Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation B’nai Israel
March 21, 2026
In earlier generations, Torah study for children began with Vayikra. The understanding was that those who are most pure should learn the laws of purity first. Today we often begin Torah study with the epic stories and personal relationships of Bereshit, rather than the details of sacrifice, yet these intricate steps, the desire to draw close to our Creator is central to our Brit, our covenant.
The Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban, which has the root of drawing close. Our relatives, our loved ones are קרובי משפחה, our close/nearby family. The language is one of physical distance representing spiritual distance. Yet, in today’s world, those who we are closest to spiritually are not always the ones we are closest to physically. Our family members and dearest friends may be at significant distance, and yet, we desire that our most intimate relationships are more proximal. When we read stories of married couples who do not share homes or cities, we often recoil, finding it difficult to imagine that a relationship of such intimacy might not include sharing a home.
In Shemot, we built a portable home for our Creator, and in Vayikra, we continue to invite God in through meals and companionship. If you or someone you know are looking for a partner, we often see the type of meal determines the type of date. A date for coffee or drinks is a preliminary introduction, a meal is seen as more substantial physically and emotionally, while an invitation to prepare a meal at home might imply a more substantial commitment.
When raising children, shared meals, with shared conversation, are seen as a powerful indicator of long-term psychological wellbeing and family connectedness. Eating together, talking together is a phenomenal tool of intimacy and relationship. This week I was reading Zeke Emanuel’s Eat Your Ice Cream, a book that tries to cut down the tremendous amount of ridiculous health advice out there into a few evidenced-based practices that can ACTUALLY be observed for a lifetime. One observation he shared is that the number of Americans eating meals alone has skyrocketed over the last two generations. Loneliness is terrible for our health. Finding ways of eating with others, talking with others, and being in relationship with others has significant spiritual, emotional and even physical health benefits.
While our Torah speaks of very particular offerings this week, we know that the Mishkan and Temple sacrifices not only brought our ancestors together with God, they also brought them in communion with one another. Certain offerings were burnt entirely for God, but others were meant to be eaten. The Kohanim and their families were the only ones allowed to eat certain offerings, but others were for individuals, family and friends. Most famously, for Pesach, the offering was one eaten in a semi-communal setting. Hevrutot, groups of companions, were formed to ensure that nothing went to waste and no one ate alone. Small families might join together, while larger ones could share within the group.
My colleague, Rabbi Tim Bernard, noticed that in the second chapter of Leviticus, salt is a representation of the Brit, or even is its own Brit, its own covenant between God and the people Israel.
וְכָל־קָרְבַּ֣ן מִנְחָתְךָ֮ בַּמֶּ֣לַח תִּמְלָח֒ וְלֹ֣א תַשְׁבִּ֗ית מֶ֚לַח בְּרִ֣ית אֱ-לֹהֶ֔יךָ מֵעַ֖ל מִנְחָתֶ֑ךָ עַ֥ל כָּל־קָרְבָּנְךָ֖ תַּקְרִ֥יב מֶֽלַח׃
You shall season your every offering of meal with salt; you shall not omit from your meal offering the salt of your covenant with God; with all your offerings you must offer salt. (Lev. 2:13)
What is so important about salt that it is vital to the sacrifices AND vital to our human relationships?
The Midrash teaches:
“The covenant was made with Aaron with something that is not just healthy [i.e. resistant to decay], but maintains the health of other things.” (Sifrei Bemidbar, Korah, pis. 118, ed. Horovitz)
Similarly, on 2 Chron 13:5, the Metzudat David commentary of David Altschuler explains the phrase “covenant of salt”:
“The establishment of the enduring covenant [with David’s house] is like salt, in that it endures and does not rot.”
In one academic perspective:
Binding mutual commitments result from the hospitality of table fellowship. … The “covenant of salt” transfers to the divine covenant the notion of hospitality associated with table fellowship, with its subsequent commitment to loyalty and solicitude; Israel is to keep its covenantal obligations, although God, too, is to provide for the election and rights of the covenantal partner . . . . (Hermann Eising, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, s.v. salt)
Rabbi Bernard continues:
Sitting down and eating a proper meal together (salt seems to make the meal “proper” in some of the ancient world) forms a bond. And it’s worth noting that the priestly families literally shared sacrificial meals with God! Biblical scholars often compare the covenant between God and Israel to political arrangements between leaders of greater and lesser powers. That kind of geopolitical framing can obscure the personal, even intimate nature of these covenants. (Indeed, political leaders today still have state banquets as acts of foreign relations.)
Returning to our Torah, we might imagine that a meal is just a way to feed our bodies. Our tradition would disagree. Eating together is a sacred experience. Offering a blessing to elevate the meal before and after acknowledges that gift. Sitting with friends and family creates a holy moment. Combined, we are able to draw closer to our Creator.
Before too long, Passover will be here. We will gather together, pray together, tell stories together, eat together. We will have a familial and communal meal trying to draw closer to one another and to God. Whether the salt is a reminder of our tears, a connection to the sacrifices or a sign of the covenant itself, salt is essential to Passover. Just as it can preserve food, it can preserve our relationships, our traditions from generation to generation.
I was privileged this week to spend some time with a dear friend from college, to be reminded of enduring relationships, and the blessing of shared conversation, of the blessing of physical proximity. Today, we honor Larry and Vera’s commitment to one another, to building a home together for 63 years of marriage. That Brit, that covenant, that accomplishment is truly remarkable. I wish them many more happy years of health, joy, and Torah. It is wonderful to see some of their family here today to celebrate with them. I pray that we can all learn the lessons of commitment, connection and community that they have demonstrated in their many years of marriage.
Let us continue to draw closer to our Creator, our community and our Torah--through the covenant of salt, of sacrifice and of blessing. Shabbat shalom!
With great appreciation to JTS and Rabbi Tim Bernard, https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/a-covenant-of-salt-2/
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