276. When speech rises, THAT IS TO SAY, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FORMATION OF SPEECH IN A MAN, over the lobes of the lung, it there becomes a voice. At that time, IT IS SAID: "for a bird of the sky shall carry the sound" (Kohelet 10:20), "The voice of Hashem is upon the waters" (Tehilim 29:3), BECAUSE IT ASCENDS from the side of water, WHICH IS THE RIGHT, which is the brain, where it ascends through the lobes of the lung. "The voice of Hashem hews out flames of fire" (Ibid. 7) from the side of the heart, WHICH IS THE LEFT, WHICH IS FIRE. AND WHEN THE VOICE emerges from the mouth, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT, it is called 'speech.'

277. And just as there are two lobes (lit. 'wings') to the lung, NAMELY THE TWO HALVES OF THE LUNG that open up to welcome the voice as it is written: "Thus were their faces: and their wings were divided upwards" (Yechezkel 1:11), FOR THE LOBES OF THE LUNGS ARE SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER, so also are the lips TWO IN NUMBER that take the speech and cast it upwards.

278. And just as there are five lobes to the lung, NAMELY FIVE DIVISIONS IN THE TWO HALVES OF THE LUNG, all of them being open without an adhesion to receive this voice, so must there be five constructions in the mouth, all of them open without adhesions, and the five constructions are: the guttural LETTERS Aleph, Chet, Hei and Ayin THAT ARE FORMED in the throat; the labial LETTERS Bet, Vav, Mem and Pe THAT ARE FORMED with the lips; the LETTERS Gimel, Yud, Caf and Kof THAT ARE FORMED IN THE ROOF OF THE MOUTH; Dalet, Tet, Lamed and Nun Tav THAT ARE FORMED on the tongue; and Zayin, Samech, Shin, Resh and Tzadi by the teeth.

279. And speech will be in them, IN THE FIVE EMISSIONS OF THE MOUTH, without any adhesion or hindrance, as it is written: "And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rivkah came out" (Beresheet 24:15), WHERE RIVKAH is the prayer, that is speech. For this reason have we learned: If the prayer is fluent in my mouth, I know that it has been accepted. But if there is an adhesion and it comes out with a hindrance, I know that my prayer is in disorder, BECAUSE there is an adhesion in the lung, which makes it unfit.

280. And this voice refers to Sh'ma Yisrael, NAMELY THE UNITY OF THE SIX WORDS OF SH'MA YISRAEL, WHICH IS THE UNIFICATION OF ZEIR ANPIN, CALLED 'VOICE,' through which, "I heard the noise of their wings" (Yechezkel 1:24). When Yud Hei Vav Hei, ZEIR ANPIN, who is voice, emerges to welcome the Shechinah with whispered prayer, which is speech, NAMELY MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED 'SPEECH,' of which IT IS SAID: "Adonai, open my lips" (Tehilim 51:17), all the parts, NAMELY ALL THE 248 LIGHTS OF CHESED OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH ARE CALLED 'THE 248 PARTS OF THE BODY,' their wings, NAMELY MALCHUT WHICH IS IN EACH PART, are all of them opened by the 248 words in the four sections of the recital of Sh'ma Yisrael, through which the voice descends.

281. And when THE VOICE descends TO WELCOME THE SHECHINAH IN THE AMIDAH PRAYER, a number of birds chirp to it, THEY BEING THE SECRET TO THE 248 LIGHTS OF THE SHECHINAH, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF SPEECH. AND FOR THIS REASON THEY CHIRP, all of them, in a number of types of melody on the parts of the body, WHICH ARE THE 248 LIGHTS OF ZEIR ANPIN, which are the branches of the tree, and on all the wings that are in every part, NAMELY ON MALCHUT WHICH IS IN EACH PART, WHICH IS CALLED 'WING.' For there is the lodging-place of the bird that is called 'Adonai,' NAMELY MALCHUT. FOR THE 248 LIGHTS OF MALCHUT DWELL ON THE ASPECT OF THE WING THAT IS IN EACH OF THE 248 LIGHTS OF ZEIR ANPIN, FOR EACH ASPECT RECEIVES FROM ITS CORRESPONDING ASPECT ABOVE. For on each of the branches OF ZEIR ANPIN, MALCHUT is open to her husband, THIS BEING THE SECRET OF "Adonai, open my lips," which is an opening TO ZEIR ANPIN in the Amidah prayer. For there is not one of the 248 parts of the Shechinah that is not open to receive ZEIR ANPIN. This is why THE SHECHINAH is called 'the talk of the ministering angels,' BECAUSE IT IS THE ASPECT OF SPEECH, and it is the chirping of the birds, who are the souls resting on the limbs OF THE SHECHINAH, WHICH ARE CALLED 'BIRDS.' And it is 'the talk of palm trees,' which are the branches of the tree THAT ARE THE LIMBS OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH ARE IN THE ASPECT OF PINIONS IN EACH BRANCH, WHERE ADONAI RESTS, WHO IS SPEECH.

282. And at the time, when Yud Hei Vav Hei descends to Adonai, in every body part AS EACH PART OF YUD HEI VAV HEI WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, POURS PLENTY OVER THE CORRESPONDING PART OF MALCHUT WHICH IS ADONAI, it is said about them: "when they stood still, they let down their wings" (Yechezkel, 1:24). "WHEN THEY STOOD" HINTS AT THE UNITY OF THE AMIDAH PRAYER, FOR THEN THE WINGS, WHICH ARE THE LIMBS OF MALCHUT, ARE AT REST. And this is the secret of 'electrum' (Heb. chashmal), WHICH IS THE LETTERS OF SILENT AND SPEAKING LIVING CREATURES OF FIRE. These living creatures of fire are sometimes quiet (Heb. chashot) and sometimes speaking (Heb. memalelot), and the sages of the Mishnah said: 'As we learned in the Mishnah, When speech comes forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they are silent and when no speech comes forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they speak.' THE MEANING OF THIS IS THAT at the time when speech and voice are united together THAT IS, ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT, which are THE COMBINATION: Yud-Aleph-Hei-Dalet-Vav-Nun-Hei-Yud DURING THE AMIDAH PRAYER, they are silent. But when their faces, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF ZEIR ANPIN, and their wings, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT, are divided - when Yud Hei Vav Hei is separated from Adonai, it, THE YUD HEI VAV HEI, is to be found in the four faces of the living creatures, which are all open. And before it, THE WINGS OF THE LIVING CREATURES, THAT ARE THE ASPECT OF ADONAI AND THE ASPECT OF SPEECH, they speak, requesting nourishment FROM ZEIR ANPIN, for "in it was food for all" (Daniel 4:18). Adonai WHO IS MALCHUT is to be found in the wings of the living creatures, and all of them are open to receive from the living creatures.

283. THE LIVING CREATURES THAT ARE IN YETZIRAH roar with a voice that is ZEIR ANPIN, CALLED Yud Hei Vav Hei. And they are all on the right, NAMELY WITH CHASSADIM. The Ofanim (Eng. 'wheels'), WHICH ARE IN ASIYAH, chirp in speech, which is FROM MALCHUT, CALLED 'Adonai,' and they are on the left. In the Serafim, WHICH ARE IN BRIYAH, voice and speech become joined, BEING ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT, AND THEY ARE in the center, AND THEY ATTIRE THEMSELVES BY A UNIFICATION IN THE TWO NAMES: YUD HEI VAV HEI ADONAI, AND COMBINE ONE WITH THE OTHER: Yud-Aleph-Hei-Dalet-Vav-Nun-Hei-Yud. About them IT IS SAID: "And let fowl fly" (Beresheet 1:20), AND ALSO: that is the meaning of "Then one of the Serafim flew to me" (Yeshayah 6:6), THE REFERENCE BEING TO METATRON. And it is said about them: "for a bird of the sky shall carry the sound, and that which has wings shall tell the matter" (Kohelet 10:20), WHERE THE SOUND IS FROM THE SIDE OF THE YUD HEI VAV HEI ATTIRED WITH METATRON, AND "THAT WHICH HAS THE WINGS SHALL TELL THE MATTER" IS FROM THE SIDE OF ADONAI ATTIRED WITH METATRON. "Above Him stood the Serafim; each one had six wings" (Yeshayah 6:2) is from the side of the letter Vav (= 6), which IS ATTIRED IN THEM, AND is the Central Column, incorporating Right and Left, INCLUDING THE SIX SFIROT OF CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD, and it includes the six words OF UNIFICATION AS EXPRESSED IN THE READING OF SH'MA. And that is derived from: "with two He covered His face, with two He covered His feet, and with two He did fly" (Ibid.).

284. FROM "AND I LOOKED" TO "APPEARANCE OF A MAN" (YECHEZKEL 1:4-26) IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE CORRECTION, FOR THERE ARE FOUR KLIPOT, WITHIN WHICH ARE THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES, AND THE SECRET OF METATRON IS THAT IN RELATION TO THE LIVING CREATURES HE IS THE INNER MEANING OF THE FIRMAMENT WHICH IS ABOVE THEIR HEADS AND LEADS THEM, WHILE IN RELATION TO MALCHUT HE IS THE INNER MEANING OF THRONE. AND ALL OF THIS IS THE FIRST CORRECTION. The second correction is: "and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it" (Ibid.), WHERE BY MAN IS MEANT the imprint of the scroll of the Torah, NAMELY MALCHUT THAT IS THE IMPRINT OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHO IS CALLED 'THE TORAH SCROLL.' And this is: "According to the beauty (Heb. Tiferet) of man, that it may remain in the house" (Yeshayah 44:13). IN OTHER WORDS, MALCHUT IS AS THE TIFERET OF MAN, BUT NOT REALLY TIFERET ITSELF. SO ALSO HERE WHERE IT IS SAID "AS THE APPEARANCE OF A MAN," BUT NOT MAN ITSELF, IT IS APPLIED TO MALCHUT, FOR WHOM METATRON IS A THRONE.