Each order contains three

131. "And the brass of the offering was seventy talents" (Shemot 38:29). Rabbi Yehuda said: It all came down in the high shape of the secret of the Faith, WHICH IS MALCHUT. Evil Nebuchadnezzar did the same when he made the image, FOR "ELOHIM HAS MADE THE ONE AS WELL AS THE OTHER" (KOHELET 7:14). Rabbi Yosi said that he did not make it, only saw in his dream AN IMAGE WHOSE head was gold and then silver and then brass. And if you say that there were iron and clay IN THE IMAGE, but not in the Tabernacle, this is because they are not worthy to be a part of holiness. The other three, GOLD, SILVER, AND BRASS, CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, were.

132. The mystery of the Tabernacle is in these three metals, GOLD, SILVER AND BRASS. In other THINGS there were four, CORRESPONDING TO CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT. For example: blue, MALCHUT; purple, TIFERET; scarlet, GVURAH; and fine linen, CHESED, or the four rows of stones, CORRESPONDING TO CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT.

133. Rabbi Yehuda said: Some of them are in three's, some in four's, some in two's and some in one's. Nevertheless, each order contains but three. There are three orders, spread to the winds, the four directions of the world. In each order in each direction there are other three orders. This was explained.

134. HE EXPLAINS: The first order on the east side, WHICH IS TIFERET, consists of three orders, NAMELY, THE THREE COLUMNS. There are nine orders altogether since each of the three orders, THAT IS, EACH OF THE THREE COLUMNS, is comprised of three orders, THE THREE COLUMNS COMPRISED OF ONE ANOTHER. In all, there are nine, namely, THE NINE COLUMNS. And many thousands and tens of thousands of grades are found beneath them! These nine orders, THE THREE COLUMNS, EACH COLUMN CONSISTING OF THREE, all conduct themselves in accordance with the written letters, THE 27 LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET: THE 22 LETTERS TOGETHER WITH THE FIVE FINAL LETTERS (AT THE END OF WORDS) MEM, NUN, TZADY, PE AND CAF, THAT ARE DOUBLED. And every order, EACH COLUMN, looks upon those written letters TO RECEIVE PLENITUDE FROM THE 27 LETTERS CONNECTED TO IT. This is true for each and every order, EACH AND EVERY COLUMN, and all travel by the written letters, the ones above the others and standing the ones upon the others.

135. And when these letters soar in the air of the direction in charge, all the letters travel, as was explained. And one letter kicks from below, and goes up, and down. Two letters soar above it, ABOVE THE MIDDLE LETTER, and the MIDDLE letter below goes upward, THE SECRET OF ZEIR ANPIN RISING TO BINAH, AND JOINING THE RIGHT AND LEFT COLUMNS OF BINAH. It joins them and together they become three letters, according to the three letters Yud, Hei, Vav, within the shining mirror, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, YUD BEING OF THE RIGHT, HEI OF THE LEFT AND VAV OF THE MIDDLE. They are divided into three orders, NAMELY, THREE COLUMNS, two letters and one letter rising, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN RISING TO BINAH. It rises and joins them so they become three.

136. Come and see: The two supernal letters rising in the air, THE RIGHT LETTER AND THE LEFT LETTER, are comprised the one within the other, Chesed and Judgment, THE RIGHT ONE BEING CHESED AND THE LEFT BEING JUDGMENT. That is the reason there are two, and they are from the Supernal World, NAMELY, RIGHT AND LEFT OF BINAH, in the secret of the male, FOR THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE MALE. FOR BINAH IS THE WORLD OF THE MALE, and the MIDDLE letter that rises and joins them, AND UNITES THE TWO, is a female. And it is included in both of them.

137. As the female, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is comprised on both sides, right and left OF ZEIR ANPIN and joins them, IN THE SECRET OF "HIS LEFT HAND IS UNDER MY HEAD, AND HIS RIGHT HAND EMBRACES ME" (SHIR HASHIRIM 2:6), so the female MIDDLE letter is united with the other two letters, of the two sides, RIGHT AND LEFT. These TWO LETTERS are superior, FROM BINAH, and these, THE MIDDLE ONES THAT JOIN EVERY TWO SUPERIOR LETTERS, are from below, FROM ZEIR ANPIN. All is one, male and female, FOR ALL THE UPPER TWO LETTERS ARE MALES AND EACH LETTER UNITING THEM, RISING FROM BELOW IS FEMALE.

138. For when the world was created, NAMELY, WHEN BINAH EMANATED ZEIR ANPIN CALLED 'WORLD', these TWO letters, THE RIGHT AND LEFT from the upper world, BINAH, issued all that is below, IN ZEIR ANPIN, in their very shapes. BUT THE MIDDLE LETTER HAS NO NEW SHAPE, EXCEPT THAT IT UNITES THE RIGHT AND LEFT. And whoever knows them and is careful about them, is beloved above and beloved below.

139. Rabbi Shimon said: All these letters, THE 27 LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET, are male and female, SOME ARE MALE, AND SOME FEMALE. THE MALES are comprised within the waters of above, and THE FEMALES ARE COMPRISED within the waters of below, and all is one. This is a complete unity. Therefore, whoever knows of and is careful about them, happy is he in this world and happy in the World to Come. This is the principal part of the unity, properly complete. There are three on each and every side, NAMELY, THE LETTERS ARE DIVIDED INTO GROUPS OF THREE, TWO MALES ABOVE AND ONE FEMALE BELOW IN THE MIDDLE. They are in one unity, FOR THE RIGHT AND LEFT SIDES ARE UNITED BY THE MIDDLE IN ONE UNITY, and so all is in wholeness. And all are the mystery of the supernal order, IN BINAH, as ought to be, a reflection of above, where there is one order consisting of three in one mystery.

140. The second order is on the south side, CHESED. There are three orders to that order, THE THREE COLUMNS, three in each, EACH COLUMN CONSISTS OF THREE. Altogether there are nine, as was said ABOUT THE EAST SIDE. The letters are divided similarly among all the sides, RIGHT, LEFT AND MIDDLE, THE SAME AS IN THE EAST, in order to unite everything together. Since there are female letters and male letters and they all join to become as one, they are one in the mystery of the complete Holy Name, WHICH IS YUD-HEI-VAV. The appointed orders, THE GROUPS OF THREE, as was said ABOUT THE EAST SIDE, all issue from the order of the patriarchs above, THE THREE COLUMNS OF BINAH, according to the order of the letters Yud-Hei-Vav in the Holy Name, as we said. These nine orders are all according to certain letters, THE THREE GROUPS OF THREE LETTERS, RIGHT, LEFT AND MIDDLE AS ON THE EAST SIDE. And the letters drive them. And many armies and tens of thousands of angels below, all travel according to that order.

141. The third order is on the north side, GVURAH. There are three orders to that direction, nine altogether, for in each of the three orders there are three, NAMELY, THREE COLUMNS FOR EVERY COLUMN COMPRISED OF THREE COLUMNS, and they are nine. These orders are on three sides, RIGHT, LEFT, AND MIDDLE, ALL, as we said, LIKE ON THE EAST AND SOUTH SIDES.

142. There are 27 ORDERS in the mystery of the 27 letters. And though there are only 22 letters IN THE ALPHABET, in completeness, TOGETHER WITH FINAL MEM, NUN, TZADI, PE AND CAF, they are 27. It is found, then, that just as there are 27 letters, so is the order of these orders, 27, three orders in every direction, OF THE THREE DIRECTIONS, EAST, SOUTH AND NORTH. Hence, the three of the one direction, SOUTH, are nine, EACH OF THE THREE COLUMNS COMPRISED OF THREE, AND TOGETHER THERE ARE NINE. The three of another direction, NORTH, are nine, and the three of yet another direction, EAST, are nine. Thus, there are 27 altogether.

143. The secret of there being 27 letters is, that nine letters are in the secret of the female. They are united with eighteen other letters in the secret of the male. And all is as should be.

144. Come and see: Like the letters in the upper world, BINAH, so are the other letters below, IN MALCHUT. The upper letters IN BINAH are big, and the lower letters IN MALCHUT are small. The one is like the other, FOR ALL THAT APPLIES FOR THE LETTERS IN BINAH, APPLIES ALSO FOR THE LETTERS IN MALCHUT. ALSO, all the secrets of male and female OF THE LETTERS APPLY TO THEM. And all is a whole unity. Therefore, WHATEVER IS IN MALCHUT is in the high secret IN BINAH.