God brought our ancestors to a “Land of Milk and Honey.” There are different interpretations of that descriptive phrase.
Got milk? We might imagine the Children of Israel with herds of goats – the source of dairy for wanderers in the region. Honey? The date palms that awaited them were the source of honey; we call this silan, the honey made from dates. In this sense the phrase “a land of milk and honey” is understood as describing Israel as a land where there is abundance.
My colleague Rabbi Elliot Malomet writes: “According to Prof. Jeffrey Tigay (JPS Commentary) it is a favorite phrase in the bible for describing the fertility of the Land of Israel. But biblical botanist and Israel Prize Laureate, Nogah Hareuveni (1924-2007), offers a fascinating alternative view: 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. Thus, when the pilgrim makes his declaration, he is saying that God brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, that is, an uncultivated land, teaming with natural wild vegetation enabling a people comprised mainly of pastoral nomads to pasture their flocks like their ancestors….” and then face the challenges that await them.
It was up to us to clear the land and cultivate the dairy and the fruits for honey. That is metaphorical for the partnership that is expected of us when it comes to making the society we dream of in Israel and everywhere that Jews call home.
**Join us this Shabbat morning for Gallery Shabbat where Bobbi Coller will lead us in an expanded discussion of our fantastic exhibition “She Did It!” Bring along the name and a one minute biography of a Jewish woman who made an important contribution to either Jewish or world history. Lunch will be served.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bolton