Now, though this is the “lower hey,” the latter hey of the Four-Letter Name of G-d,
וְהִנֵּה, הֲגַם שֶׁהִיא ה' תַּתָּאָה, ה' אַחֲרוֹנָה שֶׁבְּשֵׁם הַוָיָ',
while our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded this—that the World to Come was created by the letter yud and this world by the letter hey—from their reading of the verse, “for by yud-hey [G-d created the worlds],”
וְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה דָּרְשׁוּ זֶה עַל פָּסוּק: "כִּי בְּיָהּ",
Since these are the first two letters of the Divine Name, how are we taught here that the statement that “this world was created by the letter hey” refers to the lower letter hey, the source of the breath of the letters of speech?
this is because its source and the beginning of its progress into a state of manifestation from the obscurity of the yud
הַיְינוּ לְפִי שֶׁמְּקוֹרָהּ וְרֵאשִׁיתָהּ לָבֹא לִבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי מֵהֶעְלֵם הַיּוּ"ד
is influenced and drawn forth from the level of the upper hey.
הוּא מוּשְׁפָּע וְנִמְשָׁךְ מִבְּחִינַת ה' עִילָּאָה,
The obscurity of the yud of chochmah is the source of every manner of revelation, both of the World to Come as well as of this world. As this relates to the letters: it serves as the source of revelation both for the “form” as well as the “matter” of the letters. It is only that in the resulting revelation of the letters, the “form” of the letters and the revelation of the World to Come emanate from the letter yud—from chochmah—itself while the revelation of the “matter” or external aspect of the letters emanates from the “breath of the heart,” from the latter hey of the Divine Name.
[The form or shape of the letter hey] has dimensions of length and width
שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהּ הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת אוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב,
to indicate the faculty of binah, for the upper hey of the Divine Name denotes the level of binah,
לְהוֹרוֹת עַל בְּחִינַת בִּינָה,
which is the expansion of the “concealed intellect” into a state of manifestation and apprehension, extending into daat,
שֶׁהִיא הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַשֵּׂכֶל הַנֶּעְלָם בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי וְהַשָּׂגָה בְּהַרְחָבַת הַדַּעַת,
and its diffusion—the diffusion of the flow of binah—culminates in the heart.
וְהַשְׁפָּעָתָהּ מִסְתַּיֶּימֶת בַּלֵּב,
Thus, it is written in the Tikkunim that “binah is the heart, and by means of it, the heart understands.”21
וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתִּיקּוּנִים, דְּ"בִינָה לִבָּא, וּבָהּ הַלֵּב מֵבִין",
Thus, the diffusion of binah takes place within the heart.
From there issues the breath, the original manifestation of the “body” of the letters of speech
וּמִשָּׁם יוֹצֵא הַהֶבֶל מְקוֹר גִּילּוּי גּוּף הָאוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר,
which become revealed from the concealment of the yud through the five organs of speech.
הַמִּתְגַּלּוֹת בְּה' מוֹצָאוֹת מֵהֶעְלֵם הַיּוּ"ד.
The shape of the lower hey, which, in its written form, also has dimensions of length and width,
וּתְמוּנַת ה' תַּתָּאָה בִּכְתִיבָתָהּ גַּם כֵּן בְּהִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת אוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב,
indicates the extension of [G-d’s] blessed Sovereignty, “the sovereignty of all worlds,”22
מוֹרָה עַל הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, "מַלְכוּת כָּל עוֹלָמִים",
which extends upward and downward, and in the four directions,
לְמַעְלָה וּלְמַטָּה וּלְד' סִטְרִין,
[all these directions] extending and issuing from the letters of the “word of G-d,” as it is written in Ecclesiastes, “The king’s utterance reigns,” as explained elsewhere.
הַמִּתְפַּשְּׁטוֹת וְנִמְשָׁכוֹת מֵאוֹתִיּוֹת דְּבַר ה', כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּקֹהֶלֶת: "בַּאֲשֶׁר דְּבַר מֶלֶךְ שִׁלְטוֹן", כְּמוֹ שֶׁמְּבוֹאָר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר.
Just as a king of flesh and blood rules through his faculty of speech by issuing commands, so, too, does supernal speech extend G-d’s reign in all the dimensions of the created universe.
23[As for understanding somewhat the concept and nature of “letters of speech” in relation to Divinity, inasmuch as [G-d] has no form of a body, nor of a soul, heaven forfend,
[וּלְהָבִין מְעַט מִזְּעֵיר עִנְיַן וּמַהוּת אוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר בֵּאלֹהוּת, שֶׁאֵין לוֹ דְּמוּת הַגּוּף וְלֹא הַנֶּפֶשׁ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם,
this has already been explained comprehensively yet concisely 24(in Likkutei Amarim, Part II, chs. 11 and 12; see there).]
כְּבָר נִתְבָּאֵר בְּדֶרֶךְ אֲרוּכָּה וּקְצָרָה (בְּלִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים חֵלֶק ב פְּרָקִים י"א וְי"ב, עַיֵּין שָׁם)]:
Supernal speech is of the level of malchut, as alluded to in the verse, “The king’s utterance reigns.”20 The hey that is the source of speech is thus the lower hey of the Tetragrammaton, the letter which denotes the level of malchut.