"A bird's nest"

787. Ra'aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd). The Faithful Shepherd said: How obscure these matters are for one who does not know them, and how transparent for one who does! Certainly that bird is the Shechinah and her nest is the Temple, WHERE THE SHECHINAH RESTED. And Yisrael are the young ones, upon whom the mother, WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH, sits. Scripture says: "and the mother bird sitting upon the young, OR UPON THE EGGS" (Devarim 22:6). This refers to the sages of the Mishnah, who fly with her precepts. "or upon the eggs" refers to the sages of the Bible.

788. But when Yisrael sinned, and the Temple was destroyed, what is written? "but you shall surely let the mother go" (Ibid. 7), BEING THE SHECHINAH. This is as it is written: "And for your transgressions was your mother sent away" (Yeshayah 50:1). And about the sages of the six orders of the Mishnah, it is written: "and take the young to you" (Devarim 22:7), These are the six ORDERS, from the side of the six sons CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD, which are under upper mother, WHICH IS BINAH, and which are alluded to in the six words of the reading of Sh'ma Yisrael, or in the six orders of the Mishnah. It is all the same, whether (a man offers) much or little, if only he directs his mind towards Heaven, NAMELY, TO UNITE MALCHUT WITH ZEIR ANPIN WHO IS CALLED 'HEAVEN', and binds it with the knot of the Tefilin on the head and on the arm.

789. With what do the sons take? With many chirps of the sounds of the reading of Sh'ma Yisrael? And afterwards they secretly whisper the silent prayer, NAMELY, THE AMIDAH PRAYER to the Mother, WHICH IS BINAH, and to the daughter, WHICH IS MALCHUT. And these are Hei Hei, FORM MOTHER IS THE FIRST HEI OF YUD HEI VAV HEI AND THE DAUGHTER IS THE LAST HEI. And they descend to the Vav, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, with His knot, which is the Yud OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, NAMELY, CHOCHMAH. And supernal Hei, WHICH IS BINAH, rests upon the Vav, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, THIS BEING THE SECRET OF the Tefilin over his head. And the small Hei, WHICH IS MALCHUT, descends to Yud OF THE YUD HEI VAV HEI, which is the knot of the upper Hei that is on the head of the Vav. FOR THIS IS THE SECRET OF ABA, WHICH IS YUD OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHO ESTABLISHED THE DAUGHTER, WHICH IS MALCHUT. And this Vav, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, is connected with her in the Hei of a dim hand, NAMELY, THE KNOT OF THE HAND TEFILIN. AND THIS IS IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE YUD OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE KNOT OF THE HEAD TEFILIN, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF IMA ON THE HEAD OF THE VAV AND IS THE KNOT OF THE HAND TEFILIN, WHICH IS MALCHUT, IS WITH THE DIM HAND OF ZEIR ANPIN.

790. And for this reason, 'the young ones' are from the side of the letter Vav, which includes the six orders of the Mishnah, NAMELY CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD. "or upon the eggs" refers to the sages of the Bible, WHICH IS MALCHUT, THE FINAL HEI OF THE YUD HEI VAV HEI. And it is said about them: At Hei (= 5) years old, one is fit for the study of Scripture, and this is MALCHUT, WHICH IS Hei. 'The young' refers to the side of the son of Yud Hei, NAMELY, ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH HAS THE UPPER THREE SFIROT FROM YUD HEI, and these are the Kabbalists, about whom it is said: "you shall not take the mother bird together with the young" (Devarim 22:6).