DON’T PASS ON SALT FOR THIS MEAL!
וכל קרבן מנחתך במלח תמלח, ולא תשבית מלח ברית אלקיך מעל מנחתך, על כל קרבנך תקריב מלח
Your every meal-offering you shall salt with salt,
you shall not rest the salt of your God’s covenant from upon your meal-offering;
upon all your sacrifices you shall bring salt
The law is universal: Offerings are to be accompanied by salt. And yet, the Torah makes a point of warning us specifically about the meal offering, “You shall not rest the salt of your God’s covenant from upon your meal-offering”.
Why the special attention to the meal-offering? What is it about this offering that warrants a special warning? Is the omission of salt from a meal-offering any more severe than its omission from other offerings?
Apparently so. Indeed, the law states that whereas the omission of salt from other offerings, while forbidden, does not render the offering invalid, its omission from a meal-offering does disqualify the offering entirely.
But why?
Perhaps we can achieve a grain of understanding by identifying the reason behind the salting of offerings in the first place. God, it goes without saying, is not low on sodium. Indeed, from God’s perspective, the entire offering is superfluous. And yet, the offerings we bring represent for us the relationship we share with God. It thus follows that salting, which ordinarily serves to bring forth otherwise dormant taste, likewise acts here to symbolically extract the flavor and lusciousness inherent in our relationship with God.
Which should crystallize the answer to our questions…
Our protagonist, the poor man who can afford nothing more than a measly meal-offering, obviously feels that when it comes to his relationship with God, there is no flavor to be had. ‘After all’, he reasons, ‘what do I have to offer? I’m a poor, simple man, with nary a slice of bread to put on the table, pitifully dispatching my obligation to God with some flour and oil. Is there any point in pouring salt on my old wounds?’
Oh, but how wrong he is…
“You shall not rest the salt of your God’s covenant from upon your meal-offering”, says the Torah.
How dare you suggest that your offering somehow does not warrant salt! The salt is not salt of your offering, it’s of your covenant with God!
Do you think God made a covenant with you because he enjoys bland friends?
Do you think He created you to fill up gaps in His neighborhood and holes in His diet?
He made a covenant with you because He finds you to be delightful! He put you into His world because you have something special to offer!
To omit salt from an animal offering is wrong. To think it unnecessary in a meal offering is downright criminal.
God obviously cannot find your special touch in your local cash-cow’s cow! He obviously can’t enjoy that same superb relationship with your supposed superiors!
There is something special about you, yes you without the money,
you the dull old dimwit, whose jokes are never funny,
you without the depth, the piety or power,
you who’ll never be the man, of the year or even hour,
so next time someone whispers,
You’re worthless!, why not halt,
and remind yourself to take his words,
with a hefty grain of salt!
