236. He opened the discussion with the verse: "And He brought me there, and behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a thread of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed, and he stood by the gate" (Yechezkel 40:3). What Ezekiel saw in the mirror of prophecy was that man, who was a messenger clothed in linen, NAMELY GABRIEL.
237. Here he says "man," not "the man clothed in linen" (Yechezkel 10:2), for when he is on errand to deal Judgment or show it IN A VISION, he is "clothed in linen," but on a different mission he is differently clothed. As the mission differs, so do his appearance and clothes, ACCORDING TO THE MISSION. Indeed, he is always of the left side, GABRIEL IS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CHARIOT, dressed in various clothes, and his attendants of his side.
238. "Whose appearance was like the appearance of brass." Here he is clad with the garment of mountains of brass, called in the scripture "mountains of brass" (Zecharyah 6:1), and he, GABRIEL, brings measurement with him, with which to measure.
239. This MEASUREMENT, NAMELY THE MEASURING REED, is not the hard spark, stored, and concealed, but the measuring reed come down from THE HARD SPARK, coated by the light left by the holy spark when it was gone up to be engraved upon the scintillating, unknown sapphires. Therefore, this measuring reed is present in the measuring below, IN THIS WORLD.
240. Sometimes the measuring reed IS USED and sometimes the measuring line. Therefore, there is the thread of flax, WHICH IS THE MEASURING LINE, and the measuring reed with which to measure. All the measurements done by Ezekiel were made by the measuring reed, AND NOT BY THE THREAD OF FLAX, WHICH IS THE MEASURING LINE. At the construction of the Tabernacle, all the measurements were made by the measuring line.
241. In the Tabernacle, in the lower measurement by the measuring line, they used the thread OF FLAX. When it expanded, there was a knot each cubit, UP TO EACH KNOT THERE WAS ONE CUBIT LENGTH. And he measured using the unit of cubit, AND THOUGH HE MEASURED A NUMBER OF CUBITS, IT IS TERMED CUBIT, IN THE SINGULAR. It is therefore written, "28 cubit, and the breadth four cubit" (Shemot 36:9), and not "four cubits," because he was measuring using one cubit on each side, MEANING HE WAS NOT USING NEW CUBITS, BUT THE SAME CUBIT, MULTIPLYING IT ALONG THE SIDES.
242. THIS MEASUREMENT LINE comes out of the mystery of the high luminary, BINAH, and the measurement below IN MALCHUT IS DERIVED from the measurement above, BINAH. The measurement below contains one thousand five hundred aspects, twelve thousand cubits each, and they are all measured by the same cubit, AS EACH CUBIT EXPANDS TO GRASP THIS SIZE. This cubit OF THE MEASURING LINE measures it, and the measuring line expands to produce a second cubit, and measures ANOTHER CUBIT - the same in all measurements.
243. "twenty-eight cubit" is the length of one cubit. "And the breadth four cubit," refers also to the same cubit. It is found that one cubit is the length of thirty-two measures, as it is said: "and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure" (Yeshayah 40:12). These thirty-two MEASURES correspond to the thirty two paths OF WISDOM going out from above.
244. When the length was measured, and was found to contain four sides, CORRESPONDING TO CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT, seven cubits to each, CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT, thus seven cubits to each of the four sides, in the secret of seven, amounting to the length of 28, because seven is the most high mystery. FOR SEVEN IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT, THE SECRET OF LOWER CHOCHMAH. And all the 32 paths OF WISDOM are included in the seven, in the secret of the Holy Name, NAMELY, THE SECRET OF MALCHUT CALLED 'HOLY NAME'.
245. You may say that it is written, "the curtains were all of one size" (Shemot 36:9), MEANING THAT THEY ARE MANY CUBITS PER CURTAIN, AND THE SCRIPTURE SHOULD SAY THERE WERE ALL OF ONE SIZE. TO THIS HE REPLIES: Assuredly they were all of one size, THAT IS, ONE CUBIT. And though the measuring line expands one cubit after another, IT ADDS NOTHING TO THE FIRST CUBIT. All is in the secret OF THE MOCHIN OF the luminary above, BINAH, so there will be one measurement above and below, IN BINAH AND IN MALCHUT.