Parashat Ki Tavo: How Does “A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey” Express the Uniqueness of Eretz Yisrael?

 

Parashat Ki Tavo

How Does “A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey” Express the Uniqueness of Eretz Yisrael?

Can We Compare the Land Flowing with Milk and Honey to a Breastfeeding Mom?
Long before I understood that Hashem gave Israel the Torah, I already knew that the Land of Israel was described as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” We sang these words with lively clapping in my Zionist secular Jewish school and on B’nei Akiva summer camps. At the time, I never reflected on the deeper meaning of the words, but I sensed instinctively that they expressed the land’s uniqueness – “flowing with milk and honey, clap, clap, with milk and honey!”

The very word “flowing” stirred in me an image of perpetual overflowing with abundance, like a spring or waterfall whose waters never cease. Mother’s milk carries a similar association. The more the baby nurses, the more milk streams forth through this ever-renewing source of nourishment and love. In this light, the metaphor of Israel as a land flowing with milk and honey evokes the image of a mother whose goodness and abundance pour down to her children in proportion to their longing and desire.

Rabbi Meir Horowitz of Dzikov, Imrei Noam, adds a mystical layer, teaching that “זָבַת חָלָב הוּא” is an acronym for חָזֶה – a vision of Divine revelation – while “דְּבַשׁ” has the numerical value of אִשָּׁה/woman, hinting at the flow of nourishment from the Nukva d’kedusha, the feminine aspect of holiness. Thus, the Torah’s description of milk and honey reflects both the physical image of a nursing mother and the spiritual reality of Eretz Yisrael as a feminine source of sustenance, continuously flowing with Divine goodness for those who desire her (Imrei Noam, Parashat Tetzaveh).

Growing up in Denmark, I caught the fragrance of this sweetness during our annual visits to my grandmother’s garden, where the scent of sweet pea flowers mingled with the tang of citrus fruit blossoms. I could never have imagined that one day I would tend my own garden in Eretz Yisrael. This dream became reality only through the love my grandparents instilled in me for our holy land. Today, I feel profound gratitude for the small plot we have been granted here, more than I could ever have imagined in childhood. I pray for the time and strength to devote myself more fully to cultivating it as it deserves. Having endured exile and the inability to dwell safely in our promised land, we have developed a powerful yearning for Eretz Yisrael’s goodness. This longing itself becomes the vessel that allows us to receive her abundance and keep its flow alive.

How can “Flowing with Milk and Honey” Refer to the Fruits of the Land of Israel? Parashat Ki Tavo describes the mitzvah of bringing bikkurim – the first fruits – to the Temple in Jerusalem. How I yearn for this opportunity one day, may it be soon! At the heart of the farmer’s declaration of gratitude, he proclaims that Hashem has brought us to “this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

ספר דברים פרק כו פסוק ט וַיְבִאֵנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וַיִּתֶּן לָנוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ:

“…And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Devarim 26:9).

Whereas I always assumed honey flowed from the jar and milk from the carton in our fridge, or at the very least I associated honey with bees and milk with cows, the Talmud explains it differently: “Rami bar Yechezkel once happened to come to Bnei Brak. He saw goats grazing under fig trees while honey was dripping from the figs and milk was flowing from the goats, and they were mingling together. He remarked, ‘This is [the meaning of] a land flowing with milk and honey’” (Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 111b). This paints a vivid picture of goats grazing in the fertile pastures of Israel while sweet honey is naturally dripping from figs and dates, merging into one image of effortless abundance.

These are not random examples of produce but symbols of the very best of the land, chosen to convey that its bounty emerges with ease and richness, as Sforno explains: “A land flowing with milk and honey” refers to being abundant in livestock and abundant in food, both pleasant and beneficial (Sforno, Shemot 3:8), as it states, “Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet” (Mishlei 24:13). Whereas in most countries, milk and honey are seasonal, appearing only at certain times of the year, in Israel, the Torah describes them as constantly “flowing.” This hints that the land’s fruitfulness is not bound by natural cycles but is continuously sustained by Hashem’s blessing. Thus, the words “milk and honey” remind us of Israel’s agricultural abundance that surpasses the natural order, bearing witness to the hand of Divine providence woven into its soil.

Rebbe Natan of Breslev deepens this concept by explaining that Moshe Rabbeinu’s longing to enter the Land was not for physical taste but for the mitzvot dependent on the Land, since the sweetness of its fruits is rooted in the supernal sweetness. Thus, the true praise of Eretz Yisrael lies precisely in its fruits: good and pleasant in themselves, yet ultimately serving as vessels for mitzvah, transforming their sweetness into a revelation of Divine pleasantness (Likutei Halachot, Orach Chayim, Birkat Haperot, Halacha 4).  

What is the Connection Between the Abundance of Eretz Yisrael and the Torah?

The imagery of milk and honey expresses a profound truth about the nature of Eretz Yisrael. On the simplest level, milk is the most essential food, sustaining an infant from the very beginning of life, while honey embodies sweetness and delight beyond what is necessary for survival (Yalkut Shimoni, Mishlei Chapter 8:943). Together they symbolize the twofold blessing of the Land: it provides not only the nourishment needed for physical existence but also the sweetness that enriches the spirit, enabling us to live with joy in the service of Hashem. This is why the Torah itself likens its words to milk and honey, as it is written: דְּבַשׁ וְחָלָב תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנֵךְ – “Honey and milk are under your tongue” (Shir HaShirim 4:11). Just as the words of one’s lips are sweet and pleasant, like honey and milk dripping beneath the tongue, so too are the words of Torah, for the verse is a metaphor for the study of Torah’s wisdom (Metzudat David, Shir HaShirim 4:11). Whereas the Land of Israel overflows with milk and honey to sustain the body, Torah flows with milk and honey to sustain the soul. Significantly, the phrase “אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ” appears twenty-two times in the Tanach – corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the Torah. This allusion underscores that the abundance of Eretz Yisrael and the flow of Torah are inseparably bound together – both are channels through which Hashem’s goodness is revealed in the world.

How is Milk and Honey a Metaphor for the Transformative Power of Israel?

Milk also signifies birth and renewal, for blood is wondrously transformed into nurturing milk that flows from a mother to her child. Honey, in turn, represents the sweetness of noam elyon – the supernal pleasantness that is the root of all true taste and delight. The Seven Species of the Land of Israel, praised by the Torah, all share in this quality of noam, and therefore the Land itself is fittingly described as flowing with milk and honey.

Yet both milk and honey carry a paradox. Honey is produced by non-kosher bees, and milk derives from blood, which is also not kosher. Yet the Torah permits both, teaching us the secret alluded to in the verse: “Who can produce a pure thing out of an impure? No one” (Iyov 14:4) – no one but Hashem Himself. Only the Creator has the power to draw purity out of impurity, to transform the forbidden into the permitted. This transformative power – the power of teshuva and tikkun – shines most strongly in the Land of Israel. Thus, to call Israel “a land flowing with milk and honey” is to reveal its essence as a land where sustenance and sweetness unite, where transformation and renewal are woven into its very fruits, and where abundance itself becomes a vessel for holiness. For this reason, this land is explicitly praised with milk and honey, alluding to the purifying power that resides within the Holy Land.

How do Milk and Honey Teach that Israel is the Gateway to Higher Worlds?

On the mystical plane, “A land flowing with milk and honey” is an allusion to the goodness of the supernal world. Whereas milk can represent the life-giving flow of Divine compassion, honey reflects the sweetness of spiritual wisdom and the joy of cleaving to Hashem. To dwell in a land flowing with milk and honey is to live in contact with eternity itself. Yet, meriting this abundance demands great inner strength and perseverance – the courage to endure trials and the discipline to engage in the exacting work of Torah, distinguishing between issur (prohibited) and heter (permitted), tahor (pure) and tamei (impure). The phrase, therefore, becomes both a promise and a challenge: the land holds within it the flow of eternity, but it demands from us the strength to grasp it.

Rabbi Meir Horowitz of Dzikov deepens this mystical vision, teaching that the phraseזָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ/zavat cḥalav u’dvash equals 761 in gematria – the same as בִּינָה חָכְמָה כֶּתֶר/keter, chochmah, binah (760) when counted with the kollel (adding one for the entire phrase). Keter (crown) represents the highest Divine will, chochmah (wisdom) the primordial flash of insight, and binah (understanding) the unfolding of that wisdom into structure. Together, they are the three highest sefirot (Divine emanations). This reveals that the Torah’s description encodes the flow of light from these highest realms into malchut (sovereignty), symbolized by the word אֶרֶץ (land). Not only do milk and honey allude to the sweetness of the upper world, but these words are also a cipher for Divine radiance itself – a threefold light descending into the land and manifesting as abundance. In this way, “A land flowing with milk and honey” expresses not only the tangible fruitfulness of Israel but also its role as the vessel through which the highest light is drawn into our world (Imrei Noam, Parashat Ki Tavo). For us today, “A land flowing with milk and honey” is both a gift and a responsibility. It invites us to live in gratitude for the land’s blessings, to embody generosity and unity in our communities, to draw sweetness from Torah, and to strive with courage toward holiness. To dwell in such a land is to elevate every dimension of life – physical, ethical, spiritual, and eternal.