Parashat Ki Tavo: A verse flowing with many meanings

“A land flowing with milk and honey” (Deut. 26:15) is the bountiful description of the Land of Israel utilized in numerous places throughout the Torah, including in this week’s parasha, Ki Tavo.

It appears six times in this final book of the Torah, the Book of Deuteronomy (6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20), as well as four times in the Book of Exodus (3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3), and four times in the Book of Numbers (13:27; 14:8; 16:13-14). It is also found once in the Book of Leviticus (20:24) and seven times in other books of the Bible (Josh. 5:6; Jer. 11:5; 32:22; Ezek. 20:6, 15).

Biblical scholar Jeffrey Tigay points out that milk and honey, “descriptions of plenty... were regarded as necessary and choice foods. They were offered to guests and given as gifts. In the Song of Songs they are used as metaphors for the sweetness of love” (The JPS Torah Commentary, Deuteronomy, p. 437).

The many meanings of a biblical verse

Biblical scholar Nahum Sarna adds that milk and honey symbolize “the land’s fertility... the combination of milk and honey implies that the land supports both agriculture (honey from dates) and pasture (milk from goats)... a plentiful supply presupposes an abundance of goats, which in turn points to ample pasturage and the prospect of plentiful meat, hide, and wool. Honey in the Bible is predominantly the thick sweet syrup (silan) produced from dates. The combination of milk and honey provides a highly nutritious diet” (Etz Hayim, pp. 328-329).

In other words, as tour guide and educator Bill Slott elucidates, “the phrase ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’ means all your basic needs will be provided.”

That is why Joshua and Caleb used that description in their positive scouting report of the land (Num. 13:27; 14:8). Ironically, Korah, the demagogue, flipped those words on their head and used them to describe Egypt (Num. 16:13).

The first time the idiom is used in Deuteronomy is in the sentence (Deut. 6:3) immediately before the Shema (Deut. 6:4), the affirmation of a monotheistic understanding of God. Why?

Biblical theologian Melissa Spoelstra reminds us, “The Hebrew word ‘shad’ means ‘breast’ – specifically a woman’s breast. It is the root word for the name of God El Shaddai. His name reveals God as the pourer of life, nourishment, and blessings” (melissaspoelstra.com).

With that insight, we can understand that the placement of “a land flowing with milk and honey” adjoining the Shema conveys the perception of God as the ultimate provider.

THE WORDING “a land flowing with milk and honey” is also a component of the First Fruits declaration, which we also learn about in this week’s parasha (Deut. 26:5-10). Rabbi Dalia Marx points out that in the Torah, the proclamation is one of only “two examples where individual, ordinary Israelites (presumably male) are required to recite a liturgical text” (www.thetorah.com). Its liturgy is a concise affirmation of Israelite history said after the first seasonal harvest from the soil.

That same declaration is further used in the Magid section of the Haggadah of Passover. However, there the final verse, which includes “a land flowing with milk and honey,” is not found. While seemingly an oversight, it fits in with the overriding theme of traditional Haggadot that focus on the Exodus story but not entry into the Promised Land. This is related to why the fifth cup is called Elijah’s cup and not the fifth cup.

The cups of the Seder are based on the promises found in these verses:

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord” (Deut. 6:6-8).

There are five promises made here – God will free, deliver, redeem, take, and bring. The first four relate to the Exodus story, while the fifth is about going into the Land of Israel. This led to a debate on whether there should be four or five cups of wine. Four won out, but to hedge our bets, Elijah’s cup, the fifth cup if you will, is placed on the Seder table. Why? Because if a question cannot be answered, tradition has it that Elijah will let us know the correct answer. For the time being, we follow the tradition that the focus of the Seder is the Exodus story and not entrance into the Promised Land, and so the verse “a land flowing with milk and honey” is not included. 

While the phrase Eretz zavat halav u’devash is often translated as “a land flowing with milk and honey,” a more accurate translation would use “gushing” or “oozing” for the verb. This is because the three-letter root of zavat is zayin-vav-bet, which means “to flow, gush, or ooze.” This root often refers to an issue from male or female genitals (Lev. 15), the source of potential life. With that insight, we can understand our verse to also convey that the land will provide our needs for life.

We are reminded often, when we find the verse “a land gushing/oozing with milk and honey,” that this life-giving provision is conditional on whether we obey God’s commandments to treat the land well.

In the verse before the Shema, we are told: “Obey, O Israel, willingly and faithfully, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in] a land gushing/oozing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, spoke to you” (Deut. 6:3). ■

The writer, a Reconstructionist rabbi, is rabbi emeritus of the Israel Congregation in Manchester Center, Vermont. He teaches at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura and at Bennington College.