A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey - What's That All About?
One of my earliest memories connected with my introduction to Judaism (1991 or so - I am a convert, by the way) was listening to Rabbi Maralee Gordon, currently Chief Rabbi of McHenry County, Illinois, who at the time was the Education Director of the religious school of McHenry County Jewish Congregation, during her welcoming assembly at Sunday school - playing guitar and singing songs, such as Ufaratza, David Melech Yisrael, and Mayim. What these songs were about was pretty much a mystery to me as my Hebrew was non-existent, but they certainly got you rocking on a Sunday morning. Another popular selection that got a lotta ruach going was this one:
ERETZ ZAVAT CHALAV
Eretz zavat chalav, (rest for two counts) chalav u-d'vash
Eretz zavat chalav, (rest for two counts) chalav u-d'vash
Eretz zavat chalav, (rest for two counts) chalav u-d'vash
Eretz zavat chalav, (rest for two counts) chalav u-d'vash.
(I have been conducting an informal national survey on how that rest is handled by the singer of the song: do you say or do nothing? clap twice? or say "ooh-aah"? The results of this survey will be released at some later point. Stay tuned . . .)
The Tanakh, especially Devarim, is quite littered with references to this "land flowing with milk and honey" that B'nai Yisrael was about to conquer. But really, what is the meaning of this reference? I think a lot of us have the same answer, as if part of some collective Jewish memory. I was taught early on that this adage is merely God's way of saying that this land that is being given over is bountiful and very good. This is how it was taught to me, but with one additional bit of information - and don't get this part wrong - the honey doesn't mean bee's honey; oh, no it means date honey. Hmmm! - ok, it seemed to me that some of this makes sense and some of it is kinda odd. First, why "milk" and why "honey"? Why not a land flowing with "olive oil and hummus"? And what is date honey? And why can't it be bee's honey? Whenever I get to one of these junctures, I find a little literature review is in order.
To support the standard explanation that is stated above, I found a good example on the 'net. It was provided in the form of a response to an ask-the-rabbi segment on some ortho website I had found:
. . . and this from Miriam of Montreal, Canada. And she writes:
Dear Rabbi, I have known for some time that in the phrase "eretz zavat chalav u'dvash - a land flowing with milk and honey" the "dvash" refers to date honey (not bee honey). What is the chalav? Certainly it was not cow's milk. Was it goat's milk or could it be some other type of milk? Does this have some inference that honey and milk should be our main food sources?
The Rabbi responds:
Dear Miriam, The milk referred to is cow's or goat's milk. The honey is fruit honey, such as from figs or dates. This doesn't mean that milk and honey should be our main food sources, but rather that the Land of Israel is overflowing with everything good.
The Talmud relates that our Sages saw goats eating from fig trees. The figs were so luscious that they were dripping with juice; the goats' udders were so full that milk flowed out. These two liquids mingled into a sweet stream, and the land was literally "flowing with milk and honey." Ramban notes that regions with good air, good pasture and good water, such as mountainous regions, produce the healthiest animals which give the best milk (witness Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolate). But these types of climates don't usually produce top quality fruits (ever heard of Swiss plums?). The Torah stresses that the Land of Israel has both.
So here we have affirmation from a well-founded source (among a ton of others) that all say pretty much the same thing: the symbolic idea that the land is strongly connected to bounty and wealth; and that the honey refers to dates, or some fruit, and not bee honey.
This is all well and good, but when it comes to matters of the flora and fauna of Israel I must necessarily go to a higher source, the man named Nogah Hareuveni, the founder of Neot Kedumim, the nature preserve of biblical heritage, located in Kiryat Ono. His famous, well-respected research of Tanakh is always rooted in the reality of the land itself; the physicality of the land informs the text. In his seminal text, Nature in Our Biblical Heritage, he discusses the meaning of chalav ud'vash from a purely physical geographical perspective. He kicks off his thesis with this apparent duality. He quotes from Torah:
"Bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us as You swore to our forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey." (Devarim 26:15)
The widespread assumption that the phrase "a land flowing with milk and honey" is a description of the bounty of the land of Israel and of its agricultural fruitfulness, stems from these passages and others like them in the Bible. In the eyes of the prophet Isaiah, on the other hand, abundance of milk and honey is seen as the direct result of the destruction of the land (by the Assyrians) 1:
"And it shall come to pass on that day, that a man shall save a young cow and two goats; and from the quantity of milk they shall give, he shall eat cream; for cream and honey shall everyone eat who is left in the [desolated] land. And it shall come to pass on that day, that every place where there had been a thousand grapevines worth a thousand pieces of silver shall be covered with briars and thorns. With arrows and bows shall men go there because all the land shall be briars and thorns." (Isaiah 7:21-24)
So how can desolation and bounty relate to an abundance of milk and honey? According to Hareuveni, the answer is found in the land itself. To recall the spies' report in Parshat Shelach Lecha, the passage portrays clearly the situation during the time of Israelite settlement in the middle of the thirteenth century BCE: the fertile valleys were inhabited by the Canaanites, while much of the hilly region was uninhabited and retained the natural cover of forest and thicket. In To corroborate, according to most Biblical archaeologists, the Israelites were the first inhabitants of what is referred to as the "hill country."
Over time, cows and goats were domesticated and raised for milk and the connection between abundant forage found in the wide-ranging pastures of the hill country and increased milk production became clearly evident.
And what of honey? Here are two oft-heard references from Tanakh:
First from Proverbs 25 - "If you have found honey, eat in moderation lest you overeat and vomit."
And from Judges 14:5-9, "He (Samson) turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scooped it out into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother, and gave some to them, and they ate."
As in nearly all references to honey in the Tanakh, it is clearly of that produced by bees and not fruit. These bees, however, are clearly wild bees as there is no reference to apiculture whatsoever in Tanakh. Apiculture apparently didn't exist in Israel until the Talmudic period. But the connection between milk and honey is reinforced. The same pastures, rich in greens for the cow, the goat and the sheep, also sustained tons of wildflowers; their nectar supporting copious bee honey production.
After their conquest of the hill country, the Israelites cleared the forests and built terraces, thus turning the mountains into productive agricultural land. This action essentially removed or marginalized native plants and wildlife, including the bee population found there. The numerous references to lions and bears stalking several verses of the Tanakh are testament to what was once the fauna of Israel prior to settlement and agriculture.
From Hareuveni, "The phrase "a land flowing with milk and honey" describes uncultivated areas covered with wild vegetation and a profusion of flowers. It was a positive and alluring description to the Israelites while they were still shepherds. However, after they settled the land of Israel by clearing the "milk and honey" areas for cultivation, the same phrase became a frightening description associated with the destruction of productive farmland", especially as a result of warfare and the destruction of Israel. (His bold, my italicized insertion)
To me, there is an intriguing duality built into eretz zavat chalav ud'vash beyond what Hareuveni has offered. It speaks to a conflict that has on one hand the need for a society to sustain an agricultural base, which is, of course, the lifesource of its people, and from which all other activities, including the maintenance of a religion, are made possible. And on the other hand, I would argue, there is an equally human need to maintain and preserve our native habitats and as the Torah ably demonstrates, as usual, that Creation demands that we seek some sort of balance in order to remain connected to our heritage. Israel, just as every country of the world, must bring sensibility and sensitivity in dealing with this bedeviling duality. This is especially significant at this season. With Tisha b'Av fresh in our conscious, it is important to be reminded that just as baseless, causeless hatred destroyed the temples and sent Israel into destruction and diaspora, so will the needless and causeless destruction of our environment will place Israel in a predicament that will threaten its existence.
So that's how I'm gonna connect to this image of a "land of milk and honey", but what of "milk" and "honey", in and of themselves? I have presented evidence to you that these are products of great significance to the shepherd and are emblematic of the children of Israel, but what meaning do they have to the rest of us - us non-shepherding, urban types?
We are all aware that milk is equated with goodness. It is our initial sustenance and it is true sweetness to newborns. Honey, of course, is the ultimate in sweetness, but it is also mythic in its healing properties and it appears magical in that it is the only food that does not spoil. But as valid Jewish symbology, I found a little midrash that I found enlightening (although I am not sure of the veracity of the statement). It is said that milk (mother's milk, that is) and honey are the only two kosher substances that are derived from non-kosher sources (i.e., bees and people are not kosher). It is surely more than coincidence. The implication is that the Land of Israel has the spiritual energy to purify even the impure. Shabbat Shalom.
Go home.