328. Rabbi Shimon clasped his hands and wept. He cried: Woe if I do speak and reveal the secret, woe if I do not and the friends lose THIS matter. Ah Hashem Elohim! Will You make a full end of the remnant of Yisrael?" (Yechezkel 11:13). What is meant by "Ah" and what is meant by "Will You make a full end?" HE ANSWERS: The secret of the matter is, that when the lower Hei OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is expelled from the chamber of the King, the other upper Hei OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, DENOTING BINAH, withholds the blessings for its sake. Then is written, "Ah (Aleph Hei Hei)...Will You make a full end," BECAUSE THE IMPAIRMENT REACHES BOTH HEIS OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, BINAH AND MALCHUT, because when THE LOWER HEI IS WITHHELD from receiving blessings, the other UPPER Hei withholds BLESSINGS from all, NOT SPREADING EVEN TO ZEIR ANPIN. What is the reason? It is because blessings are to be found only where there are Male and a Female, AND SINCE MALCHUT IS EXPELLED FROM ZEIR ANPIN, THERE ARE NO BLESSINGS IN ZEIR ANPIN BECAUSE OF HIS BEING WITHOUT THE FEMALE.
329. So it is written, "Hashem shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar because of His habitation" (Yirmeyah 25:30), because of His actual habitation, namely the Queen, WHO IS GONE. It is surely so THAT HE ROARS. What does He say? THUS: woe that I have demolished My house. "My house" MEANS the union with the Queen. This is surely the meaning of, "The nakedness of your father, or the nakedness of your mother, shall you not uncover." From all directions there is nakedness, NAMELY BLEMISH. FOR WHEN MALCHUT, YOUR MOTHER, PARTED DUE TO THE SIN OF THE LOWER BEINGS, THEN THE LIGHTS DEPARTED FROM ZEIR ANPIN AS WELL. THUS, ZEIR ANPIN, YOUR FATHER, WAS DAMAGED. Then "I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering" (Yeshayah 50:3), MEANING ZEIR ANPIN REFERRED TO AS HEAVEN, as the place of the reception of blessings of the springs' sources, WHICH ARE IN BINAH which were flowing and watering ZEIR ANPIN properly, withdrew AND STOPPED.
330. We have learned that when the King parted from the Queen and there were no blessings, ZEIR ANPIN is called 'woe (Vav Yud),' MEANING WOE IS TO ME. Why IS IT CALLED "woe?" IT IS as we learned that the head of Yesod is the Yud, as Yesod ITSELF is a small Vav, and the Holy one blessed be He, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, is a large higher Vav. Therefore, Vav is fully spelled with two Vav's together, POINTING TO ZEIR ANPIN AND YESOD. The top of this Yesod is Yud. When the Queen is separated from the King and the blessings are withheld from the King, DENOTING ZEIR ANPIN, and there is no coupling at the head of Yesod, THEN the upper Vav, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, takes the head of Yesod, namely Yud, and draws it to itself. Then THE COMBINATION becomes Vai (woe), MEANING "woe" to all, the upper and the lower; SINCE THE LOWER BEINGS DO NOT RECEIVE, THE UPPER DO NOT RECEIVE SO AS TO POUR UPON THEM, AS MENTIONED.
331. Therefore, we learned that, from the day that the Temple was destroyed, blessings are not to be found in the world, and there is not a day in which there are no curses, as the blessings THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO COME daily are withheld, AND INSTEAD BECOME CURSES. He replied, if so, If it was it is written: Oy or Hoy, AND NOT VAI what is THEIR EXPLANATION?
332. He said to him: When things depend upon repentance and people do not repent, the sublime Hei OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, BEING BINAH, takes and attracts the Vav and the Yud to itself, as they are not repenting. It then BECOMES A COMBINATION OF HEI-VAV-YUD called Hoy, MEANING Hoy (lit. 'ah'), when the King, ZEIR ANPIN, departs higher and higher TO BINAH. People cry but no one pays attention. SOMETIMES, that supernal concealed NAME, EHEYEH, DENOTING KETER, raises the Vav, ZEIR ANPIN, and the Yud, BEING THE HEAD OF YESOD, to itself, because one's prayer is not accepted, AND IT BECOMES THE COMBINATION OY (ALEPH VAV YUD). Then it is called Oy, as the Aleph THAT IS EHEYEH brings up to it the Vav and the Yud. Then repentance is not available, so the Hei departs from these letters, as it is no longer dependent on repentance, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF BINAH CALLED HEI.
333. Surely this is when sins in the world multiply excessively. At first, repentance was available but they did not want TO REPENT, then the Hei takes off, BEING BINAH, THE SECRET OF REPENTANCE and the Aleph, BEING KETER, raises the Vav Yud to it, so it is now called Oy. When the Temple was destroyed and repentance was gone, then they cried and said, "Woe (Oy) to us! For the day declines" (Yirmeyah 6:4). What is meant by "For the day declines?" It refers to the supernal day, MEANING BINAH called repentance, which departed and is not available. This is that specific day that extends its right hand to welcome evildoers. It has departed from all and is not available. Therefore, they say Oy instead of Hoy "for the shadows of the evening are lengthened" (Ibid.), MEANING PERMISSION has been granted to the rulers over other nations to rule over YISRAEL.
334. We have learned that the Vav, DENOTING ZEIR ANPIN, ascended high up TO KETER, BEING THE SECRET OF ALEPH, AS MENTIONED. The sanctuary was consumed, the people exiled, the Queen expelled, and the Temple was in ruins. Later, as the Vav returned to its position, it took notice of the Temple and found it in ruins. It sought the Queen , but she moved far away. It saw its sanctuary, but it was consumed by fire, and it looked for the people but they were exiled. It saw the blessings of the deep streams FROM BINAH that were flowing, but now ceased. Then it is written, "And on that day did Adonai Elohim Tzevaot call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth" (Yeshayah 22:12). Then, "I clothe the heavens, ZEIR ANPIN, with blackness."
335. Then the Vav and Yud draw one towards the other. THE YUD, BEING THE HEAD OF YESOD, IS DRAWN TO THE VAV, ZEIR ANPIN, AND SEPARATES FROM MALCHUT. The upper Hei OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, BEING BINAH, pours its sources to the Other Side, and no blessings abound, because no Male and Female are present, ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT, and they do not dwell together. Then "He shall mightily roar because of His habitation" (Yirmeyah 25:30), MALCHUT. Rabbi Shimon wept and Rabbi Elazar wept. Rabbi Elazar said: There is a lament placed in my heart on one side and a joy in my heart on the other, as I have heard words that I never heard until now. How blessed is my lot.