“After these matters, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am a shield for you; your reward is very great” (Genesis 15:1). “After these matters, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying…” “The Almighty’s way is faultless; the word of the Lord is refined [tzerufa]. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him” (Psalms 18:31) – if His ways are faultless, all the more so that He Himself is.
Rav said: The mitzvot were given only to refine [letzaref] people through them. After all, why should the Holy One blessed be He care whether one slaughters an animal from the throat or he slaughters it from the nape? Thus we learn that the mitzvot were given only to refine the creations with them. Another interpretation, “the Almighty’s way is faultless” – this refers to Abraham,1The verse is interpreted to mean: The Almighty’s way is with the faultless, referring to Abraham. as it is stated: “You found his heart faithful before You” (Nehemiah 9:8).
“The word of the Lord is refined” – as the Holy One blessed be He refined him in the fiery furnace.2The Hebrew tzaref, translated earlier as “refined,” literally refers to smelting in a furnace. “He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him” – “fear not, Abram, I am a shield for you.”