Eternal Covenant: The Symbolism of Salt
Salt plays an important role in the ritual because its properties symbolically convey ideas of immutability, preservation, and the purification of the covenant between God and His people. For example, as noted in one of the sources, salt has the ability to “preserve from corruption” and therefore serves as a sign of constancy and the unalterable “eternal Covenant of Salt.” This significance is underscored by the fact that its use was mandatory in all sacrifices, symbolically ensuring that the covenant would remain strong and unbreakable (source: link txt).Furthermore, another citation states: “Closest to the sanctification of bread and wheat is the sanctification of salt—from ordinary salt with its symbolic indication of the fiery element...” Here, salt is associated with fire, which, in addition to purification, connotes preservation and eternity, since sacrifices sprinkled with salt were symbolically “preserved for eternity” (source: link txt).Thus, salt became not merely an element of the ritual, but a key symbol of the covenant, embodying both the idea of moral purification and the immutability of the established bond between God and His people.Supporting citation(s):“Salt, with its property of preserving from corruption, was a symbol of constancy and the immutability of the ‘eternal Covenant of Salt.’ Its use was mandatory in all the sacrifices mentioned in articles 4–10 and 14–16. According to the rabbis’ teaching, salt in the home on the table bestowed upon the table the sanctity of the altar. Conversely, an inevitable element in any sacrifice—whether bloodless or bloody, generally in all sacrifices—is salt. The significance of salt is determined by two aspects: it symbolizes the moral purification and the strength, constancy of the covenant.” (source: link txt)“But let us return from the sanctification of grains in general to the circle of sanctifying food. The closest associated with the sanctification of bread and wheat is the sanctification of salt—from ordinary salt with its symbolic indication of the fiery element, just as fire conveys the meaning of salt. ‘Every sacrifice shall be salted [with fire],’ says the Savior, and we know that in ancient cults, the sacrifice was sprinkled with salt—mystically burning that sacrifice, burning it, and therefore preserving it for eternity. Next comes the prayerfully sanctified salt at Passover.” (source: link txt)