The Alter Rebbe now moves from the emotional faculties (middot) back to their source. He explains that all the emotions and modes of serving Hashem discussed previously originate in the intellectual faculties:
Chochmah, Binah, and Da’at (Chabad).
This is a fundamental principle of Chabad: the emotions are born from understanding.
- Chochmah: The Initial Perception
The Alter Rebbe defines Chochmah as:
The faculty through which a person grasps Hashem, His wisdom, His greatness, and His attributes.
At this stage, a person has an initial insight or perception of a Divine truth.
It is not yet fully developed or analyzed.
- Binah: Expanding the Idea
Binah is:
Reflecting on that insight in length, breadth, and depth.
A person takes the flash of understanding from Chochmah and develops it.
He examines it, explores its implications, and arrives at a fuller comprehension.
This is the meaning of:
“להבין דבר מתוך דבר“
“Understanding one thing from another.”
- Emotions Are Born from Contemplation
The purpose of Binah is not merely intellectual knowledge.
The goal is that the understanding should produce emotions.
The Alter Rebbe writes that contemplation gives birth to:
- Love of Hashem
- Fear of Hashem
- And all the other spiritual emotions
of the Divine soul.
- Different Contemplations Produce Different Emotions
The Alter Rebbe explains that different aspects of Hashem’s greatness arouse different responses.
For example:
Lower Fear (Yirah Tata’ah)
Reflecting on Hashem’s kingship and authority can awaken:
- Awe
- Fear
- Submission
This relates to Malchut.
Higher Fear (Yirah Ila’ah)
A deeper perception of Divine greatness produces:
- Reverence
- Humility
- A sense of shame before His greatness
Love
Other forms of contemplation arouse:
- Great love (Ahavah Rabbah)
- Lesser love (Ahavah Zuta)
Depending on the nature of the understanding.
- Da’at: The Key That Makes It Real
After Chochmah and Binah comes Da’at.
The Alter Rebbe gives a very important definition:
Da’at means attachment and connection.
A person may understand an idea intellectually.
But unless he is emotionally connected to it, it will not affect him.
Da’at is what binds the soul to the idea.
- Why Emotions Disappear
The Alter Rebbe gives a practical psychological insight:
If a person stops focusing on the idea,
the emotion fades.
The love or fear does not disappear completely, but returns to a hidden state.
Why?
Because the emotion depends on Da’at maintaining the connection between the soul and the idea.
Without that connection, the emotion loses its active expression.
- Why Marriage Is Called “Da’at”
The Alter Rebbe notes that Scripture uses the word:
“ידע“ (to know)
for marital union.
Why?
Because Da’at means connection and bonding.
Just as Da’at joins the mind to an idea, so too it expresses deep attachment and union.
- Two Levels of Da’at
The Alter Rebbe distinguishes between:
Lower Da’at (Da’at Tachton)
The Da’at that extends into the emotions.
Its role is:
- To animate the emotions.
- To sustain them.
- To keep love and fear alive and active.
Higher Da’at (Da’at Elyon)
This precedes the emotions.
It connects:
- Chochmah (the flash of insight)
- To Binah (expanded understanding)
An idea first appears as a point, like:
“a flash of lightning.”
Da’at Elyon holds onto that insight and allows it to develop into a full understanding.
- The Flow of the Soul
The structure now becomes clear:
- Chochmah – the initial insight.
- Da’at Elyon – the connection that develops the insight.
- Binah – expanded understanding.
- Da’at Tachton – attachment to that understanding.
- Middot – the resulting love, fear, kindness, awe, and other emotions.
Key Takeaway
The Alter Rebbe teaches that the Divine soul’s emotions do not arise independently. They are born from contemplation of Hashem’s greatness. Chochmah provides the insight, Binah develops it, and Da’at creates a living connection to it. Only through Da’at does understanding become genuine love, fear, and devotion to Hashem.