[Avodah] Letzareif

[Akiva Miller]

.

R' Micha Berger wrote:

>     Lo nitenu hamitzvos ela letzarei bahen es haberios
> ...
> Letzareif is a metaphor of melting. The problem is, whether
> we mean smelting / refining, or to meld to thing together (as
> in "mitzrareif")?
> Are we being told that mitzvos were given to refine people,
> or to connect them? Or is the word chosen in order to
> intentionally carry both meanings?

"Ratzah HKBH l'zakos es Yisrael..."
Does "zakos" mean to purify, or to give zechus?

I perceive a similar poetry in both l'tzaref and l'zakos, but I'm not
much of a poet, so I'll leave this thought for the rest of y'all to
ponder and expand uon.

Akiva Miller