Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
    • Counting of the Omer
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

Korach: A Covenant of Salt

6/19/2015

 
Picture
Near the end of this week's Torah portion (Korach), God spelled out some of the privileges enjoyed by the Kohanim – the priestly caste made up of Aaron and his male direct descendants. God told Aaron that, in exchange for their work as the ritual leaders of the Temple, the Kohanim would receive some of the food that the Israelites brought as offerings to the Temple. 

Whenever the Israelites brought animal sacrifices as meal offerings, sin offerings or guilt offerings, the meat would go to the priests as their holy portion.  The Kohanim also would receive the oil, wine, grain and fruits that the Israelites brought to worship God.

God calls this arrangement a "Covenant of Salt" (Numbers 18:19). The phrase is unusual and it only appears in one other place in the Hebrew Bible (II Chronicles 13:5), where it describes the relationship between God and the descendants of King David. From the context, it is clear that a "Covenant of Salt" is one that lasts forever – it is unending.

But why? What is the quality of salt that is eternal?

According to the great medieval commentator Rashi, it is "because salt does not spoil," and that makes perfectly good sense. Since ancient times, people have noticed that, unlike oil or milk, for example, salt never goes bad. Salt that has been stored for decades will remain just as good as the day it was placed in its jar.

But there is also another possibility.

We think of salt primarily as something that gives flavor to food. Before the invention of refrigeration, though, salt was used mostly as a preservative. Meats and vegetable cured with salt last a long time because salt removes liquid from food and it inhibits the growth of microorganisms that cause spoilage. If the phrase "Covenant of Salt" refers to salt's quality as a preservative, there are some interesting implications.

Salt does allow foods to be kept for a very long time, but it does not leave them unchanged. Salted foods take on the flavor of salt. They lose most of their moisture. They may even shrivel up and change in size and texture. A pickle, for example, is noticeably different from a cucumber. Salt may not change over the decades, but food preserved with salt certainly does.

If the Kohanim experienced that kind of "Covenant of Salt," they were transformed by being God's appointed ritual leaders. Their relationship with God took something away from them, and it gave them some new qualities.

This is the observation of Rabbi Yisrael Yehoshua Trunk of Kutno. Writing in the mid-nineteenth century, he said that just as salt causes food to decrease in size, yet keeps it from spoiling for a long time, the same is true when one brings an offering. "What is given is lost, yet the donors establish their assets forever."

What does he mean? Put simply: When we give, we get. 

The Kohanim spent their lives serving God, and they certainly were aware that their service was not directly for their own benefit, but for the benefit of God. Their backs may have ached from heaving and slaughtering large animals, but, unlike the farmer or the shepherd, they understood that it was not done to improve their land or build up their flocks. The Kohanim had no land or flocks to call their own.

The reward the Kohanim received was not just in the form of the meat, fruit and grain they got from the sacrificial offerings of others, it was also the reward of serving something beyond themselves. The service itself was a reward and it changed them. It may have made them more grateful, more modest, and more devoted to God.

This is what Trunk of Kutno wants us to notice. The Covenant of Salt, and our service to God, does not exist so that we will feel self-satisfied as we are. If it does not change us in some way, we're not doing it right. A life devoted to Torah and to God is a life that is willing to be drained and refilled – to be transformed and challenged. When we give of ourselves, and give up something of ourselves, God helps us to become new people.


Comments are closed.

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    Purim & COVID-19
    ​The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    November 2022
    September 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture