SALT AND RELIGION
The requirement in ancient times, and to this day, was to prevent the meat from deteriorating, so that it could be kept long enough, to allow its gradual consumption over a period of time after the slaughter (or sacrifice) of the animal. This basic law , to ensure the hygienic distribution and consumption of the meat, was also a central theme in many other religions. The ritual of sacrifice, and salting, which was the basis for a healthy, life sustaining meat and protein diet, at the same time fulfilled critical physiological needs. It became part of a "covenant", particularly for the Jewish religion, and around which, most other religions, and many religious traditions developed:- - and their "abattoir", became their temple.
In the courtyard of Solomon's Temple stood what the Old Testament calls a "molten sea," said to have held 2,000 baths, for salting meat. It was also reputed to have been used by the celebrants to wash their hands and feet before entering the sanctuary. According to one source, the "sea" or laver was a replica of the apse, the layer that Babylonian priests used in their temple rites, except the Babylonian layer was chiselled out of stone. Herod's monopoly of the salt supply from the Dead Sea mountain, finally provided the TTemple in Jerusalem with a highly profitable source of income, at a time when salt supplies were temporarily unavailable from Mediterranean sea shore sources due to flooding.
Salt was a symbol of incorruption
Sodium salt solution has a desiccating effect of attracting water from the animal tissues since the salt solution water pressure is considerably lower than the tissue liquids. In effect osmosis. The result was to dehydrate the meat to a point where no bacteria could grow and cause decomposition of the meat. The required salt solution for cheese and butter, is 2%, 6% for meat, and 20% for fish. For this additional use of salt, for the preservation of meat, the daily individual consumption of salt could be as high as 100 g per day. Jewish
"KASHRUT" [health] laws, involve the dehydration of meat for its preservation, or the draining of all liquids including blood from the carcass. The requirement in ancient times, and to this day, was to prevent the meat from deteriorating so that it could be kept long enough, to allow its gradual consumption over a period of time after the slaughter of the animal.
What is Koshering ?
Deuteronomy 15:3 Excluded are those species "that only chew the cud, or them that only have the hoof cloven: the camel and the hare...because they chew the cud, but part not the hoof...and the swine, because he parteth the hoof, but cheweth not the cud."
Deuteronomy 15:21 " Thou shalt nor seethe a kid in its mother's milk."
Deuteronomy 14:21 " Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself.
Deuteronomy 15:23 "Thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it on the ground as water."
Following the animal slaughter draining the carcass, of the blood, was a relatively easy process by slinging the animal up in a hanging position the blood could flow by gravity . But the last of the blood and the remaining body fluids could only be drawn off by osmosis in a second stage:
stage 1: Gravity drainage.
These fluids ares known as "hanafesh" in Jewish law: by hanging the carcass in such a way as to enhance drainage of the blood.:
stage 2: Osmotic effect.
The remaining body liquids in the carcass tissues could only be drawn off by osmosis:
By increasing the liquid pressure, with salt, either with solid salt crystals, or by soaking in a concentrated brine, and attracting the remaining liquids with a pressure difference [these liquids are known as "hamatitz"], very similar to the process our own bodies employ to retain the required ratio between salt and water.
There are a number of ways of achieving meat and fish preservation. The dehydration process includes soaking the carcass in a "natrum" brine [ salt solution] or washing the carcass with salt brine, or placing the carcass in a bed of salt crystals.
Other methods involved, for example the 'anointing' of oils, and "broiling" with vinegar and water, to 'seal' the carcass, if complete drainage was not possible. The process of dehydration was well known to most ancient civilisations, and although the 'salt' process was not exclusive to all communities, it was recognised as the easiest and the most efficient, provided that salt was in good supply. The Chinese prepared a "spice" which typically was a recipe of mainly salt, but with small amounts of pepper called "fu-la" to ensure the meat would not become too salty, but neither would it go rancid . The mixed powder with only 75% salt and small amounts of pepper are familiar to all who frequent Chinese restaurants called "chiou yen" an aromatic salt mixture for keeping general
The preparation and the concentration of the salinity of the brines, was not so easy and it required a sophisticated water supply and a drainage system. A typical example of such a system designed for this purpose was Hezekiah's centralising of an hygienic hydraulic system in the Temple in Jerusalem, from a fresh water source, the Gihon spring, amongst others, into a reservoir called the Pool of Siloam [Shiloach] The water was cleverly directed through the Temple by gravity, and exiting the Temple as waste at the southern side. 2000 ritual baths were reputed to have been available in the Temple, with a hydraulic circuit for feeding and draining the baths and reslurrying the salt.
The requirement in ancient times, and to this day, was to prevent the meat from deteriorating, so that it could be kept long enough, to allow its gradual consumption over a period of time after the slaughter (or sacrifice) of the animal. This basic law , to ensure the hygienic distribution and consumption of the meat, was also a central ritual for many other religions. The ritual of sacrifice, and salting, which was the basis for a healthy, life sustaining meat and protein diet, at the same time fulfilled critical physiological needs.It became part of a "covenant", particularly for the Jewish religion, and around which, most other religions, and many religious traditions developed:- -and their "abattoir", became their temple .
Embalming
Herodotus describes the process of "Mummification" by the ancient Egyptians, for the most part, " laying the body in a natrum bath for at least 70 days". One might assume that in Egypt this process became a standard procedure, so much so that it was taken for granted, both for burial procedures and for slaughter meat dehydration and consumption.
These two "industrie" alone would have required considerable quantities of salt [NaCl].. in addition to the leather, tanning, tinder and glass requirements, etc.
The Egyptian [for example Tell el-Dab'a] salt manufacturing facilities were mainly situated in the Nile "Delta" and typically produced salt in quantity, not unlike similar salt production units around the world today, by solar evaporation in so called "gardens".
The sea brines were directed into solar evaporation pans, gradually increasing the concentration as evaporation took place, until the brine reached a point of precipitation. The salt crystals were then raked up off the floor of the pan into piles that lookedvery much like "pyramids" and due to the consistent angle of "repose" were easy to measure volumetrically.
To increase the production capacity of the solar pans, and to produce a purer salt, "straws" [Hebrew :'kane'] were planted in the shallow brines. The "damp". straws were ideal for nucleation of the salt crystals, which, exposed to the sun, grew quickly and "mushroomed" into pure [white] salt briquettes.
JEWISH SALT technology [during Egyptian bondage]
The production of these "Levanim" [white salt briquettes] was probably the responsibility of the Jewish "slaves",who lived in bondage in the Nile Delta, and who relied on a supply of "straw" from the harvest. A bad harvest meant no straw to make the salt bricks
The King James bible - Exodus 5
Levanim and 'straw' bricks [levan:Hebrew:=white]
5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now [are] many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore : let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish [ought] thereof for they [be] idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go [and] sacrifice to our God
9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.
10 And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw
11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.
12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13 And the taskmasters hasted [them], saying, Fulfil your works, [your] daily tasks, as when there was straw
14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, [and] demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
The salt production technique used by the Jews in the Nile Delta evaporationpans was a simple one.
Crystallisation of salt in solar pans, in hot climates, occurred naturally, at the surface of the brine.
The crystals first formed float, until they become soaked - since the surface brine reaches saturation point before the cooler lower layers. Additional crystals grow beside these crystals partially submerged, rather than below them, or above them, thus a typical "funnel" or wedge form takes shape.
The specific gravity of a Sodium Chloride crystal is 2.16. and the saturated brine at 25 C contains 26.7% salt. and has a specific gravity of 1.2004. At 15 C a saturated solution may contain 26.5% salt, and has a specific gravity 1.203. Hence a solution saturated at a higher temperature is specifically lighter, even though it contains a greater quantity of salt. It is this explanation that allowed salt makers to crystallise "blocks" or briquettes of salt on the surfaces of ponds, using floating elements such as sticks and straws to form the crusts of salt. .
It should be noted that with most other substances, crystallisation can not occur at the the solution surface because their solubility increases more rapidly than their specific gravity decreases
Thus a geometric form floating on the surface of the pan brine, or planted vertically in the shallow brine, enabled crystallisation to occur, encrusting the floating form, with salt on the brine surface
Such geometric forms , mostly made of straws, or sticks, were most efficient when constructed to allow the salt to crystallise over a large area yet not be influenced by wind and waves. These geometric forms were mainly crosses or squares with diagonal or tangential struts to strengthen the form. The most popular form of straw construction with the greatest surface area and strength, was the "Star of David".
Since salt making of this kind occurred well before most of today's religions developed, it is quite reasonable to assume that the Jews and their particular interest in salt and "kashrut" hygiene, later used the star form also as a symbol
The dictates of "Kashrut" law have always confined Jews to living, within a proximity of salt supplies and a sense of its importance for every day living was essential to Jewish philosophy . Iit is not a coincidence, that down the ages, Jewish communities have always been close to salt supplies, or salt trading routes, nor is it coincidence that Jews have always been directly connected with those allied industries involving uses of salt, such as tanning and leather and many other bye-products, Not least of these, was the use of salt, sometimes, as "money" and as a means to pay tax or as a prime taxable item, Since the Jewish literacy rate has always been high, close involvement in the collection of taxes for and on behalf of the local administrations, probably contributed greatly to anti-Semitism.
It might also be possible to correlate the resulting consistently high physiological salt intake by Jewish populations to high standards of hygiene and health, in spite of periodical famine. and also possibly to the high cultural and "thinking" reputation of these Jewish communities.
MITHRAISM, MARII, ZOROASTRIANSM
Mithraism was very much a cult for Roman soldiers, who possibly spent their "salarium" in return for salted meat after the rituals. ROMAN GODDESS "Salus" - of - "Health" Health, represented by the serpent.- Salus in Roman religion, the goddess of safety and welfare, later identified with the Greek Hygieia . Her temple on the Quirinal at Rome, dedicated in 302 BC, was the scene of an annual sacrifice on August 5.
CATHOLIC SALT
Always used for the seasoning of food and for the preservation of things from corruption, had from very early days a sacred and religious character. The Prophet Eliseus employed it to make palatable the waters of a well (IV Kings, ii, 19 sqq.). The Orientals used it to cleanse and harden the skin of a newborn child (Ezech., xvi, 4); by strewing salt on a piece of land they dedicated it to the gods; in the Jewish Law it was prescribed for the sacrifices and the loaves of proposition (Lev., ii, 13). In Matthew 5:13, salt symbolizes wisdom, though perhaps originally it had an exorcistic signification.
Its use in the Church belongs exclusively to the Roman Rite. The Ritual knows two kinds of salt for liturgical purposes, the baptismal salt and the blessed salt. The former, cleansed and sanctified by special exorcisms and prayers, is given to the catechumen before entering church for baptism. According to the fifth canon of the Third Council of Carthage it would seem that salt was administered to the catechumens several times a year. This use of salt is attested by St. Augustine (Conf., I. 1, c. xi) and by John the Deacon. St. Isidore of Seville speaks of it (De off., II, xxi), but in the Spanish Church it was not universal. The other salt is exorcized and blessed in the preparation of holy water for the Asperges before high Mass on Sunday and for the use of the faithful in their homes. The present formula of blessing is taken from the Gregorian Sacramentary (P.L., LXXVIII, 231). Both baptismal salt and blessed salt may be used again without a new benediction.
The appendix of the Roman Ritual has a blessing f salt for the use of animals and another in honour of St. Hubert. The Roman Pontifical orders salt to be blessed and mixed in the water (mixed in turn with ashes and wine) for the consecration of a church. This is also from the Gregorian Sacramentary. Again salt (not specially blessed) may be used for purifying the fingers after sacred unctions. FRANCIS MERSHMAN Transcribed by Charlie Martin from the Catholic Encyclopedia
By David Bloch in http://salt.org.il/frame_rel.html edited and adapted do be posted by Leopoldo Costa.
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