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Jonathan Wolf

Knowledge versus Wisdom

What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”
-Mark Twain

“Any fool can Know. The point is to Understand.”
-Albert Einstein

It is interesting, in these troubled times, to try and briefly add to the age old discussions about the difference between wisdom (chochmah) and knowledge (da’at). One often hears discussed chochmah, binah, and da’at as three facets of intellectual understanding. The Rambam (Rabbi Moses Maimonides) at the end of his philosophical treatise  “The Guide for the Perplexed” (Moreh Nebuchim, Part 3, chapter 54; translation from Sefaria.org, originally from the the 1903 Friedlander English translation, in the public domain):

Chochmah has been interpreted as the power of “koach mah” (the power of “what”). Meaning the flash of insight that comes at an instant. Binah, is the contemplation and organization of these ideas into a coherent form or plan of action. Da’at is the implementation (cultivation or actualization) of those concepts and plans into action. Each of us manifestly excels at one of these, but the nurturing of all three is essential for true wisdom. The Rambam continues (again, translation from Sefaria.org, originally from the the 1903 Friedlander English translation, in the public domain):

While an advocate of Aristotelian ideas, the Rambam is wise to point out the journey for the perfection of wisdom as a journey. Just as he set forth the different levels of tzedakah (with the highest level being given anonymously), we must strive the the constant application of chochmah, binah, and da’at in our daily lives. Not only to perfect our spiritual connection with Hashem, but also in our daily human interactions and civil discourse

About the Author
Jonathan Wolf is a retired high school physics teacher. He retired to NJ with his wife. He is an adjunct professor of physics at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has published professional papers and has been the author of AP Physics review books as well as general HS and college physics review books. He is a past President and ritual chairman at a conservative synagogue on Long Island, NY before he retired to NJ.
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