is stemming from your “negios” (which you are indeed trying to purify.) If you don’t discover any “negios”, then your binah will be more accurate as you learn Torah. If you become aware that you did have “negios” to start out with, then you know that you can’t rely on your binah as you are learning Torah.

Two Uses of Bechirah: Havdalah and Hachraah

On a deeper level, mankind is charged with the task of rectifying thesin with the “Eitz HaDaas Tov V’Ra” (the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil),[8] and it can be rectified both on a lower level as well on a higher level, using our abilities of havdalah and hachraah.

The lower level of rectifying it is when we use “Havdalah”: when we separate the “tov” (good) and the “ra” (evil) from each other; when we choose good over evil. The higher way to rectify the Eitz HaDaas is through “hachraah”: to be “machria” between one kind of “tov” and another kind of “tov”.

In other words, there is a concept of choosing between good and evil, and our avodah in this is to use our bechirah to choose good over evil. That is all but the lower aspect of our bechirah. The higher aspect of our bechirah is to purify our motivations - even when we are doing something good. In this way, we choose between tov and tov - and we choose a higher kind of tov. This is the depth behind the concept of hachraah: to be machria between tov and tov, when we purify our inner motivations.

After the sin, a daas ra (“evil daas” – a mixture of good and evil) entered the world. Since Chavah was the one who sinned, and women mainly use binah and not chochmah, there was a damage done to the power of binah in the world; so binah can become infected by “negios”. Our avodah is now to restore our chochmah, which in turn refines binah, and then we can properly rely on binah.

The Difference Between Deciding Through Mind or Will

So there are two systems of hachraah: deciding through our mochin\mind, and deciding through our ratzon\will.

Our daas d’havdalah can be used to practically differentiate between chochmah and binah, and this is just its superficial use, because it differentiates between our lower chochmah and lower binah.

As for our higher chochmah and binah, they need to be sorted out through the higher use of daas, which is daas d’hachraah. This is a deeper power than daas d’havdalah. It is a hachraah that makes use of our soul – namely, our mochin\mind, and our ratzon\will.

As we explained, the hachraah we utilize through our mochin\mind is to decide what I think, but I still validate the other. This kind of hachraah does not involve any havdalah, for it does not separate me from the opposing view. In actuality, it is to follow what I decide, but I can still validate the opinion of the other person who argues with my decision; so there is no havdalah created here.

Hachraah through my ratzon\will is to decide what my ratzon is. Unlike hachraah of mochin, this kind of hachraah involves a Havdalah, because in deciding to choose A, I am separating myself from B.

So hachraah from the mochin is really about connection; I hold one way, but I am still connected to the other view. Hachraah of ratzon is that I decide between true and false.

A person should not approach hachraah of his ratzon with the same approach he has towards hachraah of his mochin, because that would bring down his higher kind of hachraah (ratzon) to the level of lower hachraah (mochin). When we use hachraah of ratzon, it is about havdalah, and when we use hachraah of mochin, the purpose is not havdalah.

We must not confuse their roles. Hachraah on my ratzon is about havdalah – it is about separating myself from a ratzon that is inappropriate. Hachraah of mochin is not about havdalah; it is so that I can decide if I will act upon A or B, and it is not about invalidating the other option I don’t choose.

So when it comes to using daas d’hachraah of mochin, there are two valid options, A and B, and I decide how to act, but I am not trying to invalidate the other option.  But in daas d’hachraah on my ratzon, I am deciding to separate myself from the other ratzon.

Deciding What The Proper Ratzon Is

It is written, “Wisdom is found in ayin (nothingness)” - the source of all of one’s chochmah is called “ayin”, a “nothingness”, a hidden source. It is also identified by our Rabbis as the innermost “ratzon” (will), because ratzon is initially hidden from the person. So the ratzon is really the source of our chochmah; our chochmah is drawn from it.

Thus, when I use daas d’hachraah to decide which ratzon I should follow, I need to separate myself from the evil contained in my ratzon.

Today and The Future

In the future when all evil will cease, there will be no need for daas d’havdalah to choose between good and evil. Our bechirah will entirely be daas d’hachraah, to choose between one kind of good and other good, and we will be machria between them. But until then, as we live currently, we still cannot use daas d’hachraah alone, and we need to make use of daas d’havdalah. between good and evil.

In today’s times, most of the bechirah going on in the world is used on a simpler level: choosing between good and evil. “Hachraah” is mainly accessed these days to choose between good and evil, which is really havdalah.

Purifying The Mind From Ulterior Motivations

The more a person gets used to using daas d’hachraah over his retzonos (various desires), the more his mind is purified, and this also refines his chochmah and binah. He uses his daas to separate himself from evil retzonos, and his daas purifies the mind with the more a person gets used to this. In turn, his chochmah and binah will get refined and sharpened from this.

The superficial motive of why people want to improve the mind is to “sharpen” the mind and become smarter. But the inner reason of why we must develop and improve our mind is to purify our ratzon\will that leads it.

The more a person accesses his point of ayin, which is by separating himself from a ratzon that is evil, the more chochmah he will gain as a result. The less he separates from evil retzonos, the less refined his chochmah will be, because the entire chochmah in a person gets its source from ayin\ratzon. Using daas d’hachraah towards our ratzon gives a person a new mind entirely – it gives a person much clearer understandings because it refines the mind.

This is how daas purifies the binah and improves it. (Later we will deal with the higher part of the mind, which is ruach hakodesh - a flow of chochmah from above the mind.) Some people have a flow of thought from binah, and some people’s thoughts flow from chochmah. By accessing our daas d’hachraah, it can purify our binah and this in turn improves our chochmah.

The more a person purifies his daas, he becomes like the “nekiyei hadaas of Jerusalem”; those whose minds were cleansed from any impurities. Our daas gets its strength from our ratzon; when we cleanse the ratzon - when we cleanse our various “negios” (ulterior motivations) – we then gain daas. The Mesillas Yesharim describes this as the trait of “nekiyus” (inner cleanliness): to be free from “negios”; to purify the ratzon. This, in turn, refines one’s binah.

We have discussed here daas d’hachraah; we will hopefully progress in the next chapter, with Hashem’s help, to discuss “daas d’chibbur”.