A Salty Jewish Tradition

A Salty Jewish Tradition

The Torah says “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.” Leviticus 2:13

In order to understand the significance of this we need to study the Tanakh to know what grain and salt represent.  “Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you, when I return the captives of My people.”  Hosea 6:11 and “I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, and I make this promise— ‘Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time.’” Jeremiah 51:33 People are referred to as a harvest.

But not all harvests are good some people are referred to as wheat and others as tares or weeds of which Yeshua says, “‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’…The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.” Matthew 13:30-39. How we mature (develop as wheat or tares) depends on the principles we cherish.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:13 “’For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.’”Mark 9:49-50. It is not enough to be a part of the harvest. In order to be acceptable to God we must have the salt as well. So what makes salt salty? God is the source of salt’s saltiness.

In order to have the salt that brings a dish to life we must rely on something outside of ourselves.  This is the key to having a relationship with God and the difference between the wheat and the tares. Many well meaning people think that when the harvest comes and the Messianic age begins they will be accepted by God as wheat by some inherent merit of self because they are associated with God’s truth and do things related to the truth. But knowing truth is not enough to make us acceptable. We can be in the field of a congregation and not have the salt that God requires and in the end turnout to be a tare while thinking we are wheat. We need to allow the Ruach Hakodesh to change us and make our lives an acceptable offering and not assume we are good enough by ourselves. We need to rely on the external power of God to make a real internal change.

Related Articles

More From Traditions

Haftarah

הפטרה (Haftarah), the name given to the reading from the Prophetic books which follows the…
Haftarah

A Stone to Remember

Many cultures have different ways of dealing with death. One Jewish custom is to place a stone…
A Stone to Remember
True Blue

True Blue

It is very common to associate the color blue with the Jewish people. It is on the flag of…
True Blue

Mitzvah

Have you done a mitzvah today? A mitzvah is a good deed, something done to benefit someone else…
Mitzvah

How to Make Kiddish

Kiddush, like candles, sanctifies the Sabbath. Making kiddush is a simple religious act that…
How to Make Kiddish

Kippah

A yarmulke in Yiddish, or a kippah in Hebrew, is a small head covering. Kippah literally means…
Kippah

What is a Get?

A get is a divorce under halacha, or Jewish law. The word can also refer to the document that…
What is a Get?

Second Day of Festivals

Once the Beth Din had evidence that the new moon had been seen, (see FIXING THE CALENDAR) a new…
Second Day of Festivals

Magen David

The Magen David is the six pointed star also known as the Star of David. Magen David literally…
Magen David

Adopt a Jewish Mother

Rent a son! In Japan people actually hire someone to be a “father” or “friend” for a day.
Adopt a Jewish Mother
Redemption of the First Born

Redemption of the First Born

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to…
Redemption of the First Born

Shabbat Candles

One of the most well known Jewish customs connected with the observance of Shabbat (the…
Shabbat Candles

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation