והנה האדם הוא עולם קטן ויש בו משה ואהרן ומצרים. והשלם שיש בו דעת לחבר כל המדרגות של בני דורו להעלותן ולהדביקם בשרשם. שכולל את עצמו עמהן. נקרא משה. שהוא כולל בעצמו כל בני דורו. ונקרא דעת. דור דעה. ואדם רשע נקרא קטן שאין בו דעת וכו': (תוי"י בראשית די"ב ע"ב).
A human being is a microcosm of the world, and has within him Moses, Aharon and Egypt. And the [aspect of] peace that is in him – the consciousness he has to unite all the individual’s of his generation, on all their levels, and to uplift them and attach them to their [spiritual] root, by including himself with them – is called “Moses,” who included in himself all the people of his generation. This is called “da'at,” the Generation of Knowledge.14That is, Moses’ generation is called the dor de’ah, the Generation of Knowledge, because they were all attached to his soul. However, a wicked person is called “a child,” for he lacks da'at.15According to the Talmud, a child is disqualified from many mitzvos and communal activities because he has no “da'at.” The simple meaning is that his mind is too immature to grasp the significance of what he is doing. However, the Baal Shem Tov uses the term da'at with the connotation of mystical experience. A wicked person is called a child, because he lacks a perception of G-d, and the consciousness of da'at. Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Bereishis p.12b
והנה האדם הוא עולם קטן ויש בו משה ואהרן ומצרים. והשלם שיש בו דעת לחבר כל המדרגות של בני דורו להעלותן ולהדביקם בשרשם. שכולל את עצמו עמהן. נקרא משה. שהוא כולל בעצמו כל בני דורו. ונקרא דעת. דור דעה. ואדם רשע נקרא קטן שאין בו דעת וכו':
(תוי"י בראשית די"ב ע"ב).
A human being is a microcosm of the world, and has within him Moses, Aharon and Egypt. And the [aspect of] peace that is in him – the consciousness he has to unite all the individual’s of his generation, on all their levels, and to uplift them and attach them to their [spiritual] root, by including himself with them – is called “Moses,” who included in himself all the people of his generation. This is called “da'at,” the Generation of Knowledge.14That is, Moses’ generation is called the dor de’ah, the Generation of Knowledge, because they were all attached to his soul. However, a wicked person is called “a child,” for he lacks da'at.15According to the Talmud, a child is disqualified from many mitzvos and communal activities because he has no “da'at.” The simple meaning is that his mind is too immature to grasp the significance of what he is doing. However, the Baal Shem Tov uses the term da'at with the connotation of mystical experience. A wicked person is called a child, because he lacks a perception of G-d, and the consciousness of da'at.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Bereishis p.12b