--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things that become important to economies…" description: "\"Things that become important to economies become ritualized and become deified. Because I'm Jewish, I always thought it was interesting that in Judaism..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/mark-kurlansky-1988_bread_things-that-become-important-to-economie_2950432.png" --- # Things that become important to economies become… ![“Things that become important to economies become ritualized and become deified. Because I'm Jewish, I always thought it was interesting that in Judaism, salt seals a bargain, particularly the covenant with God. Some people, when they bless bread, they dip it in salt. Same thing exists in Islam.” quote by Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/mark-kurlansky-1988_bread_things-that-become-important-to-economie_2950432.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/mark-kurlansky-1988_bread_things-that-become-important-to-economie_2950432.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/mark-kurlansky-1988_bread_things-that-become-important-to-economie_2950432.png) > “Things that become important to economies become ritualized and become deified. Because I'm Jewish, I always thought it was interesting that in Judaism, salt seals a bargain, particularly the covenant with God. Some people, when they bless bread, they dip it in salt. Same thing exists in Islam.” [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic priorities become sacred rituals, often equated with divine covenants, as seen in cultural practices like salt sealing agreements. **In simple terms:** Economics can turn into religious-like rituals. Key Takeaway Recognize when economic symbols become overly revered. Themes economics ritual culture religion symbolism Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical cultural When to use this quote - business negotiations - political agreements - religious ceremonies - daily customs Key Concepts sacredness social contract cultural anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How do we differentiate genuine tradition from economic idolization? - What risks arise when markets become sacred? A Different Perspective Economic symbols can be manipulated for power, losing original meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) [Covenant with god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covenant-with-god/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I do think you can see, throughout American history, this temptation, and it's both a liberal and a conservative temptation, to take a healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-do-think-you-can-see-throughout-american-history-this-temptation/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“But what does America have to do with ancient Israel? Israel was unique among nations in that it was conceived and dedicated at its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-cahn/but-what-does-america-have-to-do-with-ancient-israel-israel-was/) [Jonathan Cahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-cahn/) > [“Choose to bless the Lord.  If you look at your situation and say, “I made a Covenant with God and this box, (my current…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-davis/choose-to-bless-the-lord-if-you-look-at-your-situation-and-say-i-made/) Debby Davis > [“And God himself will have his servants, and his graces, tried and exercised by difficulties. He never intended us the reward for sitting still;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/and-god-himself-will-have-his-servants-and-his-graces-tried-and/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Covenants with God help us to know who we really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-a-stevens/covenants-with-god-help-us-to-know-who-we-really-are/) [Jean A. Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-a-stevens/) > [“us to take our place within the crowd, to hear Jesus preach and see him perform mighty deeds, when we open up the Gospels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-ruszala-2/us-to-take-our-place-within-the-crowd-to-hear-jesus-preach-and-see/) Michael J Ruszala > [I'm not trying to convert the Jewish people to the Christian faith... In fact, trying to convert Jews is a waste of time. Jews…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/i-m-not-trying-to-convert-the-jewish-people-to-the-christian-faith-in/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [The world is like a courtroom, with God as our judge. We are called upon to fulfill our covenant with God, who asked, "Am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-world-is-like-a-courtroom-with-god-as-our-judge-we-are-called/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“No, their weapons will not be carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. They will go to the Covenant God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/no-their-weapons-will-not-be-carnal-but-mighty-through-god-to-the/) Various > [“All who put their ultimate trust and allegiance in God (Ex. 20: 3-11) and are truly committed to loving and serving their fellow human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-daily/all-who-put-their-ultimate-trust-and-allegiance-in-god-ex-20-3-11-and/) [Steve Daily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-daily/) > [Are you fleeing from Love because of a single humiliation? What do you know of Love except the name? Love has a hundred forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/are-you-fleeing-from-love-because-of-a-single-humiliation-what-do-you/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“The gospel is the good news that God is doing a completely new thing in Jesus - demonstrating divine righteousness, making people right in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-toews/the-gospel-is-the-good-news-that-god-is-doing-a-completely-new-thing/) John E Toews > [“Look, you mad tart, I have a covenant with God, which is: I don't mention that he has stocked the world full of villains,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/look-you-mad-tart-i-have-a-covenant-with-god-which-is-i-don-t-mention/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [Abraham was extremely wealthy and he had a covenant with God. It's not the Jewish blessing, it's the Abrahamic blessing. I get excited talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-copeland/abraham-was-extremely-wealthy-and-he-had-a-covenant-with-god-it-s-not/) [Kenneth Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-copeland/) > [When you choose whether to make or keep a covenant with God, you choose whether you will leave an inheritance of hope to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/when-you-choose-whether-to-make-or-keep-a-covenant-with-god-you/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) ## More by Mark Kurlansky > [“A 1670 revision of the criminal code found yet another use for salt in France. To enforce the law against suicide, it was ordered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/a-1670-revision-of-the-criminal-code-found-yet-another-use-for-salt/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“The Romans, Jones pointed out, called a man in love salax, in a salted state, which is the origin of the word salacious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-romans-jones-pointed-out-called-a-man-in-love-salax-in-a-salted/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [When you're in theater, you inevitably wind up working in restaurants. I made pastry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/when-you-re-in-theater-you-inevitably-wind-up-working-in-restaurants/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“For a time, the Hanseatics were well appreciated as honorable merchants who ensured quality and fought against unscrupulous practices. They were known as Easterlings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/for-a-time-the-hanseatics-were-well-appreciated-as-honorable/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [I blurbed a nice book, not at all like my book 'The Big Oyster,' called 'The Essential Oyster.' I blurbed a pretty good book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/i-blurbed-a-nice-book-not-at-all-like-my-book-the-big-oyster-called/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [The entire trendy foodie world - food writing, food television, celebrated restaurants - is all about food for the rich. But the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-entire-trendy-foodie-world-food-writing-food-television/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [One of the truly horrible things about the Holocaust is that it doesn't end in 1945. It keeps affecting our lives in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/one-of-the-truly-horrible-things-about-the-holocaust-is-that-it-doesn/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [It's true that writing and pastry-making are similar, but when you work as a pastry chef, you can get a kind of mania that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/it-s-true-that-writing-and-pastry-making-are-similar-but-when-you/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [Food is interesting to me because it's a way of understanding culture and societies and history. I would never write about food just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/food-is-interesting-to-me-because-it-s-a-way-of-understanding-culture/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [THE ROMANS SALTED their greens, believing this to counteract the natural bitterness, which is the origin of the word salad, salted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-romans-salted-their-greens-believing-this-to-counteract-the/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [Religion is a big problem in Israel and the Arab world, but again, the problem isn't religion but political leaders who want to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/religion-is-a-big-problem-in-israel-and-the-arab-world-but-again-the/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“It is a peculiarity of the English language that while most fish swim in schools, herring swim in shoals, a word of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/it-is-a-peculiarity-of-the-english-language-that-while-most-fish-swim/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“The painstakingly extracted purple dye was a luxury item of such prestige that the color purple became a way of showing wealth and power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-painstakingly-extracted-purple-dye-was-a-luxury-item-of-such/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [Don't forget the Vietnam War was brought to us by Democrats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/don-t-forget-the-vietnam-war-was-brought-to-us-by-democrats/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [So much of what I write in fiction is based on true stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/so-much-of-what-i-write-in-fiction-is-based-on-true-stories/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) [Explore all 193 Mark Kurlansky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) ## More Bread quotes > [French women don't eat Wonder Bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-guiliano/french-women-don-t-eat-wonder-bread/) [Mireille Guiliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-guiliano/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [I don't eat meat - chicken, fish, none of that. I eat a lot of vegetable sandwiches, like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/i-don-t-eat-meat-chicken-fish-none-of-that-i-eat-a-lot-of-vegetable/) Gza > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [When I met you you were oh so sweet, now you give me the bread and you take all the meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/when-i-met-you-you-were-oh-so-sweet-now-you-give-me-the-bread-and-you/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [I think the best Thanksgiving we ever had was one where we didn't even have a turkey. Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bread-is-a-second-cause-the-lord-himself-is-the-first-source-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if we have to go without bread, we Albanians do not violate principles. We do not betray Marxism - Leninism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enver-hoxha/even-if-we-have-to-go-without-bread-we-albanians-do-not-violate/) [Enver Hoxha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enver-hoxha/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“Nine times out of ten, people pick the wrong food. No, it’s not the sugar (GI = 68), it’s not the candy bar (GI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/nine-times-out-of-ten-people-pick-the-wrong-food-no-it-s-not-the/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Waffles аrе јust awesome bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/waffles-r-ust-awesome-bread/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [At my age, I don't buy but a half a loaf of bread, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/at-my-age-i-don-t-buy-but-a-half-a-loaf-of-bread-you-know/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [Jesus Christ would have been considered just another long-haired hippie freak if he hadn't been crucified. The folks weren't impressed with healing the sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/jesus-christ-would-have-been-considered-just-another-long-haired/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“To consume the Eucharist is an act of anticonsumption, for here to consume is to be consumed, to be taken up into participation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-cavanaugh/to-consume-the-eucharist-is-an-act-of-anticonsumption-for-here-to/) [William T. Cavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-cavanaugh/) [Browse all 2,164 Bread quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Things that become important to economies become ritualized and become deified. Because I'm Jewish, I always thought it was interesting that in Judaism, salt seals a bargain, particularly the covenant with God. Some people, when they bless bread, they dip it in salt. Same thing exists in Islam.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Kurlansky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/things-that-become-important-to-economies-become-ritualized-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bread" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/things-that-become-important-to-economies-become-ritualized-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/mark-kurlansky-1988_bread_things-that-become-important-to-economie_2950432.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/mark-kurlansky-1988_bread_things-that-become-important-to-economie_2950432.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/mark-kurlansky-1988_bread_things-that-become-important-to-economie_2950432.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Things that become important to economies become ritualized and become deified. Because I'm Jewish, I always…” — Mark Kurlansky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Kurlansky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Things that become important to economies...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/things-that-become-important-to-economies-become-ritualized-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/things-that-become-important-to-economies-become-ritualized-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```