זוהר ויקרא — דף נג ע”ב

Come and see, it is written "and for him who is to be cleansed shall be taken two living, clean birds." Since it says "two birds," did we not already know they are living? Rather, it has already been explained: living means truly living, as it is said "and I saw the living creatures," corresponding to the place from which the faithful prophets suckle. And cedar wood, this has already been explained. And scarlet, the red side of strict judgment that joined with it first. And hyssop, this is the small vav that nurses the Congregation of Israel. And therefore cedar wood and hyssop go together, and therefore the two vavs are found as one, one supreme and one small, and they are called the upper vav and the lower vav. And all of them return to rest upon him, because he has become purified. Corresponding to these above, below — cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet are found in this greatness, and are suspended from these supernal things.<br />
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Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yitzchak were walking along the way. They sat in a field and prayed. After they finished praying, they rose and walked on. Rabbi Yehuda opened with words of Torah and said, "She is a tree of life to those who hold fast to her, and those who support her are happy." Tree of life — this is the Torah, which is a supreme tree, great and mighty. Torah, why is it called Torah? Because it teaches and reveals what had been hidden and unknown. Life, for all the life above is included in it, and from it they go forth. To those who hold fast to her — those who grasp hold of her, for whoever grasps the Torah grasps everything, held above and below. And those who support her are happy — who are those who support her? These are the ones who put funds into the purse of Torah scholars, as it has been explained.<br />
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And those who support her — he merits that faithful prophets come forth from him. Happy — do not read "happy" but "from its head." Those are the supporters of the Torah from its head to its end. From its head — the aspect of the head of everything that is called head, as it is written "I was established from everlasting, from the beginning." And head — this is wisdom, which is the head of the whole body, and the body extends from it to the completion of the six sides, and those who support her, as it is said "his legs are pillars of marble." For those who put funds into the purse of Torah scholars support the Torah from the head to the completion of the body, and all faith depends upon it and is supported by it. And he merits children who will be seen as faithful prophets.<br />
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Rabbi Yitzchak opened with "And He called to Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying." "And He called" — a small aleph, why? In order to show who it was that called — the One who dwells in the Sanctuary — and then He invited Moses as one invites a guest. Here a small aleph, there a great aleph: Adam, Seth, Enosh — this is the completion of the whole.<br />
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Come and see the difference between Moses and Aaron, which of them is the higher one? Rather, Moses is the higher one; Moses is the king's groomsman, and Aaron is the queen's groomsman. A parable of a king who had a supreme queen. What did he do? He gave her a groomsman to attend to her and to look after the affairs of the household. And therefore, when this groomsman enters before the king, he enters only together with the queen. This is what is written, "thus shall Aaron come, etc."<br />
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Moses is the king's groomsman, therefore he was invited as a guest, and afterward — "and the Lord spoke to him." Aaron is the groomsman of the queen, and all his words were to make peace between the king and the queen, so that the king might be reconciled with her. And therefore, since he is her groomsman, he placed his dwelling with her, to attend to the household and to look constantly into the affairs of the household. And therefore he was established after the pattern above, and was called High Priest. From where do we know this? From what is written, "you are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek."<br />
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And therefore, whatever he needs from the king's house he takes, and no one can prevent him. And therefore he stands to purify all those who enter the queen's house, so that no impurity be found among the members of the palace, and therefore it is written, "and for him who is to be cleansed shall be taken two birds, etc."<br />