The Higher Man

"The Hebrew name for Altar is explained as signifying, "It wipes away sin; it nourishes the higher man; it fosters love for God; and it atones for all guilt" (Ket. 10b): its four letters (initials of meḦilah, zekut, berakah, Ḧayyim), point to Forgiveness, Justification, Blessing, and Life (Tan., Terumah, 10). It was considered a miracle and a proof of the manifestation of the Shekinah that the continual fire upon the Altar did not destroy the copper with which the stones were overlaid (Lev. R. vii.; Tan., Terumah, 11)."

Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906