Chapter 6: You Will Surely Know: Da’at

Summary: The purpose of the Seder is to teach da’at—a deep connection with the God of Abraham, rooted in the Land of Israel.

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” 

― Elbert Hubbard

“Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always.” 

― Rainer Marie Rilke

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Super-Word

We now have an outline of the steps we take at the seder to achieve its objectives. We begin by asking questions, which promotes discernment and the development of individuality. The next step is to focus on contrast and distinction, which heighten our appreciation of the freedom to change our given circumstances as well as the freedom from self-absorption. We are then free to develop our own path in life and choose to enter meaningful relationships with people and with God. However, would it not be easier if we had a conceptual framework to give us context for all these steps? Thankfully, the Torah does provide us with one word that encompasses the entire seder. That word is Da’at, typically translated as “knowledge.”¹ But Da’at means so much more than that.

To understand Da’at and its critical role in the Exodus, let us do what the Haggadah does not – delve deeper into the story of the Exodus. At one point, God tells Moses that when He appeared to the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He identified Himself with the name El Shaddai (“God Almighty”) but did not make himself known to them by the name YHVH (pronounced Adonai).²  We know that His name YHVH is used many times in the Torah during interactions with our forefathers,³ so why would God make that declaration? He spoke directly with them using that name and they were certainly aware of it!⁴ More to the point, why would God make such a distinction between the different names?

The key to this conundrum is God’s use of our super-word, Da’at, or knowledge, a term for the special kind of knowledge that stems from connection, from an ongoing relationship.  As we learn from many sources, this is the meaning of Da’at/knowledge as it is used in the verse, Adam knew (Vayeida) his wife Eve.⁵ This usage is not a euphemism,⁶ and it cannot refer to his acquaintance with her, which was a foregone conclusion. These sources explain that the word Da’at connotes connection or relationship.⁷ In this context, the word is used precisely the way it was intended – Adam had an intimate emotional and physical relationship with his wife, and Da’at is the word used to describe all of those connections, taken together.

Although God could predict for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob what would happen down the road, He could not give them Da’at, because that kind of knowledge can only emerge from actual experience, not from intellectual awareness or secondhand information. Da’at cannot be granted, even by God; it must be acquired through direct experience in order to attain that depth of “knowledge” and understanding. This is why God could not make Himself known (Lo NoDa’ati Lahem - from the word Da’at) to the forefathers with the name YHVH. The name YHVH implies that God was, is, and will be,⁸ that God is involved throughout the arc of history, and the forefathers, who formed the foundation of the Jewish people, could not achieve Da’at – experiential knowledge – until history unfolded.

We can better understand the concept of Da’at from a mundane example. When a young driver is told numerous times about the importance of wearing a seatbelt, he may comprehend and absorb the information intellectually. But it remains merely a rule, a piece of information, until he or a loved one gets into serious car crash but avoids injury (or not, God forbid) because of a seat belt. Then its ramifications have been experienced in real time, and the new driver now relates to that piece of information firsthand. He has entered the Da’at zone.

How Will I Know?

Which brings us to the defining moment of Abraham’s life, the event which set the trajectory of Jewish history on its path -- the brit bein habetarim, the Covenant of the Halves episode.⁹ During that interaction, God promises to give Abraham and his offspring the land of Israel as an inheritance (l’rishta).¹⁰   Abraham responds by asking, bameh eida ki irashena?, How will I know that the land of Israel will truly be my inheritance?¹¹ What does this question mean? It is evident that Abraham was not questioning God’s overall intention to fulfill His commitments, because the preceding verse tells us that God had expressed appreciation to Abraham for his trust in God’s promise to make Abraham’s offspring as numerous as the stars, which is no small feat.¹² What Abraham questioned was this particular promise to make Israel an inheritance, meaning that it would belong to the Jewish nation no matter what circumstances may develop.¹³ Of course, Abraham knew that God could easily manipulate the number of his biological offspring, who could come from any and all of his children. But the inheritance of the land of Israel was a different kind of promise, one that was much harder to control even by God. The reason Abraham doubted this particular commitment was that he assumed it would be contingent on merit, but who could know whether Abraham’s great-great grandchildren would use their free will to stay on the path he trailblazed and remain there until the end of time?¹⁴ We all know from our own or the experiences of others (or from our favorite sitcom) that it is impossible (and not even desirable) to retain control over the lives of children, let alone numerous generations of children. Thus, Abraham rightfully asked, how can I know that the land of Israel will stay in the family, so to speak, and remain an inheritance to me?¹⁵

In my view, God’s response, which is quoted in the Haggadah, is among the most underrated Biblical verses. God replies: You will surely know that your seed will be strangers in a strange land, and their host nation will enslave them and oppress them… and, I will judge that host nation, and the [Jewish people] will go forth with great possessions afterwards.”¹⁶ Ho hum. At first glance, it seems God is merely predicting the Exodus. How is this an appropriate response to Abraham’s question about inheriting the land of Israel? Based on the Midrash, there are many commentators who suggest that Abraham’s question expressed a lack of faith, and consequently, God decided right then and there to enslave Abraham’s great-grandchildren for generations.¹⁷ This interpretation is problematic in numerous and significant ways, but most disheartening is how this explanation has become a distraction from perhaps the most fundamental and relevant message the Torah can teach us.

If you attend closely to the words, you can discern how precise God’s reply was. Abraham asked bameh eidah ki irashena, how will I know (from the root Da’at) that the land will be an inheritance? And God answers him exactly along those lines yadoa teida… You will surely know (again from the word Da’at, this time repeated twice for emphasis).¹⁸ In other words, they are discussing the type of knowledge that is more than just information; it is firsthand and emerges from a personal, experiential connection.

God explained that Abraham could not know firsthand at the time of this pledge that Israel would be his inheritance, because only history would bear that out. The Jewish people would become strangers in a strange land,¹⁹ straying a great distance from their homeland, all but losing their identity as Jews while they are in subjugation, and as such, unable to keep the Commandments or engage with Torah or with God.²⁰ Nonetheless, they somehow would find their way out of exile and back to Israel. Until these events unfolded, Abraham could not have Da’at – experiential knowledge – of this fundamental truth, that the land of Israel is truly his inheritance. From God’s remarkable response to Abraham, we can conclude that in a sense, the purpose of the Egyptian exile, (and every Jewish exile for that matter),²¹ was to provide Da’at²² – experiential knowledge - of Abraham’s inheritance. This inheritance represents God’s eternal relationship with “[His] beloved”²³ Abraham and the Jewish nation he literally and figuratively conceived.

You Know It!

We can see, therefore, that Passover is not merely a time to relate the story of Exodus from Egypt. It is our opportunity to learn about Da’at and awareness. Passover is celebrated in order that you may recount to your children and grandchildren…and you will know that I am God. ²⁴ The seder was not designed simply to symbolize mortar, tears, and bitterness, nor to recall the ten plagues. The seder was created So that you shall know that God discriminates between [the nations] and [my people] Israel²⁵ and to fulfill the mandate that This day will be a source of awareness.²⁶

More specifically, Passover is a time to develop Da’at about God’s promise to Abraham that we will inherit the land of Israel.  As God tells Moses at the outset of the Exodus: I will take you as a people to me, and I will be a God to you, and you will know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land, concerning which I raised My hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage; I am the Lord.²⁷  Once again, we are reminded that we can only have Da’at about Abraham’s inheritance after the exile in Egypt and our return to Israel.

That is why so many elements of the seder are designed to help us realize that the purpose of our exile is to attain Da’at²⁸ about the relationship between God and Abraham and his children, through our collective association with the physical land of Israel. This message is most prominent in the Haggadah section, v’hi she’amda,²⁹ when we lift our cups and declare, This has stood by our fathers and us! For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation, they rise against us to destroy us; and [God] saves us from their hand. Apparently, this is responsible for saving us several times! But what specifically does the word this refer to? Although some commentators interpret this as a reference to a new idea,³⁰ I think it clearly alludes to the previous section, which discusses the brit bein habetarim, the covenant of the halves, when God replies to Abraham’s question, how will I know …³¹ In other words, in every generation of our exile, God rescues us from our aggressors so that we can eventually return to the land of Israel, in fulfilment of His promise to Abraham.

The message from v’hi she’amda is precisely what God expresses to Moses during their initial interchange at the Burning Bush. Moses asks what name he should use for God while communicating with the Jewish people. God replies with His new nickname: I will be what I will be.³² Rashi³³ explains this to mean I will be with them in this predicament, and I will be with them in their future exiles, when they will be subjugated by the non-Jewish majority."³⁴ In essence, God’s reply to Moses is a reminder of His promise to Abraham.³⁵

Meant to Be

It is evident that the entire seder revolves around God’s promise that we will inherit the land of Israel. The central part of the Haggadah, the arami oved avi section, is not culled from the book of Exodus/Shemot as one would expect, but from the book of Deuteronomy/Devarim. As we pointed out above, this section was read by Jews in Israel during the Temple era as part of the first fruits ritual, during which they declared that they are living proof that God fulfilled his promise to Abraham to give him the land of Israel as an inheritance. It is also noteworthy that Joshua’s speech³⁶ alluding to Abraham’s idol-worshipping father, Terach, which we mentioned in our Introduction, took place upon the Jews’ first arrival in Israel. In that "pep-talk," which is remarkably similar to the arami oved avi declaration, He praises God for delivering us from Egypt and bringing us to the land of Israel. This would also explain our recitation at the beginning of the Maggid section, This year we are here, next year in Israel!, and why the Dayeinu song continues with praise of God not only for taking us out of Egypt, but for sustaining us until we reached the land of Israel, and why we close the seder with “Next year in Jerusalem!”

In chapters 3, 4 and 5, we learned that two kinds of freedom are celebrated on Passover: the freedom to choose our own unique path and the freedom to enter meaningful relationships. Both freedoms are predicated on embracing the concept of leil shimurim, a night embedded at the time of Creation. As we explained, God’s reality means that certain events and aspects of this world are inevitable, immutable, and outside of our control. Once we accept that, we become free to focus on what we can change and make decisions about how we will live our lives in that context. Moreover, the concept of leil shimurim applies to each of us as individuals, and to the Jewish people as a nation. In this sense, our connection to the land of Israel runs even deeper than God’s promise to Abraham. That promise was an expression of what God determined at Creation, and it is the foundation of how we relate to God in this physical universe of choice.

As we have learned, the Egyptian exile was a prototype for all future exiles, including the one we find ourselves in currently -- the longest and most difficult exile of all.³⁷ Every day of every exile that we experience is intended to give us greater Da’at³⁸ – a more profound knowledge about God’s relationship to Abraham, which was solidified by Abraham’s inheritance of the land of Israel. The more deeply we understand that we are part of an ongoing saga, the more connected we become to God and the Jewish people, and to the ultimate meaning of our individual lives as Abraham’s great-grandchildren. It makes sense to consider how we can apply these lessons to our current lives, because Torah is not meant to be perceived as an outdated memorandum that counts for nothing, but as something fresh and new that everyone excitedly runs to receive.³⁹ As we will explore in our next and final chapter, that is the recipe for making this night different, and for ensuring that this night makes a difference in our lives.