How many times do I find myself doomscrolling through social media and losing track of time? After a while I realized that I have an unhealthy obsession with news and anything that piques my curiosity. I catch myself feeling that it’s almost as if being a responsible person means being emotionally plugged into the entire planet. Then, I realize that this need to know creates an information bank, but doesn’t necessarily create wisdom. More often, it simply generates anxiety, tension and the need to chase the next hit of dopamine.
This week, in a shiur with my mentor, Rav Yehoshua Gerzi, we spoke about the concept of daas. Daas is many things, but at its simplest level, it’s intentional thinking. It’s the awareness that fills the space between stimulus and response. We discussed how thoughts, feelings, and emotions are not the same as our neshama; they’re the domain of the nefesh. Daas is the conscious choice of what you let into your space. It’s the ability to live inside your own life …
