185) Vav comprises the letters Vav, Aleph, Vav. Vav is ZA, sitting on the throne, on Malchut, as it is written, “Upon the likeness of the throne was an image as the appearance of a man upon it from above,” which is ZA. Aleph is blocked inside the Vav and does not appear because Aleph is AA clothed with ZA from his Tabur down. He does not appear outside of ZA, as it is written, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord,” since ZA swears by AA who is clothed within him.
This is why Aleph is written but is not read. When we read Vav, Aleph is passive and is not heard in the pronunciation because it points to AA, who is blocked and unattainable. The last Vav is the inclusion of the first. It is Yesod, the Sium of the Guf, which is Tifferet, and the whole of the Guf. This is why the letters are included in one another, Vav-Aleph-Vav, which is Rosh and Sof, Tifferet and Yesod, which are one. And Aleph is AA clothed in Tifferet.
186)
Those
two
letters,
in
the
same
manner
as
with
the
letter
Vav,
it
is
also
with
the
letter
Nun.
The
bent
Nun
is
the
queen,
and
Vav,
which
is
Yesod,
is
supported
by
her,
so
that
Malchut
is
blessed
by
it.
The
stretched
Nun
[]
is
expansion
of
Tifferet,
hence
the
letters
are
included
and
united
with
each
other
since
Tifferet,
which
is
a
stretched
Nun,
imparts
to
Yesod,
who
is
Vav,
and
Yesod
imparts
to
Malchut,
which
is
the
bent
Nun
[
].
The
Vav
turns
her
face
from
the
bent
Nun
and
turns
her
face
to
the
stretched
Nun,
who
is
the
king,
Tifferet,
because
of
the
honor
of
the
king.
Hence,
Yesod
turns
his
face
opposite
the
king,
meaning
that
Yesod
and
Tifferet
are
always
as
one.
187)
The
letter
Mem
does
not
include
another
letter
in
it
because
the
letter
of
the
filling
is
also
Mem,
except
it
is
an
open
Mem
[]
and
a
blocked
Mem
[
].
An
open
Mem
indicates
that
Malchut
is
open
to
receive
the
abundance
from
the
male.
A
blocked
Mem
points
to
Yovel,
Bina,
whose
ways
are
blocked.
Hence,
the
Mem
is
also
blocked
on
all
her
sides.
And although Bina sometimes expands, she is still considered blocked, as it is written, “A locked garden is my sister, my bride, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” The blocked Mem also implies Malchut when she is called a “sealed fountain.”
188) When the holy king remembers Israel for his name and returns the queen to her place, it is written, “And every man shall not be in the tent of meeting when he comes to atone in the holy place.” So is the priest: when he comes to unify the holy name and atone in the holy place, to mate the king and queen, it is written, “And every man shall not be in the tent of meeting when he comes to atone in the holy place.”
189) The priest evokes peace in the world above and below. He enters in the degree of Malchut, washes his body, emerges from that degree to another degree, of ZA, washes his body, and ties the peace to one and to the other, to ZA and Malchut. He sanctifies his hand and they are blessed together. In everything, an act below should be seen so as to evoke its corresponding one above. He must show the clothes he wears so they are such as the act, and he should aim until he establishes everything as it should be, and upper and lower will be blessed.