Salt of the Earth? – Vayikra
וְכָל קָרְבַּן מִנְחָתְךָ בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית מֶלַח בְּרִית אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ עַל כָּל קָרְבָּנְךָ תַּקְרִיב מֶלַח (ויקרא ב, יג).
HKB”H created our world with a hierarchical structure.
The lowest most, basic level is called דומם. These are the chemical elements in the periodic table. It is from these basic elements that all other levels of the world are comprised. The level of דומם includes the pure elements (on their own) but also complex combinations of them – the solids, liquids and gases. This is the “chemistry” level of the world. This level of the world does not obtain its “nutrition” from any level below it. Instead it combines elements from the same level to make other, more complex structures.
The level above that is called צומח, the “botany” level of the world, which comprises and is made up of the דומם, but embodies a higher characteristic – life, the ability of self-propagation. You can plant a piece of דומם, for example a diamond, in the ground and come back 100 years later and it will still remain that same diamond, the same size and dimensions. If however you plant a seed, one year later you have a plant and a hundred years after that, a jungle (like your garden after the year of Shmita). The צומח level feeds off the level below it, absorbing elements from the דומם – water, minerals, oxygen, etc. The unique characteristic of this level is that it does not feed off itself – plants do not “eat” other plants. Yes, plants decompose and the living plant feeds off them, but the decomposing is degradation to the lower level of דומם. You do not find plants feeding off living plants. Some “carnivorous” plants seem to receive their “nutrition” from the level above them (e.g. the Venus Fly Trap), but again, this is after the insect has decomposed to the level of דומם. Plants cannot eat/absorb live insects.
The third level is called חי, the “biology” level of the world. Like the צומח level below it, the חי level also has the characteristic of “life”. It is self- propagating, but functions on a higher level than that of the צומח. This level feeds off the levels below it, the דומם and the צומח (herbivorous animals) and also from its own level (carnivorous animals).
The fourth and highest level is called מדבר, human beings. This is the most elevated of all the levels, because in addition to possessing all the elements of the levels below them, humans also have a characteristic that none of the other levels have – a נשמה.
When HKB”H created the world, he intended for humans to receive their nutrition from the צומח level, the only level that does not “eat itself”. However, after humans sinned and their spiritual level was lowered, HKB”H permitted them to eat also from the חי level (starting with Noach). So there is something in being a vegetarian after all, but not because of health considerations – because of spiritual, moral considerations. It is also therefore not surprising that all the Kosher animals are herbivores (that do not eat from their own level), not carnivores. We are forbidden to eat animals that eat other animals.
The only characteristic that all four levels share is – a lifespan. Chemical elements all have something called a “half-life”, a kind of a lifespan, that diminishes/degrades with time (this is how scientists determine how old archeological findings are – using “carbon dating”, analyzing how long the carbon atoms in the relic have been degrading). Obviously living matter - plants, animals and humans also have a lifespan.
Humans, however, are the pinnacle of creation as they possess two unique characteristics that the levels below do not. Unlike the three levels below, which have no ability to upgrade themselves to a higher level, humans possess the ability to raise the three levels below them to a higher level and also to raise themselves to a higher level. Secondly, humans possess a נשמה which does not have a lifespan – it is eternal (although humans also have the destructive power to “kill” the נשמה, by sinning and incurring the punishment of כרת – by far the most severe of punishments).
The six days of Creation reflect the above hierarchy. In addition, during the six days of Creation HKB”H also created other creations which are not part of our world, but rather part of a spiritual world that parallels our world, the angels, the seven layers of Heaven, etc.
The Beit Hamikdash is a blueprint for the Creation, it contains the “schematics” of each and every one of HKB”H’s creations, both physical and spiritual and also the connections between them. I am currently writing a book that explores the correlation between of the structure of the Mikdash and the living biological cell. You can get a preview of it in my shiur “The Mikdash Within Us”
It is not surprising therefore that the Beit Hamikdash encompasses all four of the hierarchical levels described above as part of the Avodah, our service of HKB”H. There are components of Avodah that reflect the מדבר, like the שירת הלויים. There are components that reflect the חי, the animal korbanot. There are components that reflect the צומח, like the Menachot, the Ketoret, etc. There are also components that reflect the דומם, like salt and ניסוך המים. The Beit Hamikdash is the medium which we humans use to elevate/upgrade the four levels above to a higher spiritual level.
On the second day of Creation HKB”H separated the upper waters from the lower waters. Water has a special characteristic that it is constantly striving upward. Notice when you place water on a surface, the water has a property that it naturally tends to assume the smallest surface area. It doesn’t spread itself as far and wide (and flat) as possible. It consolidates into the smallest possible space and at the same time achieves the greatest altitude. That is water which is static. Water in motion also constantly strives upwards - note the waves in the sea. Water here on earth is always striving upward - to be closer to HKB”H!
When HKB”H separated the upper and lower waters, the lower waters (the salt water/seas and the fresh water/rivers) complained. “We do not want to be separated from You HKB”H!” HKB”H placated the lower waters. "Do not worry, I have ensured that you will still be able to connect with the upper waters, through your service in the Beit Hamikdash". The fresh water in the world is elevated and reconnects with the upper waters via the special ceremony of ניסוך המים performed on Sukkot. The salt water in the sea is elevated and reconnects with the upper waters by using the salt from the water to salt the Korbanot before they are offered on the Mizbeach (Rashi, Vayikra 2, 13)
The passuk above from this week’s parsha that commands us to add salt to all the Korbanot, has strange phraseology. It seems to be highly repetitious. It first says וְכָל קָרְבַּן מִנְחָתְךָ בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח – you must salt all the Menachot. It then seems to repeat that וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית מֶלַח בְּרִית אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ – do not omit salt from the Menachot. Hang on, didn’t the passuk just say that? And finally it says עַל כָּל קָרְבָּנְךָ תַּקְרִיב מֶלַח – you must add salt to all the Korbanot (not just the Menachot).
The passuk could have simply said עַל כָּל קָרְבָּנְךָ תַּקְרִיב מֶלַח and that’s it. Add salt to ALL the Korbanot! From that we could easily infer that it means ALL the Korbanot - the animal Korbanot, also the Menachot, also the Levonah from the Lechem Hapanim, etc. Why repeat the Menachot twice in the same passuk and then speak generally about all the Korbanot?
Sefer Meir Panim explains why we have this seeming repetition. It brings a chiddush regarding the Menachot. The commandment to salt the Menachot seems to be repeated twice, but if you look closely - it is phrased differently. First the Torah says regarding the Menachot בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח and then immediately after that it says וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית מֶלַח בְּרִית אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ. There is a difference between בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח and מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ. It is in fact referring to two distinct saltings.
The first is בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח salting in the dough. Don’t read בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח but rather בַּלֶחֶם תִּמְלָח. Then comes a second salting מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ on top of the Mincha, after it is baked and before it is offered on the Mizbeach. Unlike the first salting, this second salting has a special name, it is called מֶלַח בְּרִית אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ HKB”H’s covenant of salt.
In other words, the repetitious phraseology of the passuk teaches us a chiddush. The salting of the Menachot on top is because of the covenant HKB”H made with the lower waters that they would be brought on the Mizbeach in the Beit Hamikdash, but for the Menachot, and for the Menachot alone, there is an additional salting – while mixing the dough, you have to add salt in the bread as well as on top of it and the purpose of that is not because of HKB”H’s covenant of the salt, it is for a different reason. בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח means להמליך את המלך - to give honor to the King. This is applicable to all the Menachot, but specifically to the Lechem Hapanim.
The Rambam in ספר המצוות (לא תעשה צט') says שאינו מותר להקריב התפל שאין טעם לו, that it is not permitted to bring a Korban that has no taste, it has to have an intrinsic taste and flavor that is not just palatable, but an honor to the King to Whom it is sacrificed, it has to be delicious. Dough mixed without salt is unpalatable, it has no intrinsic flavor. Case in point – matzot for Pesach.
The matzot we eat on Pesach are made from flour and water, without salt. This was not always the case, but a חומרה that developed in the last few centuries. Matzot made in the Mikdash all had salt added, including what we now call Matzot for Pesach, which are in fact a type of matza called רקיקים, thin, round matzot. Until about a century ago, all Pesach matzot were round, from the passuk עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת (שמות יב, לט) derived from the word עגול, as in חוני המעגל (Rashi, ibid.). This is learned by גזירה שווה from the passuk of Avraham telling Sarah to make עֻגוֹת for the 3 angels לוּשִׁי וַעֲשִׂי עֻגוֹת (בראשית יח, ו). Square matzot were only introduced at the turn of the 20th century and were due to machining constraints in the production line matza bakeries, like Manischewitz.
Anyone who has eaten Pesach matzot knows they have almost zero taste, unless something is added to them, salt sprinkled on top or jam, cheese etc. spread over them. The reason the Mefarshim give for this חומרה is that the presence of salt accelerates the chametz process, but this is scientifically incorrect, in fact it is the opposite – salt retards the chametz process. Another reason given is because Pesach matzot are called לחם עוני, a “poor man’s” bread. To make the bread “poor”, salt is removed so that it is devoid of flavor. This does not explain the alternative meaning of לחם עוני that says לחם שעונים עליו הרבה, that it has nothing to do with poverty at all. In fact the poor man’s bread our forefathers ate in slavery in Egypt were not matzot, they were chametz bread. Matzot were only introduced just before יציאת מצרים, from Rosh Chodesh Nissan - when we were no longer slaves. Despite all these inconsistencies, it has since become the custom in מנהג אשכנז to make Pesach matzot without salt. The תימנים, on the other hand have a custom to add salt to their Pesach matzot and they consider it a הידור מצווה and they are more authentic and closer resemble what existed in the time of the Mikdash. However, we Ashkenazim must follow the customs of our fathers so we eat Pesach matza with no salt. And as we can all attest, this is not delicious bread we would serve on the table of a king, certainly not on the table of the King of kings.
Getting back to the above command to add salt: The second mention of salting in the passuk adds a word תַשְׁבִּית, it saysוְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית מֶלַח . The use of this word is not incidental and comes to teach us another detail - that it includes salting on שבת. This applies to two cases – salting the ramp of the Mizbeach on Shabbat and the Lechem Hapanim.
Because sacrifices were brought on the Mizbeach, while carrying up the parts of the animal to offer on the Mizbeach, they would drip and make the ramp of the Mizbeach slippery. To prevent the Kohanim slipping while ascending the Mizbeach, they would salt the ramp, to give it more traction. There is a machloket in the Gemara (עירובן קד, ע"ב) whether this salting of the ramp is permissible on Shabbat or not. It is clear that salting the Korbanot is possible, even obligatory on Shabbat, but what about the ramp, which is not the עיקר המצווה? Sefer Meir Panim brings a chiddush that we learn that it permissible to salt the ramp, from the use of the words וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית – you add salt even on Shabbat.
Another chiddush from Meir Panim is that salt was added to the Lechem Hapanim which is a bread of שבת – the Lechem Hapanim were switched on the Shulchan on Shabbat and eaten on Shabbat by the Kohanim. Why would there even be a question whether to salt the Lechem Hapanim or not? The reason is that the Lechem Hapanim was not brought on the Mizbeach and the commandment to add salt applies only to the Korbanot that were offered on the Mizbeach! The addition of the words וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית comes to include the “Mincha of Shabbat”, i.e: the Lechem Hapanim, even though it was not brought on the Mizbeach (only the Levonah, placed in two bowls in the center of the Shulchan, were burnt on the Mizbeach before eating the bread – and this Levonah also had to be salted before it was burnt).
Since the Lechem Hapanim is one of the Menachot, as per the above, it must be salted twice – once by adding salt while mixing the Lechem Hapanim dough, and a second time, by sprinkling salt on top of the ready baked bread, prior to eating, just like the other Menachot have salt sprinkled on them on the Mizbeach. The Shulchan is equivalent to a Mizbeach (Menachot 97a). From this the halacha (או"ח סי' קס"ז ס"ה) is derived - לא יבצע עד שיביאו לפניו מלח או לפתן ללפת בו פרוסת הבציעה. When making the bracha Hamotzi on eating bread a person should not slice or break the bread before salt or some other kind of “dipping” is brought to the table to dip the bread in - to remember the Menachot in the Mikdash.
The passuk about salt above begins with the commandment to salt the Menachot, but ends by including ALL the Korbanot offered on the Mizbeach, not just the Menachot. The format of the passuk is a כלל ופרט וכלל. The Sifra (פרשה א, ויקרא) brings, in the name of R’ Yishmael, thirteen “middot” - rules by which to interpret the Torah. We recite this every morning just prior to פסוקי דזמרה in Shacharit. One of these rules is called כלל ופרט וכלל. This rule refers to a passuk that begins using a general reference (כלל), then switches to a specific reference (פרט) and ends with another general reference (כלל). Our passuk above begins with a klal –וְכָל קָרְבַּן מִנְחָתְךָ בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח. It ends with another klal - עַל כָּל קָרְבָּנְךָ תַּקְרִיב מֶלַח. “Sandwiched” between these two klals is a prat - וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית מֶלַח בְּרִית אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ. In such a case of כלל ופרט וכלל, the way we interpret the passuk is אי אתה דן אלא כעין הפרט, the extra detail in the section of the prat applies to both the klal before and after. Therefore the specification of adding salt on top of the Menachot because it is a covenant with the lower waters – applies equally to ALL the Menachot (the first klal) and also to ALL the other Korbanot (the second kal). So in fact the commandment of salting ALL the Korbanot, including the animal Korbanot is learnt by derivation from the Menachot (besides the extra things this passuk teaches us, according to Meir Panim, described above. In Sefer Meir Panim there are numerous proofs for the above assertions, beyond the scope of this shiur).
What kind of salt was used?
The Gemara (Menachot 21a) says that the first preference is מלח סדומית, salt from the area of Sdom. If מלח סדומית is not available you may use מלח איסתרוקנית. What is the difference between the two types of salt?. According to Rashi and the Torah Temima מלח סדומית is salt from sea water that is omnipresent and never ceases to exist in the world. מלח איסתרוקנית on the other hand is salt excavated from rocks by man and if not actively produced by man, ceases to be available. The first preference is salt derived from sea water, by evaporating the sea water to leave the solid salt sediment. This, according to Rashi above, is the salt that HKB”H made a covenant with in the six days of Creation, the salt from the lower waters – the sea.
There is no consensus between the Mefarshim, nor the researchers of today, regarding the chemical composition of מלח סודמית, whether it is simple NaCl, Sodium Chloride (table salt) or not. It would appear that it is not. The halacha to do מים אחרונים originates from the premise that while eating bread, a person’s hands may still have מלח סדומית on them and if they accidentally rub their eyes and this salt gets into their eyes, it may seriously damage the eyes. Hence, after eating and before reciting Birkat Hamazon, it is required to wash the hands. If some Sodium Chloride gets into the eyes, they may burn a little, but it does not cause serious damage. This would indicate that the מלח סדומית in question is most likely a much more stringent salt.
When someone wants to say that a person is of high character, they refer to them as “salt of the earth”. From the above it appears that the Torah version of that saying would more accurately be “salt of the sea”, salt from the lower waters that constantly strive upwards to touch the upper, spiritual waters and achieve a closer connection with and give honor to HKB”H, להמליך את המלך.
