Halakhah su Salmi 18:31

"Mizvot were given solely in order to purify mankind," declares the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 44:1; Va-Yikra Rabbah 13:3). Fulfillment of a divine commandment is certainly not to be construed as a boon to God. As so eloquently expressed by the Sages, "What difference is it to God whether one performs the ritual of slaughter upon the throat or upon the nape of the neck?" The midrashic metaphor is chosen with precision. The term "le-zaref," meaning "to purify," is the Hebrew term employed to describe the refining or "purification" of precious metals. Man's personality combines a curious mixture of the noble and the base, the spiritual and the animal, the precious and the dross. Precious metals were not created in a pure state. In nature they exist only in tandem with base substances. The precious metal is obtained in a pure state only as the end product of the process of smelting and refining. "The word of God is pure" (Psalms 18:31) and acts as a purging and purifying agent. Commandments and rituals are designed to refine human character, to purge man of base traits and to allow human spirituality to shine forth.

Behold, they explained that the deterrent to our [understanding of] the explanations of the commandments is only from the blindness of our intellects; and that the explanation of the most difficult one of them was already revealed to the sages of Israel. And there are many such statements in their words - and in the Torah and in Scripture, very many. And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, mentioned some of them. But [as far] those homiletic teachings (aggadot) with which the Teacher was challenged, according to [Ramban's] opinion, they are about a different matter: that they wanted to say that there is no benefit in the commandments to the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, may He be blessed. Rather, the benefit is for the person, himself, to deter him from harm or a bad belief or an ugly trait or to remember wonders of the Creator, may He be blessed, [so as] to remember God. And this is [what was meant by] "to refine them with them" - that they should be like refined silver. As the action of the one who refines silver is not without explanation, but [rather] to remove all the dross. So too are the commandments to remove from him any bad belief and to inform him of the truth and to always remind him. And the language of the aggadah itself in Yilamdenu in the section, 'This is the animal ' (Midrash Tanchuma, Shmini 8) is "And for what would the Holy One, blessed be He, care if one slaughters a beast and eats or stabs [it] and eats? Does it help Him or hurt Him at all? Or what would He care whether one would eat pure foods or eat carcasses? 'And if you have been wise, you have been wise for yourself.' Behold, the commandments were only given to refine the creatures with them, as it states (Psalms 12:7), 'The words of the Lord are pure words'; 'The word of the Lord is refined' (Psalms 18:31). Why? So that it will a shield for you."