Qabala generally accepts the presence of another sefira that lies between Chochma and Binah. This sefira is Daath (DAyTh in Hebrew letters), which means "knowledge."
Actually, it's a bit awkward even to refer to Daath as a sefira, since it's not one of the standard ten (see section 7 for a summary listing). And we don't have flexibility to go beyond ten. Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Formation) makes it clear that there are "Ten Sefirot of Nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven..." This situation is most commonly addressed by describing Daath as an "invisible" sefira.
My personal preference is not to think of Daath as a sefira at all; not even an invisible one. I prefer to think of Daath as the interaction between Kether, Chochma and Binah, mainly the latter two. Remember, Kether is the sum total of all we could potentially know, and the will to know some of it; Chochma is the process by which we develop a non-verbal, inexplicable flash of perception of a piece of the total; and Binah is the process by which we clothe that perception such that it can be explained. Everything we "know" reflects the interaction of these three processes.
In fact, my entire discussion of Kether, Chochma, and Binah has necessarily been presented through the medium of Daath. Seeing Daath/Knowledge as the interaction among the first three sefirot goes hand in hand with Bar Lev's observation that Kether, Chochma, and Binah serve as "the dimension of thought, the intellectual stage which precedes the practical."
The interaction between Chochma, Binah and Daath can, at times, get a bit tricky, particularly as it shows up in shifting attitudes toward Binah. Consider romance. Why are we attracted to one person and not another? Have you ever tried to explain why you do or don't love a particular person? Feelings are part of the picture; no question about it. But you know how you feel. But have you noticed that how awkward it can be to try to formulate logical explanations? If you really work at it, you can probably do it. But wouldn't you usually rather refrain from getting logical about something like this? This is an example of an area in which we often prefer to stick with Chochma; we get uncomfortable bringing Binah into the picture. Switching gears, consider a situation that constantly happens in law enforcement. An experienced, capable police officer stops a car on a hunch; sure enough, a visual search of the automobile turns up illegal weapons, narcotics, etc. But a court will not consider the existence of the contraband unless the police officer can demonstrate that he/she had "probable cause" to stop the car. The non-verbal flash of insight we refer to as Chochma won't suffice. Even though the officer's Chochma ultimately turns out to be factually correct, the court will not honor it unless the officer is able to draw upon Binah; the officer will have to clothe his Chochma-insight with understanding; the officer will have to explain his/her initially inexplicable sense of knowing. As uncomfortable as we are with Binah when we get romantic, when we enter the legal system, discomfort springs form the absence or diminution of Binah.
In section 3, we introduced God as AyN SPh AVR, infinite light. But with the help of some gematria, we saw this light, not as a static thing, but as a perpetual process. In Kether (section 9), we refined this and talked about that sefira's all-inclusive qualities. Inclusive of what? Beliefs. Ideas. Imaginings. In Chochma, we started to lock in on one such idea, and in Binah, we actually defined it. The "knowledge" that is the sum of this process is the raw material of creation. Knowledge is the result of the interaction between the first three sefirot (often referred to as the supernal triad); the link between All That Is - AyN SPh AVR - and the more mundane world. Or put another, more contemporary way, things come from thoughts, or reality comes from beliefs. And the weight of contemporary new-age authority holds that we are speaking here of full-fledged Daath (not some ephemeral state of Chochma sans Binah). Indeed, the idea of verbal affirmation makes it clear that we are not dispensing with Binah.
The dynamic, ever-evolving nature of this knowledge can be seen by applying gematria to the word Daath; DAYTH, which adds up to 474. Other phrases adding up to 474 are "you shall know" (ThDAy), "you may live" (ThChYVN), and "you may learn" (ThLMD).
And as was the case with the God name for Kether (see section 9), the numerology for the word DAyTh, if reduced to a single digit, comes out to 6, which leads to the six practical sefirot from the "world" of formation: Chesed / Mercy, Gevurah / Judgment, Tiphareth / Beauty, Netzach / Victory, Hod / Glory, and Yesod / Foundation. These six divine traits or qualities work together to convert beliefs / thoughts / knowledge into reality / things / manifestation. These six sefirot will be the subject of the next group of QB series installments.
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