Berakhot 40
I was fascinated by this comment in the text today: “It is forbidden to eat prior to giving food to one’s animal.” I live with two Siamese cats and have always fed them before myself in the morning. I take care of them before everything else. The Talmud appears to advocate for respecting the animals we live with. 2,000 years ago, they may have been working animals that provided important support to one’s household. Today they provide support of a different kind. (And besides, if I don’t feed my cats right after I get up in the morning, they will just complain bitterly in their very loud Siamese voices.)
Did people go to their Rabbi 2,000 years ago for medical treatment? Today’s text discusses foods that have medicinal qualities and serves as a type of medical treatise. The Talmud advices that if you eat salt after each meal and drink water after all drinking “you will not be harmed.” Salt and water are mentioned as preventions against bad breadth. And drinking a great deal of water and eating small fish are cited as preventions from intestinal disease. Eating lentils every thirty days prevents against diphtheria (although eating lentils every day causes bad breadth) and eating mustard every thirty days prevents illnesses from afflicting one’s home (but eating mustard every day can weaken the heart.) But no worries – if one is determined to eat mustard every day, consuming black cumin will protect against heart disease (but sleeping downwind within the scent of black cumin can be harmful.)
And today there is focus on blessings said before eating spoiled, astringent, salty, and compromised foods: vinegar, rancid wine, sun-spoiled dates, moldy bread, salt, truffles, mushrooms, prematurely ripened dates, green figs, crabapples, overripe grapes, and even locusts.
We are reminded of the primal powers of bread and salt in today’s text. Salt improves the taste of plain bread. But the significance of these two substances is deeper than that. There is a tradition of bringing bread and salt to new homes when we visit for the first time. Bread and salt can offer sustenance to a household that is busy with all the chores associated with unpacking and settling in.
Salt has a special place in Jewish culture. Temple sacrifices included salt and with salt on our table we are reminded of the sacredness of our meals. Salt in many cultures is believed to keep evil away. How many times have we seen our grandmothers throw salt over their shoulders? Salt has medicinal qualities as well. You can book time in a Himalayan salt room to assist in the treatment of respiratory illnesses and scrub away the day’s grime with sea salt. Eating salt assists with maintaining the balance of electrolytes in our body. Salt has had a bad reputation in medical circles that have advised that it can lead to high blood pressure. But some recent research has debunked past warnings against the harmful effects of salt. The Talmud was ahead of modern nutritional science in its endorsement of salt. And of course, it’s all about moderation.
Here is an article on five reasons on why salt is good for you: