Комментарий к Вайикра 2:13

מלח ברית [NEITHER SHALT THOU SUFFER] THE SALT OF THE COVENANT [… TO BE LACKING FROM MY MEAL OFFERING], because a covenant was established with the salt as far back as the six days of Creation when the lower waters (those of the oceans) received an assurance that they would be offered on the altar in the form of salt and also as water in the ceremony of “the libation of water” on the Feast of Tabernacles).‎

NEITHER SHALT THOU SUFFER THE SALT OF THE COVENANT OF THY G-D TO BE LACKING FROM THY MEAL-OFFERING. “For a covenant was established with salt as far back as the six days of Creation, for the lower waters [i.e., those of the oceans] were promised that they would be offered upon the altar in the form of salt, and [also as water] at the libation of water, on the Festival of Tabernacles.”²¹⁹During the morning Daily Whole-offering on the seven days of the Festival of Succoth, there was in addition to the regular libation of wine, a libation of water on the altar. The drawing of the water from the fountain of Shiloah was marked by a great public festivity held in the Court of the Sanctuary during the evenings of the festival. They were known as the Simchath Beth Ha’sho’evah (Rejoicing of the Drawing of the Water). This is Rashi’s language, and it is a homiletic exposition of the Sages.²²⁰Numbers 18:19. See Rabbi M. Kasher’s Torah Shleimah here, Note 111. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra interpreted it in line with the plain meaning of Scripture as follows: “I have brought you into a covenant and made you swear that you would not offer a saltless offering, nor shall it [i.e., a saltless offering] be eaten,²²¹Ibn Ezra’s intention in using this phrase [“Nor shall it be eaten”] is unclear to me. Perhaps he means that the priests when eating the flesh of certain offerings [such as the sin-offering, guilt-offering etc., or the Israelite eating the peace-offering] must salt it, otherwise the food is without flavor and thus they show their contempt for it, as they did not take the effort to prepare it properly. The commentators on Ibn Ezra are silent on this point. because it is a mark of contempt.” Now since salt is the covenant of the offerings, Scripture made this accord the pattern for all such agreements, saying of the gifts given to priests and the dynasty of David that they are [an everlasting] covenant of salt,²²²Numbers 18:19 [referring to the gifts of the priests]; II Chronicles 13:5 [referring to the kingdom of the House of David]. meaning that they are as everlasting as the covenant of salt of the offerings. There, however, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained:²²³Numbers 18:19. “A covenant of salt — a covenant decreed, it being of the root, a fruitful land into a salt waste,²²⁴Psalms 107:34. since a salt waste is as if it has been decreed [upon it that nothing should grow therein].”²²⁵So clearly explained in Ibn Ezra (Numbers 18:19). But there is no sense to his words.
Now it seems to me that since Scripture here states, the covenant of thy G-d, and does not say “the covenant of the Eternal,” which would have been in consonance with the language of the section and the way all the offerings are mentioned [throughout Scripture], or did not say, “the covenant of the Eternal thy G-d” — that the reason for this is because salt is derived from water, and it is through the power of the sun which shines upon it that it becomes salt. Now the nature of water is that it soaks into the earth and makes it bring forth and bud; but after it becomes salt it destroys every place and burns it, that it is not sown, nor beareth.²²⁶Deuteronomy 29:22. Since a covenant is inclusive of all attributes, water and fire come into it, and unto her shall come the former dominion²²⁷Micah 4:8. — the Kingdom of G-d, just like salt which seasons all foods and helps to preserve them, but destroys them when they are over-saturated with it. Thus salt is like the covenant. It is for this reason that Scripture states, Ought ye not to know that the Eternal, the G-d of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt²²⁸II Chronicles 13:5. forever? For this too is the attribute of David. Therefore He says in connection with the offerings, it is an everlasting covenant of salt,²²³Numbers 18:19. for the covenant is “the salt of the world,” and by virtue of it [the world] exists or may be destroyed. I have already taught you to understand from our words in other places the meaning of these three words, brith olam hi (it is a perpetual covenant).²²⁹See Exodus 31:16-17, and Ramban there at the end of Verse 13 (Vol. II, p. 548).

וכל קרבן מנחה במלח תמלח, “and you are to add a portion of salt to every meal-offering.” The reason why the Torah again reverted to the singular mode is that the command is directed at the owners presenting the offering to the priest as their deputy. You will recall that at the beginning of this paragraph, (verse 7) when speaking of מנחת מרחשת, a meal offering in a deep pan, the Torah had also used the singular mode. The reason is that the adding of the salt is something permitted to be done by the ordinary Israelite who is not a priest. The same rule applies here as it does to the pouring and mixing of the oil of the meal offering.

And the water-offering. I.e., water is brought to the altar by the means of salt because salt has its origins in water. Rashi mentions the example “water-offering” so that you will not pose the difficulty: If it was because of the promise made to the waters, it would be more appropriate that the waters themselves should go up on the altar and not salt. He answers, therefore, that the waters also go up on the altar with the water-offering. You might ask: If so, why are there two things — salt and the water-offering? It would be sufficient with the water-offering, which is preferable! The answer is: Salt and water are two opposite entities — water is liquid and salt is dry. Therefore, one does not make up for the other. You should comprehend these matters well: Why were these two chosen for the altar? Actually, this Midrash contains a concealed matter, which is that everything seeks to be elevated, [as it is said:] We raise up in matters of holiness and do not bring down. [At the time of Creation some of] the upper waters were separated from the upper waters and made into the lower waters, which is the reverse of the order of creation. Therefore, the waters would not agree to be separated until Hashem promised them they would be offered on the altar. In this way, they would acquire a high level by being elevated in an elevation of holiness. Furthermore, we find that Hashem chose only humble species for the altar, as the Sages said: Why did He choose the turtledoves and young pigeons? Because there is no species among the birds that is more pursued than these, and there is no species among the animals and beasts that is more pursued than the ox, sheep, and goat; and Hashem chose them. Also, in a number of places we find: This teaches you that Hashem uplifts anyone who humbles himself. Since the waters were separated to become the lower waters [and thereby humbled], they were promised that they would go up on the altar (Gur Aryeh). [Rashi mentions the water-offering on Sukkos] because he wishes to answer the question: Why was salt water privileged to be brought, more than fresh water? Therefore, he answers that without doubt the fresh water was privileged to be brought on Sukkos, [but even salt water was privileged as well]. The reason why salt water was brought with every offering but fresh water was brought only on Sukkos is because fresh water is representative of the righteous and salt water is representative of the evil-doers. We find that every fast and tefillah needs that evildoers be a part of the congregation. And the proof is from the חלבנה [galbanum, “spice with a bad odor, to teach us not to look with contempt at the sinners among Israel but to include them in our gatherings for fasts and prayers,” Rashi, Shemos 30:33], which is one of the eleven spices in the ketores. Therefore, the Torah honors the evil-doers so that they should repent, for the repentant sinner is greater than a completely righteous person (Divrei Dovid).

ולא תשבית מלח, “and you must not omit salt;” the reason salt must not be omitted is that it is something that endures, and one of the most important symbolic features of animal sacrifice is to remind the Jewish people as well as individuals of the permanence of G–d’s covenant with us, and that it is not He who has to worry about being transient but we mortals. Seeing that He is not in need of food or drink, this legislation is clearly meant for the benefit of the Jewish people. When a person has sinned, and offered a sacrifice to further his atonement, knowing that after that he will be free of sin, he will be careful not to commit a careless act which resulted in his becoming obligated to cleanse himself from sin. If, on the other hand, he fails to take steps to obtain atonement, he will undoubtedly continue to commit sins as our sages have said in the Talmud tractate Kidushin, folio 20: “once a person has committed a sin-and has not repented and taken steps to rehabilitate himself,-the sin will no longer appear to him as having been a trespass against G–d, but he will treat it as if it had not even been a sin.” They explain this by comparing it to someone who has found a stain on his outer garment. Unless he takes steps to remove it, it will soon become something that he gets used to and before long his whole garment will become soiled. Concerning this subject, Solomon, in Kohelet, 9,8 says: בכל עת יהיו בגדיך לבנים, “be sure that your garments are white at all times;” our sages in the Talmud, tractate Makkot folio 2,add: “do not let them become stained by sin.” The Torah added numerous commandments, which the average person would perform even if the Torah had not specifically commanded him to do so. The reason is that it wished to give us additional opportunities to acquire spiritual merits.

במלח, “with salt.” Not with salt water.

על כל קרבנך‎ UPON ALL THY OFFERINGS [THOU SHALT OFFER SALT] — upon burnt-offerings of cattle and fowls and upon the fat-portions of all sacrifices in general (Menachot 20a).

לא תשבית מלח ברית אלוקיך, “You must not discontinue adding the salt representing the covenant with the Lord your G’d from all your offerings.” Rashi explains that the covenant referred to is one made with the universe ever since the conclusion of the six days of creation, when the “lower” waters were assured by G’d that some of them would be presented on the Holy Altar on the festival of Sukkot as libations accompanied by salt. Ibn Ezra writes that the reason for the presence of salt is that G’d concluded a covenant with Israel that they would not offer something that is תפל, tasteless (as anything which is devoid of salt). It would be considered insulting to present such an offering. Nachmanides writes that seeing that salt has become a constituent covenant as far as sacrifices are concerned, it has become the basic symbol of all covenants. This surfaces in connection with the various gifts, primarily by the farmers, allocated by the Torah to the priests. The concept also resurfaces as a corollary to the Davidic dynasty, which will endure in a manner similar to that of the covenant governing the use of salt in the sacrifices. It is possible that salt is an integral part of the waters of the oceans, in the sense of being a natural process, seeing that G’d’s attribute אלוקים instead of Hashem is associated with it. It may have been distilled into solids due to the warming power of the sun’s rays. Water, by definition, is meant to irrigate the earth to enable it to be worked agriculturally. Once he earth has been contaminated by salt, it ceases to be a potential life-giver. In fact it destroys everything planted in its vicinity. [We observe a similar phenomenon in the earth surrounding the area from which volcanic gases escape. Ed.] Seeing that salt displays such negative influences, the Torah stresses its use in connection with the sacrifices where the presence of salt makes the flesh of the animals tasty. Assuring the endurance of the dynasty of King David throughout the generations, it is a similar promise of something positive, and salt is associated with this to demonstrate that we perceive of salt as something positive.

תמלח. In accordance with the details spelled out in Menachot folio 21.

ולא תשבית מלח ברית ה' אלו-היך מעל מנחתך, “you may not discontinue the salt of your G’d’s covenant from upon your meal-offering.” The reason the Torah calls the salt “the covenant of the Lord,” is because by means of it the covenant will be maintained or destroyed. You may compare this to a statement in Bereshit Rabbah 14,15: “when G’d saw that man would not be able to survive if He ruled the universe by means of the attribute of Justice exclusively, He co-opted the attribute of Mercy;” in a similar way we may view “salt” either as the instrument of preserving matters or as being the instrument of destruction and making earth forever useless to man. An example was the brimstone and salt which fell on the cities of Sodom, etc. (Jeremiah 17,6; compare also Deut. 29,22).
Still on the same words: “do not discontinue salt, etc.” Seeing the Torah had already written that every meal-offering consisting of fine flour has to have salt on it, and that every meat-offering has to have salt on it, why does the Torah once more write the above words? Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra writes that these latter words by the Torah are to be viewed as if they were an oath by G’d who says to The Jewish people: “I who have made a covenant with you beseech you on oath that you shall not discontinue the practice of adding salt to your meal-offerings.” Thus far Ibn Ezra.
The Torah writes: “you shall offer salt with every one of your sacrifices” as otherwise we would have thought that only meal-offerings such as the showbreads, etc., require that they be salted or accompanied by salt, and that this is the reason the Torah mentioned salt always in connection with the מנחה, the meal-offering. To avoid such an error, the Torah had to write a line saying that salt is to be part of every offering.

That is that He commanded us to offer salt on every sacrifice. And that is His saying, "on all of your sacrifices, offer salt" (Leviticus 2:13). And the regulations of this commandment were already explained in the Sifra and in Menachot. (See Parashat Vayikra; Mishneh Torah, Things Forbidden on the Altar 5.)