Yediah (ידיעה) — knowledge

Core definition

Yediah ("knowledge") is the soul's firm grasp of a matter — "that he knows that comprehended object in all the details of its matters in a good comprehension." It is the fruit of study and contemplation: the rung at which a sugya, studied in depth with Rashi, Tosafos, and the Rishonim, raising difficulties and resolving them, is "comprehended by him in a good comprehension" — and "to this is called knowledge" [15720/maamar_004 :: p.21].

How the Rebbeim develop it

The ladder of knowledge. A maamar on "Adam" lays out the ladder: (a) knowing only the ruling (the halachic kitzur — unlike the Mishnah's brevity, which conceals the whole Gemara); (b) superficial knowledge of a sugya — merely "the negation of the absence"; (c) in-depth knowledge through Rashi, Tosafos, and the Rishonim — this is yediah: knowing the muskal in all its details; (d) understanding one thing from another — from affirmative knowledge to the knowledge of negation; (e) recognition (hakarah), from the "sight" of Chochmah, where no question can fall [15720/maamar_004 :: p.22, summary].

Above yediah: havanah. "Above this is the knowledge of understanding (havanah): when he understands one thing from another — for from one matter of comprehension he knows yet another comprehension, which is higher in eminence and level." First there is drawn "the knowledge of the 'within the thing'" (toch hadavar) — the knowledge of the affirmative (chiyuv); afterward "the knowledge of the thing" (hadavar) — "the knowledge of the negation (shelilah) that is after the knowledge of the affirmative." This mode of knowledge comes through examples and comparisons, comparing argument to argument, until he comes "to a deep understanding in the essences of the comprehensions of affirmative and negation" — as with the name Chochma: in the attainment of the affirmative defined as light, in the attainment of the negation something higher [15720/maamar_004 :: p.21].

Above havanah: hakarah. "And above this is the matter of recognition (hakarah): that he recognizes that the matter is so — that this is from the 'sight' of Chochmah." In recognition "a question is not relevant at all." The maamar then sharpens the difficulty: "how will Enosh, who is the lowest in level, ascend and reach such a high, lofty, and exalted level — to recognize, to stand before Him, may He be blessed?" [15720/maamar_004 :: p.22].

"Chacham" vs. "chochmas yediah." A discourse on "kodesh" cites Tikkunei Zohar (introduction 17b): "even if He had not created worlds at all, the aspect of 'chacham' (wise) would belong — but not 'chochmas yediah' (known wisdom)." Knowledge in this sense belongs only where there is something known — just as the middos belong only with creatures: Chochmah as "kodesh" is "a word in itself," belonging even without worlds, but known wisdom requires the known [57653/maamar_011 :: p.תמט].

Sukkah — the mitzvah of yediah. A Sukkot maamar opens on "That your generations may know" (Vayikra 23:43): "the mitzvah of sukkah is specifically a mitzvah bound up with knowledge (yediah)" — and asks why, since mitzvah and knowledge seem incompatible: "knowledge varies with each person's mind, while all mitzvot and all Jews are equal." The answer: sukkah must be a mitzvah of yediah "because the whole arc it effects has to be known, not merely performed" — knowledge, daas (the lulav), is what carries the distant makif down into the inwardness of Keser, "making the encompassing revelation known within memale." The paradox resolves because "mitzvah and knowledge are one": the mitzvah's very content is the knowledge of the divine intent in creation — "that your generations may know" [15884/maamar_001 :: Overview, Summary].

Key distinctions

1. Yediah vs. havanah — yediah is knowing the matter in all its details in good comprehension; havanah is understanding one thing from another, from the affirmative to the negation, and stands above it [15720/maamar_004 :: p.21]. 2. Havanah vs. hakarah — havanah still works through comparisons; hakarah is from Chochmah's "sight," where no question is relevant at all [15720/maamar_004 :: p.22]. 3. "Chacham" vs. "chochmas yediah" — Chochmah belongs even without worlds; known wisdom requires something known, as middos require creatures [57653/maamar_011 :: p.תמט]. 4. Mitzvah vs. yediah (resolved) — knowledge varies per mind, mitzvos are equal for all; in sukkah they are one, because the mitzvah's content is the knowledge of the divine intent [15884/maamar_001 :: Overview].

Related concepts

Sources