The Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude)
ערב רב
When Israel left Egypt, many converts joined them, as it says (Shemot 12:37–38): “And the Children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Sukkot, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. And a mixed multitude (erev rav) also went up with them.” These converts sought to convert after they saw the great power of God, Who sent Moshe to take His people Israel out of Egypt. And God Himself guided Moshe Rabbeinu to accept them: “God said: Whoever loves My children, let him come and rejoice with My children. The worthy ones in Egypt came and made the Pesaḥ offering with Israel and went up with them, as it says: ‘And a mixed multitude also went up with them’” (Shemot Rabba 18:10). This is what was said to Israel in Egypt (Shemot 12:48–49): “And when a stranger shall sojourn with you and will make the Pesaḥ offering to God, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to make it, and he shall be like a native of the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you” (Ramban, Bamidbar 9:14). With the joining of the converts in Egypt, one of the purposes of the Egyptian exile was realized, and the promise God made to Avraham Avinu was fulfilled: “And afterward they shall go out with great wealth” – the converts too are included in the great wealth (Bereishit 15:14; Panim Yafot there 15:13; Sefat Emet, Bo 5643).
Apparently, there were Egyptians who already sought to join Israel from the time Moshe began his mission, and it was clear that they were righteous and fit to be converted. As the plagues intensified, the prestige of Moshe, God’s messenger, grew ever greater in the eyes of the Egyptians, as it says (Shemot 11:3): “Moreover, the man Moshe was very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh’s servants and in the eyes of the people,” and as a result, those seeking to convert increased greatly. God had said to Moshe (Shemot 7:4): “And I will bring out My hosts, My people the Children of Israel,” implying without many converts; but Moshe Rabbeinu said, “It is good that converts cleave to the Divine Presence,” and accepted them (Rashi, Shemot 32:7). They are the ones who caused Israel to sin with the Golden Calf near Mount Sinai. Then God said to Moshe (Shemot 32:7): “Go, descend, for your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly.” The Sages said (Shemot Rabba 42:6): “Moshe said: Master of the Universe, since when are they my people?! The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: They are your people, for while they were in Egypt I told you not to mix a mixed multitude among them. You, being humble and upright, said to Me: One always accepts those who return. And I knew what they would do in the future; I told you: No. Yet I did your will. And they are the ones who made the Calf, for they were idol worshippers, and they made it and caused My people to sin.”
The Zohar explains (II 191a) that among the erev rav there were also Egyptian sorcerers and magicians, who, after they saw that God’s might was above all their sorceries, submitted to God and sought to join Israel. God warned Moshe not to accept them. Moshe said to God: “Master of the worlds, since they have seen Your mighty deeds they wish to convert; let them see Your mighty deeds every day and know that there is no God besides You.” Since after Moshe’s answer God did not instruct Moshe not to accept them, Moshe Rabbeinu, God’s servant, trusted in all His house, accepted them. When Moshe delayed in descending from the mountain after the giving of the Torah, these converts of the erev rav lost faith that he would return. They are the ones who sought to make an idol through which they could connect to God and to Moshe’s legacy; they are the ones who, through their sorcery, caused the gold that Aharon melted to become a calf; and they are the ones who said to Israel: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Shemot 32:4 and Rashi; Vayikra Rabba 27:8). Afterward too, the erev rav continued to cause Israel to sin, as it says (Bamidbar 11:4): “And the rabble that was among them felt a craving, and the Children of Israel also wept again and said, ‘Who will give us meat to eat?’” – the rabble are people from the erev rav (Bamidbar Rabba 15:24; Rashi; Rambam, Issurei Bi’ah 13:18).¹
Notes (1)
- Most of the erev rav were Egyptians. However, since Egypt was an empire, there were members of other nations in it as well, and some of them also converted; therefore all the converts were called erev rav – a mixture of many peoples (see Zohar II 191a, and Rashi, Ibn Ezra and Ha-ketav Ve-ha-kabbala on Shemot 12:38). In the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael and the Mekhilta de-Rashbi, opinions are brought as to the number of the erev rav, from 1,200,000 up to 3,600,000, and in the Tanḥuma (Ki Tisa 19) they said they numbered forty thousand. Maharal explained that often the numbers in the words of the Sages are intended to express an idea and not as historical documentation (see Gevurot Hashem 12). In any event, we learn that the erev rav were numerous. In parallel, the Sages said (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael, Shemot 13:18) that only a fifth of the people left Egypt and all the rest died, as it says (Shemot 13:18): “And the Children of Israel went up armed [ḥamushim] out of the land of Egypt,” for many of Israel were wicked and did not want to leave Egypt, and God caused them to die during the three days of darkness of the plague of darkness, so that the Egyptians would not see their downfall and the Name of Heaven would not be desecrated. In the Mekhilta (Parashat Ha-shira 1) it is explained that “your people have acted corruptly” refers to Israel, and they are called Moshe’s “people” “because he gave his life for them.” Whereas in Shemot Rabba 42:6 and in Rashi, Shemot 32:7, it is explained that it is the erev rav who are called Moshe’s “people,” because Moshe accepted them without God’s endorsement. One may explain that “your people” includes all of Israel, for whom Moshe gave his life, and in particular the erev rav, whom he converted. Some say that Israel and the erev rav stood together at the revelation at Mount Sinai, for God cherished the members of the nations too at Sinai, as it says (Devarim 33:3–4): “Indeed, He loves the peoples; all His holy ones are in Your hand; and they sat down at Your feet, receiving of Your words. Moshe commanded us a Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob” (Rashbam there). And some say that it is possible that Israel stood before the erev rav, since the Torah was given to Israel (Ramban, Shemot 19:1–2). Similarly, some say that the place of the erev rav in the wilderness was outside the camp of Israel, the Clouds of Glory did not rest upon them, and the manna did not fall for them; nevertheless they ate manna from what was left over (Zohar II 191b), meaning that the level of their eating was lower. However, even according to the Zohar (III 237a), some of the erev rav truly attached themselves to Israel, to the point that many members of the tribe of Shimon married them, and many of them were killed at Shittim, and it became clear that they were not fit to be Israelites. It was further explained that there was a dispute between Israel and the erev rav over their share in the spoils of Egypt (Lekaḥ Tov, Shemot 18:13). The Zohar further says (II 195a; Ra’aya Meheimna III 237b) that at first all of Israel and the erev rav were called upon to contribute to the Mishkan, as it says (Shemot 25:2): “from every man whose heart moves him”; and after the sin of the Calf the call was: “Take from among you… the congregation of the Children of Israel” alone (ibid. 35:4–5). For only after they separated from the erev rav could they lift their heads and contribute to the Mishkan (Zohar III 237b).