Source 4 · Hasidic
VerifiedMaggid Devarav LeYa'akov – The Maggid of Mezeritch
מגיד דבריו ליעקב א׳
Maggid Devarav leYaakov 1
The Maggid teaches that binah represents the expansive analytical unfolding of a concept, while da'at is the cleaving (devekut) of the mind to its object — da'at is not merely knowing about something but being united with it, echoing the biblical usage of 'da'at' as intimate union.
תפלתו פירש התדבקותו בהקב"ה עגולה פירש פעמים שהוא דבוק בקב"ה ופעמים אינו כמו גלגל שמתגלגל מסתמא אינו מקושר בקב"ה אינו מצוה לשון התחברות כמו צוותא.
Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, takes pleasure due to the actions of Israel, fattening the bones, meaning that He nourishes and delights His own essence in the chamber, which is He Himself.
Why it matters — Provides an early Chassidic perspective on the key distinction: binah as development and da'at as unitive cleaving.
Source 5 · Hasidic
VerifiedKedushat Levi – Parashat Bereshit
קדושת לוי, בראשית, בראשית א׳
Kedushat Levi, Genesis, Bereshit 1
Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev discusses the connection between da'at and devekut (cleaving to God), explaining that da'at is the faculty by which a person's awareness becomes so absorbed in the divine that it transcends analytical processing — a state beyond binah.
והוא כלול מהכל ולכן כשאדם בא לאין ויודע שהוא אינו כלום רק הבורא ברוך הוא נותן בו כח אז מכנה להשם יתברך בשם בחינת יוצר דהיינו לשון הוה שגם עתה הוא יוצר. אכן כשאדם מסתכל בעצמו ואינו מסתכל באין אז הוא במדריגות יש אז מכנה להבורא ברוך הוא רק בחינת יצר, דהיינו שברא אותו כבר ולכן אנו אומרים אשר יצר את האדם בחכמה דחכמה הוא מדריגת יש.
This explains why the Ari z’al , Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, said that when we refer to G’d as ה' מלך, usually translated as “Hashem is King,” the reference is to the אין, “nothing,” i.e. G’d at any given moment gives us life, -by not withdrawing it from us.- The implied meaning of the expression is that man is “nothing” unless he continues to exist as part of G’d’s creative activity. The so-called אין, “nothing,” in terms of metaphysical beings, rules supreme in the regions beyond those that are part of the physical universe, the one that we conveniently refer to as “nature.” This so-called אין, is not really a “nothing,” in terms of the universe
Why it matters — Offers a Chassidic perspective on da'at as transcendent union vs. binah as the analytical, developmental stage of understanding.
Source 6 · Hasidic
Verifiedrecovered from “Tanya 3”
Tanya – Likutei Amarim, Chapter 3
תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים ג׳
Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 3
The Alter Rebbe defines chokhmah, binah, and da'at as three distinct intellectual faculties of the soul's intellect (sekhel): chokhmah is the flash of insight, binah is the full analytical development of an idea, and da'at is the deepest faculty — the intimate bonding and internalization of the idea into one's very being, described as the 'sinews' that bind the intellect to the heart.
וּכְשֶׁמּוֹצִיא כֹּחוֹ אֶל הַפּוֹעַל, שֶׁמִּתְבּוֹנֵן בְּשִׂכְלוֹ לְהָבִין דָּבָר לַאֲשׁוּרוֹ וּלְעָמְקוֹ, מִתּוֹךְ אֵיזֶה דְּבַר חָכְמָה הַמּוּשְׂכָּל בְּשִׂכְלוֹ – נִקְרָא ״בִּינָה״. וְהַדַּעַת, הוּא מִלְּשׁוֹן ״וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת חַוָּה״, וְהוּא לְשׁוֹן הִתְקַשְּׁרוּת וְהִתְחַבְּרוּת, שֶׁמְּקַשֵּׁר דַּעְתּוֹ בְּקֶשֶׁר אַמִּיץ וְחָזָק מְאֹד, וְיִתְקַע מַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ בְּחוֹזֶק בִּגְדוּלַּת אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, וְאֵינוֹ מַסִּיחַ דַּעְתּוֹ. כִּי אַף מִי שֶׁהוּא חָכָם וְנָבוֹן בִּגְדוּלַּת אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, הִנֵּה אִם לֹא יְקַשֵּׁר דַּעְתּוֹ וְיִתְקַע מַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ בְּחוֹזֶק וּבְהַתְמָדָה – לֹא יוֹלִיד בְּנַפְשׁוֹ יִרְאָה וְאַהֲבָה אֲמִיתִּית, כִּי אִם דִּמְיוֹנוֹת שָׁוְא.
When one brings forth this power from the potential into the actual, that is, when [a person] cogitates with his intellect in order to understand a thing truly and profoundly as it evolves from the concept which he has conceived in his intellect, this is called binah. Daat, the etymology of which is to be found in the verse, “And Adam knew (yada) Eve,” implies attachment and union. That is, one binds his mind with a very firm and strong bond to, and firmly fixes his thought on, the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, without diverting his mind [from Him]. For even one who is wise and understanding of the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, will not—unless he binds his knowledge and fixes his thought with firmness and perseverance—produce in his soul true love and fear, but only vain fancies.
Why it matters — This is the most precise and influential Chassidic definition of the difference between binah and da'at, foundational to all of Chabad thought.
Source 7 · Hasidic
Verifiedrecovered from “Tanya 18”
Tanya – Likutei Amarim, Chapter 18
תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים י״ח
Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 18
The Alter Rebbe further develops da'at as the faculty that translates intellectual understanding into emotional experience — without da'at, even a fully developed binah understanding remains cold and abstract and does not generate love and fear of God.
הִנֵּה, הַחָכְמָה הִיא מְקוֹר הַשֵּׂכֶל וְהַהֲבָנָה, וְהִיא לְמַעְלָה מֵהַבִּינָה שֶׁהוּא הֲבָנַת הַשֵּׂכֶל וְהַשָּׂגָתוֹ, וְהַחָכְמָה – הִיא לְמַעְלָה מֵהַהֲבָנָה וְהַהַשָּׂגָה, וְהִיא מָקוֹר לָהֶן.
Now, chochmah (wisdom) is the source of intelligence and comprehension, and it is above binah (understanding) which is intellectual understanding and comprehension, whereas chochmah is above them and their source.
Why it matters — Explains the crucial functional difference: binah produces conceptual understanding, but da'at is the bridge that makes that understanding felt and emotionally real.