This week, we begin reading from the Book of Leviticus.

In our Parashah, we find detailed instructions that God gave to Moses—commands meant for the children of Israel as they learned how to live in relationship with a holy God. Among these instructions is a striking command that might seem small at first, but carries deep spiritual meaning:

You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not let the salt of the covenant of your God be lacking from your grain offering. On all your offerings you shall offer salt.
Leviticus 2:13

Why salt? What makes it so essential that God includes it in every offering?

Salt is a symbol of permanence, preservation, and purity. In the ancient world, it was used not just to season food, but to keep it from decaying. Including salt in every offering wasn’t just about flavor—it was a sign. It marked God’s covenant as enduring and unbreakable. The “salt of the covenant” was a reminder that what God establishes, He preserves.

There’s another important connection found later in Leviticus:

For the life of all flesh is its blood... You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.
Leviticus 17:14

Blood symbolized life, and God commanded Israel to treat it with reverence. Now here’s where it connects: salt was the method used to draw blood out of meat. So when God commanded that salt be used in offerings, He wasn’t only calling for preservation—He was calling for purification. The salt removed the blood—the life—symbolizing the surrender of that life to God.

It’s a powerful image: salt cleansing the sacrifice, setting it apart, making it acceptable. And it points to something greater.

In the Haftarah portion from Isaiah, God speaks not just of ritual, but of restoration:

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 43:25

God purifies. He removes what is impure—not for our sake, but for His own. He’s the One who preserves the covenant, the One who remembers His promises, even when we forget ours.

Isaiah continues with words of comfort and assurance:

Do not fear, Jacob My servant... I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants.
Isaiah 44:2–3

Just as salt preserved and purified the offerings, God promises to preserve His people and pour out His Spirit like refreshing water on dry ground. The covenant remains—not because of anything we do, but because of who He is.

I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God… Is there any other Rock? I know of none.
Isaiah 44:6, 8

From Leviticus to Isaiah, the message is consistent: God is holy, faithful, and unchanging. He calls us to bring our lives to Him, not just in ritual, but in trust. Just as every offering required salt, every life given to God must be purified, preserved, and marked by His covenant.

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran