Zera Shimshon on Salt at the Table and Lot’s Wife Turned into a Pillar of Salt

Zera Shimshon on Salt at the Table and Lot’s Wife Turned into a Pillar of Salt

Rabbi Shimshon Chaim Nachmani, in Sefer “Zera Shimshon”, offers the following commentary on salt. The Al-mighty decided to punish the people of Sodom specifically with blindness, as a middah k'neged middah—measure for measure. They sinned with their eyes: they envied people they knew, envied their success, and coveted the money and possessions of others. Therefore, it was fitting that their eyesight should be afflicted by the Al-mighty. The Gemara (Eruvin 17b) states that “the salt of Sodom causes blindness.” This is interesting, because the commentators tell us (Levush, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 167:5) that having salt on the table protects a person from disasters, accidents, and other misfortunes. The Midrash explains (Bereishit Rabbah 50:4) that Lot’s wife did not want to serve salt to Lot’s guests—the angels. When Lot said to her, “Please bring them some salt,” she replied, “Do you want to introduce this terrible custom into this place? We do not need such protection as salt”—thereby demonstrating that she identified with the culture of Sodom and agreed with its customs. Consequently, when the angels decided to punish the Sodomites, they were struck with blindness—a blindness that could have been prevented had there been salt on the table. And from that day onward, the salt of Sodom causes blindness. (זרע שמשון פרשתנו אות טו) Why was Lot’s wife opposed to salt? Rashi, based on the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 50:4), writes that Lot’s wife sinned through salt and was punished through salt. Lot said to his wife, “Please give me some salt for the guests.” “I cannot believe that you want to bring this terrible custom into our home here in Sodom,” she replied. The Levush says (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 167:5), citing the Midrash, that when a person places salt on the table, it helps transform the table into a mizbe’ach—an Altar—and the salt protects those seated at the table from calamities and disasters. In the Temple, salt was added to all offerings brought upon the Altar; when there is salt on the table—which is compared to the Altar—it protects from punishment, just as the offerings on the Altar do. [The Book of “Vayikra” says: “and with all your offerings you shall offer salt. With every offering you shall offer salt.” Salt was one of the essential elements of the service in the Jerusalem Temple: it does not spoil over time and thus symbolizes the eternal nature of the covenant between the Al-mighty and the Jewish people. After the destruction of the Temple, the Jewish Sages declared the family table in a Jewish home to be a representation of the Temple Altar, and the meal eaten there a kind of parallel to the Temple offering. Salt on the table is a reminder of the Temple.] Moreover, when Jews sit at the table waiting for one another while everyone finishes washing their hands before the blessing over bread, Satan denounces them before the Al-mighty, claiming that they are not performing any mitzvot, since they are forbidden to speak. At such moments, the salt on the table atones for the Jewish people. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (109a) tells us that the people of Sodom became corrupt because of the incredible abundance of goodness they had received from Heaven. They were not afraid of the judicial system, nor were they afraid of the mazikim, those who cause harm. Having begun to view the world through the eyes of the Sodomites, Lot’s wife asked her husband, “Why do you feel the need to put salt on the table? No one here in Sodom cares about such things! The moment you put salt on the table, you show that you take the traditions of the past seriously. By doing so, you give Satan access to our home, and it is unwise to let Satan into your life!” But Lot took the angels seriously; he knew that they were going to destroy the city. Therefore, he asked his wife for salt in order to protect his family from the impending danger. This explains why the people of Sodom were punished by having their entire city destroyed with salt and sulfur. They were so confident in their ability to protect themselves—to the point that they felt no need to place salt on their tables—that they were punished measure for measure, with sulfur and salt. It was for this reason, and not because she looked back, that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.   (Sefer “Zera Shimshon” on Bereishit)