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PARSHAT VAYIKRA (Leviticus 1-5)
Sodium Chloride
-Preservative or Poison?
“Salt
every meal-offering with salt, in order
that you not allow the salt of your G-d’s covenant to be absent from
your meal-offering; with all of your offerings bring salt” (Leviticus 2: 13)
Maimonides (Laws of Prohibitions of
the Altar 5:11-13) codifies the law derived from this verse. The law states
that there is a positive commandment to salt all sacrifices before they are
brought on the altar. This applies to every sacrifice except wine and blood
(liquids), and the wood used on the altar. The flesh should be well salted,
although post facto, if as little as one grain of salt was used, it is
sufficient (except for the meal-offerings). Furthermore, the salt, like the
wood, is to be paid for with public moneys, and should not be brought by the
individual from his own funds.
The verse and the details of the mitzvah seem
strange. What is the uniqueness of salt that it should be a component of every
sacrifice? What is the role of salt in this "Covenant of your G-d"?
Rashi (11th century
commentator) provides an apparently esoteric explanation of this verse
by citing a puzzling Midrash. A deeper analysis of this Midrash may provide a
key to the elucidation of the secret of the salt.
Our Sages tell us that the first
covenant that HaShem made with his creation was with salt, which originates
from the waters of the oceans. On the second day of creation, when He separated
the waters into the “upper and lower waters”, the “lower waters” complained bitterly
that they were being separated from holiness and were doomed to dwell in an
impure realm. HaShem quieted them and told them that they were destined to be
poured on the altar during the water libation ceremony of Sukkot. This did not,
however, appease the “lower waters”, so HaShem made a covenant that all
sacrifices would be salted; at which point the waters were reassured.
To understand this Midrash, let us examine the nature of seawater and
its components. Seawater is the paradigm of the dualistic nature of this world.
The water component is fluid and life-giving, while the salt component is dry,
sedentary and potentially toxic. Under certain conditions, the water component
can change its form and rise to the heavens, but it leaves the salt behind it
on earth (see Nachmanides).
The nature of salt itself is a
dichotomy. On a molecular level, salt is composed of two oppositely but equally
charged ions.
The results of salt’s physical
properties can be beneficial or deleterious.
This compound exerts an osmotic force drawing water out of objects with
which it has contact. Consequently, salt serves as a preservative on the one
hand and desiccates and scorches on the other.
When consumed alone, salt tastes
vile, but when mixed into food at the correct ratio, it can enhance their
flavors greatly.
The “lower waters” and their covenant are richly symbolic of man's
spiritual endeavor in this world. The duality of our nature is articulated in
the battle between our spiritual element, which is constantly attempting to
rise to its source, and its earthy, salty counterpart dragging it disappointingly
back down. The lower waters were not satisfied that only the water, the
spiritual element, be poured on the altar and reach the realm of holiness. They
wanted a guarantee that the totality of creation, even the salt, the lowest
element, would have an opportunity to return to its spiritual source. G-d, in
an everlasting covenant, promised these primal waters that even the most base
and coarse aspects have the potential to be elevated. Furthermore, this
elevation is not achieved by the negation of these aspects, but specifically
through their use and appreciation.
A fundamental aspect of the service
of sacrifices is that it concretizes for the one bringing the sacrifice his
spiritual quest. He dedicates himself in toto to the development of his
relationship with G-d. A message of the salt is that Divine service entails not
only the development of one’s spiritual nature, but the recognition that even
the lowliest elements of one’s nature are bequeathed by G-d and can be elevated
to great spiritual heights.
That this sanctification of mundane
activities is a fundamental aspect of any spiritual service is represented by
the requirement of bringing salt with every sacrifice. In our present era, we
can participate in the covenant of salt by ensuring that the "salty"
aspects of our being and of this physical world are elevated by dedicating them
to enhance our spirituality.