Parashat Vayikra
Question
.A' Gutn Erev Shabbos
The parsha discusses the Korbanot and the service in the Beis HaMikdash. Be’erzrat Hashem, I would like to discuss an idea related to the Korbanot, a minhag that we still observe today in our homes.
That just like in the Beis HaMikdash the limbs of the korbanot were salted, so too we place salt on our table and dip the bread in it before eating.
(In this week's Parsha, it is written; (Vayikra 2:13
“And every offering of your meal-offering you shall season with salt; you shall not withhold the salt of the covenant of your G-d from your offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.”
Throughout the year we have the custom to dip bread in salt. If so, why on the night of the Seder do Ashkenazim not dip the matzah in salt? Why is it different the rest of the year?
Answer
First, I would like to explain;
- ?Why we dip the bread in salt
- ?Why there should be salt on the table
Why We Dip Bread in Salt:
The reason we dip bread in salt is so that the piece of bread over which we recite the blessing will be tasty, as this is the normal way that we eat bread.
This is the quote of the Mishnah Berurah (Siman 167, se’if katan 27):
“so that it should be eaten with flavor, in honor of the blessing.”
Therefore, the Shulchan Aruch writes that if the bread is of fine quality or already seasoned, there is no need to dip it in salt, since it is already tasty. According to this, the bread we eat today is generally considered refined and tasty even without salt, and therefore strictly speaking, there is no obligation to dip the bread in salt for this reason.
Nevertheless, we still have the custom to dip bread in salt, based on what is brought in Kabbalah, that this serves to “sweeten the judgments” against Am Yisrael, as explained in the Magen Avraham (Siman 475, se’if katan 1).
Why We Place Salt on the Table
The reason we place salt on the table is because the table is compared to the altar. Just as the altar atones, so too a person’s table atones, as explained in Maseches Berachos 55. Therefore, there should be salt on the table just as there was salt on the altar.
The Rema adds that a person’s eating is considered like a sacrifice. The Mishnah Berurah (se’if katan 31) explains that this is because a person eats in order to strengthen himself, and through this he will be healthy and strong to serve Hashem.
Another reason for having salt on the table is that during the time between washing the hands (netilas yadayim) and eating the bread, the people sitting at the table require protection from harm. Why? The Mishnah Berurah (se’if katan 32) explains, in the name of the Midrash, that when those present wait for one another to wash their hands, they are temporarily without a mitzvah at that moment, since they may not speak or do anything. At that time the Satan accuses them, and the covenant of salt protects them.
So far, we have learned of the importance of having salt on the table during the meal. Now we can better understand the halacha regarding whether the matzah is dipped in salt on the night of the Seder.
Regarding Matzah on the Night of Pesach
The Mechaber (Siman 475, se’if 1) writes that the matzah should be dipped in salt. However, the Rema writes:
“The custom is not to dip it in salt on the first night, since fine bread does not require dipping.”
However, we need to understand the Rema, since if refined bread does not require dipping in salt, then why is it that we are exempt only on the night of Seder from doing so? Shouldn't the Halacha be the same throughout Pesach?
However, according to the strict halacha, one is indeed exempt from dipping refined bread in salt, as explained above. The reason we nevertheless dip refined bread in salt is because of the teachings of Kabbalah. Therefore, on the night of the Seder we do not practice this minhag. Instead, we follow the basic halacha, and therefore the matzah is not dipped in salt at all.
Several reasons are given for this.
The Mishnah Berurah (se’if katan 4) writes:
“It appears more like the bread of a poor person when it is not dipped in salt.”
However, this requires explanation, since in several places in the Gemara we see that the way of a poor person is specifically to dip his bread in salt. As it says in Maseches Berachos (2a):
“From when may one recite the Shema in the evening? From the time when the poor person enters (his house) to eat his bread with salt.”
Similarly, in Pirkei Avos (6:4) it is written:
“This is the way of Torah: eat bread with salt and drink water in measured amounts.”
We could answer that there are different levels of poverty. The poor people mentioned in the Gemara are indeed poor, but they are still free people, and they eat their bread with salt. However, on the night of the Seder we want to show that we were not merely poor, but enslaved, and we ate our bread, even without salt.
We can maybe infer this from the wording of the Mishnah Berurah, who says “it appears more like bread of poverty,” meaning that it more clearly expresses the poverty of slavery. We wish to emphasize not just ordinary poverty, but the poverty of a slave who did not even have salt to dip his bread.
The Approach of the Maharil
The primary reason for dipping bread in salt is to enhance its taste. According to this, the Maharil writes that since the matzah on the night of Pesach is a matzah of mitzvah, it so special as it is, that we don’t need to add any additional flavor.
This is a quote from The Maharil:Sefer Maharil (Minhagim), Seder HaHaggadah
Rabbi Yisrael Segal said that the matzah over which we recite the blessing of Hamotzi on the two nights of Pesach is not dipped in salt as during the rest of the year, because of the special affection for the matzah. Just as in other places, the importance of a mitzvah draws a person’s attention and focus….
Similarly, the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (there, se’if 10) writes:
“Although during the rest of Pesach the matzah is dipped in salt even though it is refined, nevertheless on these two nights of Pesach the custom is not to do so, because of the special affection for the matzah, in order to fulfill the mitzvah with matzah that has no mixture of any other taste at all.”
Le’Halacha - In Practice:
HaGaon HaRav Amrom Fried shlit”a writes in his sefer Azamrah L’Shimcha (Mo’adim: Pesach):
The custom among Sephardim is that even on the night of Pesach the matzah is dipped in salt (Tur Siman 475 in the name of the Yerushalmi, Shulchan Aruch there, and Be’er Heitev se’if katan 3 quoting the Arizal).
The custom among Ashkenazim is that on the night of Pesach the matzah is not dipped in salt (Rema there, based on Leket Yosher in the name of the Maharil).
It seems that even Bnei Ashkenaz should bring salt to the table, even though they do not dip the Matzah into it.
On behalf of the entire team of the She’elot website, we wish you a Shabbat Shalom uMevorach.
