330. “Indeed there was the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Kvar, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.” It sounds from this that Ezekiel revealed by permission from the Creator, that he was given high permission to reveal what he revealed.
331. “Indeed there was” means that there was existence over existence in the fulfillment of the prophesy. The name of the Creator that was given to Moses, the name EKYEH, is a high and holy name, the name of Bina, and it is to protect the exile. If the name were in wholeness, they would not be delayed at all in the exile, but the Aleph departed from that name EKYEH, leaving Haya [was], since Aleph is the light of Hesed that departed. And because the Aleph departed, the remaining Haya was doubled in order to protect Israel, and they are both the same matter, implying the name EKYEH, since in that name, the Shechina went down to exile, but by the departure of the light of the letter Aleph.
332. This prophesy was revealed to Ezekiel in the land of the Chaldeans in the absence of the letter Aleph from the holy name, to show that there was only the river Kvar on a river that already was by the name EKYEH, which is Aleph, and which now departed from that name.
333. This is why it is written, “And the hand of the Lord was on him there,” which is judgment. At first, it is written, “the word of the Lord,” and then “the hand of the Lord.” It is all one, but in the beginning, it was not in judgment, for he was not in his place, that the Shechina should be revealed on him, for the text does not speak of the revelation of the Shechina.
That verse, “Indeed there was the word of the Lord,” the holy spirit said it, which testified about Ezekiel that he was given permission, and said what he had said in the spirit of prophesy. And since it does not speak of the revelation of the Shechina, it is written, “the word of the Lord.” Afterwards, when it speaks of the revelation of the Shechina, it is written, “and the hand of the Lord was upon him there,” which is a phrasing of judgment. Thus far, the text speaks of the operation of the prophesy. Henceforth, it is the beginning of the upper secrets.
334. “And I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came from the north.” This is the beginning of the revelation of the secrets. There is no need to reveal except for the wisehearted, who know how to study them. It is written, “And I looked,” and it is not written “I will see.” Rather, the first Hey, Bina, departed, and he did not see what he was not given permission to see, and not to reveal to another. This is why it is written, “and I saw,” without the letter Hey [in Hebrew].
335. He looked only below, in the world of Yetzira, at those visions that are more apparent, and it is written there, “and I saw” with the letter Hey [in Hebrew], but here, although it implies sublime matters he was as one who looks from behind a wall. This is why the Hey departed from the word “saw.”