[Avodah] Vayeira (from Rav Kook Torah "Salt of Sodom")

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Nov 10, 2019 at 09:50:06AM -0500, Cantor Wolberg relayed the
following piece from Gold from the Land of Israel, R' Chanan Morrison,
adapted from Ein Eyah vol 1 pg. 21:
> The Talmud makes a surprising connection between the evil city of Sodom
> and the ritual of washing hands at meals. The Sages decreed that one
> should wash hands before and after eating bread. Why?

But does it have anything directly to do with the city's evil or its
destruction?

One would be tempted to say yes, because Lot's wife *looked* back at the
Cities of the Plains and was turned to salt. And the thread of melach
sedomis is to ones eyesight, of all things.

But this is a reference to getting an actual salt that they were using
alongside normal table salt (sodium chloride) into one's eyes. There is
no need to take this out of the realm of physical danger. Salt extrated
from the flats in the area has far more adulteration with potassium
chloride than anything we would consume today. (In fact, the modern town
of Sedom was built specifically for potash [a mix of potassium compounds,
mostly potassium carbonate] works.) So it makes sense in mundane terms --
potassium chloside is a moderate eye irritant, and sites also warn about
abrasion in the eye as well.

And in fact, to make malach sodomis more symbolic would complicate the
Ashkenazi neglect of mayim achronim. We don't wash because the salt isn't
used. If the salt were symbolic of Sedom and thus hand-washing more in the
territory of impurity, we would need to prove that the lack of using the
salt sufficiently weakens the symbolism to allow neglecting the ruling.

(Back when RRW was on-list, I noted that the Ashk - Seph split on this
backed up a theory he repeated here. According to Prof Agus, Ta Shma and
others [not R/Dr Haym Soloveitchik], because many more Ashkneazim came
ultimately from EY, rather than the more predominantly Bavli origins
of Sepharadim, we can find a number of minhagei Ashk and liturgical
elements sources in the Y-mi or Midrashei Halakhah even when against the
Bavli. The Bavli gives two reasons for mayim achronim -- a comparison
to watchin before the meal, and thus about taharah, and melach sedomis.
The Y-mi only mneitons melach sedomis. Which would explain why Ashk feel
free not to wash when no such salt is served, but Seph do not.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 "Fortunate indeed, is the man who takes
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   exactly the right measure of himself,  and
Author: Widen Your Tent      holds a just balance between what he can
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF    acquire and what he can use." - Peter Latham