Shabbat Parashat Vayikra - 5786

Shabbat Parashat Vayikra - 5786

Rabbi Hal Miller

  You shall salt your every meal offering with salt, you may not discontinue the salt of your

  God's covenant from upon your meal offering, on all your offerings shall you offer salt.

[Vayikra 2:13]

Why salt? What exactly gets salted? What qualifies as salting?

Sefer HaChinuch draws from our verse both a negative commandment (118) not to bring an offering without salt, and a positive commandment (119) to bring salt with every offering. He clarifies that all offerings need salt except wine, blood and wood, which he says are not 'offerings' as such. The salt is paid for from public funds, not from individuals. Although salting of meat is to be done in the same way one would for roasting, he notes that if one applied only a little salt, it would still be acceptable. The commandments apply to Kohanim regarding their bringing up the offerings brought to them to offer as opposed to applying to the owners of those offerings. He gives as reasons that salt makes food taste better so the offeror will feel more spiritually attached to the sacrificing, and that salt, since it does not disintegrate, will help preserve the longevity of the soul of that owner. Most of the other commentators give explanations similar to some or all of this.

Rambam explains that salt, since it does not break down, is added to remind us that the possibility of repentance and forgiveness always exists. Since God has no need for the sacrifices, they are offered for human needs, to ensure our proper behavior in keeping the covenant. Bechor Shor adds that since salt endures, it represents our covenant with God, and Rashi concurs with this position.

Another obvious question from our verse is why did the Torah tell us at the beginning "you shall salt" and follow with the words "with salt"? It seems redundant as one would not be able to salt something with anything other than salt. Torah Temimah specifies an answer, "if 'with salt' were stated I would think that it is sufficient just to flavor it, thus it is written 'you shall salt'. If 'you shall salt' alone were stated I would think that salt water was permissible, thus it is written 'with salt'."

Yet another question on our verse is why did the Torah tell us "you shall salt your every meal offering with salt" and then end with "on all your offerings shall you offer salt" as this also appears redundant? Rashi and Ramban bring Menachot [20a] to explain that these two phrases in fact refer to different things. The first itself specifies that one must add salt to meal offerings, and the second just says "on all your offerings". Since the first phrase covers only meal offerings, the second means for all other types of offerings, including animal sacrifices and almost everything else. Rav Hirsch specifies that the latter includes everything that is to be burned upon the fire of the Altar, whether in part or in full, whereas the former phrase includes only things which are only partly burned.

There is a widespread custom to use salt upon the bread of hamotzi since today we treat our dining table as a reminder/replacement for the Altar. The Shulchan Aruch [167:5] mentions that "salt and relish" are to ensure the bread will be tasty, and the Rama indicates that it is a good custom. But not everybody concurs with this custom. Chasam Sofer, for example, would not salt bread on Friday night because sacrifices were not offered at that time in the Temple.

Thus, salt is used because of its enduring quality, all offerings that go up on the fire get salt, and the preferred process of salting is as one does with kashering meat, but in the end even only a little salt will suffice for the commandment.