וימררו את חייהם בעבדה קשה בחמר ובלבנים
The Zohar HaKadosh explains chomer, mortar, and leveinim, bricks, differently than the standard translation. Chomer is reference to kal v’chomer (light and heavy; a principle of determining halachah. It means that what applies in a less important – light – case will surely apply in a more important – heavy – one. The phrase has come to mean an inescapable conclusion). Leveinim refers to libun halachah, the process of thoroughly analyzing, clarifying and elucidating halachah. (The word libun means whitening or purification, symbolizing the effort expended to refine and clarify a halachic issue until it becomes clear, so that it…
