Reply To: Short & Sweet

Korach: Keeping the Balance

When discussing the Terumah that must always be given to the Kohanim, the Torah refers to it as ברית מלח עולם. Why is salt used as a metaphor for the everlasting?

Rabeinu Bachya has a fascinating explanation. He says that since salt is produced by cooking water, salt is a mixture of water and fire. So too, Hashem’s promises are eternal because they are composed of both מידת הרחמים (represented by water) and מידת הדין (fire).

R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that if Hashem only gave us exactly what we deserve (דין), we couldn’t survive. But if Hashem gave us everything without our deserving it, we would become spoiled instead of productive. The balance is crucial.

A similar idea applies in our own lives. If we do what is right only out of a sense of obligation, we will eventually run out of willpower. If we do it only out of idealism and inspiration, we will eventually get disheartened. There needs to be a balance of different motivations, יראה and אהבה, for us to keep at it.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום