Salit was born to a
Jewish family on June 8, 1896, in
Brooklyn, New York, the son of Rachel Ethel (née Altschul) and Michael Salit. In 1916, he graduated with a B.A. from
City College; in 1919, he graduated with a J.D. from
New York University; in 1920, he received his rabbinic ordination from the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America; and in 1922, he graduated with a M.A. from
Columbia University. In 1957, he received a Doctor of Humane Letters from the
Philathea College in Canada. He later served on the board of overseers of the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America, as president of the Long Island Council of the
American Jewish Congress, on the executive council of the
New York Board of Rabbis (1951-1958), as counsel for the Rabbinical Assembly of America, and as a member of the executive committee of the
Zionist Organization of America. ==Personal life==