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If you were asked to choose a symbol for the relationship between the Jewish people and G-d, what would you choose? An eternal light? A ladder reaching heavenward? A rainbow?
Few of us would reach for the salt shaker. The Torah speaks of a “covenant of salt" (see Vayikra 2:13). We remember this covenant at every Shabbat table as we dip our Challah into salt. Our table resembles the altar, and just as every offering required salt, salt belongs on our tables too (Rema, O.C. 167:5).
Salt also appears in the Torah’s description of Sodom’s devastation. Among G-d's limitless arsenal, He selects salt to destroy the ancient cities. Why Salt?
Salt is the ultimate enhancer. A little can transform an entire meal. Yet nobody sits down to a bowl of salt. Its greatness lies in what it brings out in something else. In that sense, salt represents the ultimate giver - the attribute of "chesed."
Sodom is located at the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth. It receives water from all the lakes, rivers, and mountains - but has no outlet. It never gives. All the sediment remains.
The people of Sodom embodied the characteristics of their geography. They turned selfishness into a public ideal. Generosity was viewed as a threat to their prosperity. For that reason, their destruction was described as a mahapechah - a reversal. They were transformed into their opposite - salt. The taker became the giver.
The Jewish outlook is that of Abraham - a Covenant of Salt. We shake it often. Be an enhancer, be a giver, and recognize we cannot stand alone.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Daniel Green
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