פרשת האזינו- Why give honey to babies? It's dangerous!

Byאלי קאמפף

Parsha - delving deep

The Passuk says:

דברים ל״ב:י״ג

יַרְכִּבֵ֙הוּ֙ עַל־[בָּ֣מֳתֵי] (במותי) אָ֔רֶץ וַיֹּאכַ֖ל תְּנוּבֹ֣ת שָׂדָ֑י וַיֵּנִקֵ֤הֽוּ דְבַשׁ֙ מִסֶּ֔לַע וְשֶׁ֖מֶן מֵחַלְמִ֥ישׁ צֽוּר׃

Deuteronomy 32:13

[God] set them atop the highlands,
To feast on the yield of the earth;
Nursing them with honey from the crag,
And oil from the flinty rock,

The Gemora explains

סוטה י״א ב:ז׳

וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שׁוֹלֵחַ מִשְּׁמֵי מָרוֹם מִי שֶׁמְּנַקֵּיר וּמְשַׁפֵּיר אוֹתָן כְּחַיָּה זוֹ שֶׁמְּשַׁפֶּרֶת אֶת הַוָּלָד שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וּמוֹלְדוֹתַיִךְ בְּיוֹם הוּלֶּדֶת אוֹתָךְ לֹא כׇרַּת שׇׁרֵּךְ וּבְמַיִם לֹא רֻחַצְתְּ לְמִשְׁעִי וְגוֹ׳ וּמְלַקֵּט לָהֶן שְׁנֵי עִגּוּלִין אֶחָד שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן וְאֶחָד שֶׁל דְּבַשׁ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיֵּנִקֵהוּ דְבַשׁ מִסֶּלַע וְשֶׁמֶן וְגוֹ׳

Sotah 11b:7

And the Holy One, Blessed be He, would send from the heavens above an angel who would clean and prepare the newborns, just as a midwife prepares the newborn, as it is stated: “And as for your birth, on the day you were born, your navel was not cut nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all” (Ezekiel 16:4). This indicates that there were no midwives to take care of the Jews born in Egypt. And then, the angel would gather for them two round stones from the field and the babies would nurse from that which would flow out of them. One of the stones flowed with oil and one of the stones flowed with honey, as it is stated: “And He would suckle them with honey from a crag and oil from a flinty rock” (Deuteronomy 32:13).

The babies had oil and honey to drink!

Wait... that's not healthy

Gemora oil is not for drinking

ברכות ל״ה ב:כ״ב

גּוּפָא. אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל, וְכֵן אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שֶׁמֶן זַיִת מְבָרְכִין עָלָיו ״בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ״. הֵיכִי דָּמֵי? אִילֵּימָא דְּקָא שָׁתֵי לֵיהּ מִשְׁתָּא — אוֹזוֹקֵי מַזִּיק לֵיהּ. דְּתַנְיָא: הַשּׁוֹתֶה שֶׁמֶן שֶׁל תְּרוּמָה — מְשַׁלֵּם אֶת הַקֶּרֶן, וְאֵינוֹ מְשַׁלֵּם אֶת הַחוֹמֶשׁ. הַסָּךְ שֶׁמֶן שֶׁל תְּרוּמָה — מְשַׁלֵּם אֶת הַקֶּרֶן וּמְשַׁלֵּם אֶת הַחוֹמֶשׁ.

Berakhot 35b:22

Previously, the Gemara cited the halakha that one recites the blessing: Who creates fruit of the tree, over olive oil. The Gemara discusses the matter itself. Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said, and so too Rabbi Yitzḥak said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One recites the blessing: Who creates fruit of the tree, over olive oil just as he does over the fruit itself. What are the circumstances? If you say that he drank it plain, it causes damage to the drinker. As it was taught in a baraita: One who drinks oil of teruma, while unaware that it was teruma, pays the principal and does not pay the additional fifth which is the typical penalty for unintentional misuse of consecrated property, as in that case the individual is considered to have only damaged consecrated property without deriving benefit from it. One who anoints his body with the oil of teruma pays the principal and pays the fifth, as he derived benefit from it. Apparently, one who drinks oil derives no benefit and it even causes him damage.

Rambam Honey is not good for kids

משנה תורה, הלכות דעות ד׳:י״ב

הַדְּבַשׁ וְהַיַּיִן רַע לַקְּטַנִּים וְיָפֶה לַזְּקֵנִים וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן בִּימוֹת הַגְּשָׁמִים. וְצָרִיךְ אָדָם לֶאֱכל בִּימוֹת הַחַמָּה שְׁנֵי שְׁלִישִׁים מַה שֶּׁהוּא אוֹכֵל בִּימוֹת הַגְּשָׁמִים:

Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions 4:12

Honey and wine are bad for the young but good for the old, particularly in the rainy season. A man needs during the summer season but two-thirds of the food he consumes during the rainy season.

What was God trying to show, it was obviously healthy?