Salt In A World of Conformity

Parshat Vayera contains within it the story of Sodom and its destruction. Lot and his family are saved, but Lot’s wife is turned into a pillar of salt as they flee (19:26). Rashi quotes the Midrash that when lot invited the two mystery guests into his home, he asked his wife for some salt for their food. Lot’s wife responded, “You also want to introduce this evil custom?!” She had no salt in the house, and she went to her Sodomite neighbors asking for salt, and revealing that she had guests in her house. It was her fault that the neighbors surrounded Lot’s house looking to harm the mystery guests.

A couple of questions stand out: 1) to which “evil custom” is Lot’s wife referring? 2) Why didn’t Lot’s wife have salt? It’s safe to assume that if she had no salt, then no one else did (and this is implied by the continuation of Midrash that states that her asking others for salt was her scheme to inform on Lot’s guests.)

          

Salt is a key seasoning for food; not only because of its own flavor, but due to its ability to highlight other flavors. In this way salt “celebrates” the diversity of flavors that exist. And it is in this way that salt stands in contrast to the character of Sodomites. In Sodom conformity was required. Outsiders were shunned, and differecnes were neutralized. If an out-of-towner needed a place to stay and he was taller than the bed he was given, the Sodomites would cut off his legs. If he wa s a little short, the people of Sodom would torture him through stretching. All of this to highlight the premium that was placed on conformity in Sodom. That’s why no one in Sodom kept salt in their houses. And it is the practice of Salt, of accepting and even celebrating differences that Lot’s wife was so worried that her husband had brought home with his guests.

         

It is no surprise that Lot’s wife turns into a pillar of salt. It’s Hashem’s way of teaching her, and Sodom – and all of us- that salt is a key ingredient to life, not just physiologically (our bodies need to have the proper amount of salt in order to thrive) but also the message behind salt. Jewish life is about valuing differences, even as we focus on a common goal of Kiddush Hashem. 

Perhaps this is why every korban is required to be accompanied by salt. Perhaps this is why even today, every time we make Hamotzi we should be careful to make sure that salt is in the picture.