316. The fourth and fifth corrections are, ."..from what appeared to be his loins upward, and from what appeared to be his loins downward" (Yechezkel 1:27), about which IT IS SAID that the legs of the living creatures are equivalent to all of them, and they are in the Sfirot of Netzach and Hod. FOR NETZACH AND HOD ARE CALLED 'LOINS,' AND "FROM WHAT APPEARED TO BE HIS LOINS UPWARD" IS NETZACH, AND "FROM WHAT APPEARED TO BE HIS LOINS DOWNWARD" IS HOD. And Metatron is a sign in His army, for he has the form of the Righteous, WHICH IS YESOD, FOR RIGHTEOUS, WHICH IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, is a letter in His heavenly hosts, IN ATZILUT, while Metatron is a sign in the earthly hosts, IN BRIYAH. Metatron has Shadai in him, AS HE HAS THE SAME NUMERICAL VALUE AS THE SHADAI, ABOUT WHOM IT IS SAID: "And the living creatures ran and returned like the appearance of a flash of lightning" (Ibid. 14).
317. "And their feet were straight feet" (Ibid. 7). For the feet of the demons are crooked, while about their feet, namely about the feet of the holy living creatures, it is said: "And their feet were straight feet." This is from the aspect of a living creature, which is Yisrael, and Yisrael includes three living creatures, about whom it is said: 'The patriarchs are the Chariot.'
318. "And the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot" (Ibid.) BECAUSE THEY ARE from the side of the living creature that is CALLED 'ox,' WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE LEFT COLUMN, AND THIS IS WHY THEY HAD A CALF'S FOOT. "And they sparkled like the color of burnished brass" (Ibid.), namely from the side of the slithering serpent that is in the sea and which ascends to the one on the dry land, NAMELY THAT ASCENDS TO FIGHT WITH THE SERPENT THAT IS ON THE DRY LAND. SERPENT (HEB. NACHASH) AND BRASS (HEB. NECHOSHET) ARE MALE AND FEMALE, WHICH ARE IN THE BRIGHTNESS, AND IT IS THEREFORE SAID: "AND THEY SPARKLED LIKE THE COLOR OF BURNISHED BRASS" NAMELY FROM THE SIDE OF THE SERPENT WHO ILLUMINATES IN THEM. "Ran (Heb. ratzo)" (Ibid. 14), WHICH IS SAID ABOUT THE LIVING CREATURES, is from the side of Nuriel, which has the same numerical number as ratzo. SIMILARLY, "and returned (Heb. vashov)," WHICH IS SAID ABOUT THE LIVING CREATURES, is from the side of Shadai, which has the same numerical value as 'vashov.' And this is the numerical value of Metatron. AND THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN EXPLAINED ABOVE.
319. And whenever Yisrael heard the voice OF TORAH AND PRAYER from the east, they would run to the east, and similarly to the west, and likewise to the south and to the north. The Holy One, blessed be He said to the ministering angels: "Those who run to the ordained prayer, and who run to hear the lesson on the Shabbat, and run to do My will and who repent, they are to be received in the temple of this appearance," NAMELY IN THE TEMPLE OF NETZACH AND HOD. For by these signs, THAT THEY RUN TO THE TORAH AND PRECEPTS AND RETURN IN REPENTANCE, NAMELY "RAN AND RETURNED," they are your friends. For they run and return in Torah, JUST AS THE LIVING CREATURES WHO "RAN AND RETURNED," in the speech of Halachah, and they are recorded with you, them you shall bring into this temple.
320. And so it is that when Yisrael pray, Michael flies round the world with one flap of his wings, and Gabriel with two, and when the speech emerges from Yisrael in Halachah, prayer, or any precept where the Shechinah is, they run to Her, TO THE SHECHINAH and return with Her, WITH THE SHECHINAH, on a mission from their Master, TO UNITE HER WITH YUD HEI VAV HEI. And in every place where the voice of Torah is heard, there the Holy One, blessed be He, is, and they run to that voice, and return with it on a mission from their Master. And whenever there is a voice without the Name Yud Hei Vav Hei being there, or speech without Adonai being there, MICHAEL AND GABRIEL do not run and return there. And this is why "their feet were straight feet," "for the ways of Hashem are straight" (Hoshea 14:10), THIS BEING THE SECRET OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN, where the way is straight. And if the Name Yud Hei Vav Hei is not there, the way is not straight.
321. Moreover, "And their feet were straight feet." The sages of the Mishnah said: 'One who prays should arrange his feet during his prayer as do the ministering angels,' NAMELY HIS FEET SHOULD BE STRAIGHT "like the sole of a calf's foot," namely to be THUS marked among them. And for this reason the sages taught: 'When one prays, he should place his feet in proper position, as it says: "And their feet were straight feet."' And the Holy One, blessed be He, said TO THE MINISTERING ANGELS: 'Those who are thus noted in their prayer, that they place their feet as you do, for them open the gates of the temple to enter this vision' OF NETZACH AND HOD.