Bo: Strength in (Mixed) Numbers

When I was in rabbinical school, we had an online listserv dedicated just for students, and it was called "Erev Rav." The name is a clever little rabbinical pun. Just as "Erev Pesach" or "Erev Shabbat" refer to the evening when Passover or Shabbat begin, so too we were each an "Erev Rav," an "almost rabbi" on the brink (or eve) of ordination. 

At the same time, the term "Erev Rav" is used in this week's Torah portion to refer to the "mixed multitudes" (Exodus 12:38) of people who apparently left Egypt with the Israelite slaves. All of us future-rabbis were similarly a mixed multitude - a motley crew - from across the globe, who had come together in pursuit of a united goal. I think this is a very powerful, and often overlooked, concept in our parashah; and an important one for us to examine and take to heart, especially this week.

The ten plagues are over, Pharaoh has finally relented, and we are so excited for our ancestors to FINALLY be leaving, we often forget to ask: "who are the 'they' who are actually departing Egypt?" 

The Torah seems to suggest that a whole host of OTHER people, non-Israelites, took advantage of the confusion and chaos of the situation, and left Egypt to seek a better life in the desert. This really shouldn't come as a surprise to us; I mean, is there any chance the Israelites were the ONLY slaves in Egypt? Of course there were others, way down at the lowest rung of the totem pole, and of course they were eager to extricate themselves when the opportunity presented itself. It makes perfect sense... and it also changes the dynamic - and the narrative - of what the Exodus meant. We were not alone.

Others threw their lot in with ours, and we took responsibility for their ultimate destiny. Our fates were intertwined, and this motley crew of former-slaves had to learn to coexist, and even rely on one another for their very survival. How perfect a message on the "eve" of Martin Luther King Day. Dr. King understood how important this was, when 

he said: "All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality." Even his famous "I have a dream" speech begins by talking about the children of slaves AND slave owners sitting together at the "table of brotherhood." Dr. King certainly understood how interconnected we all were, and are, and how we MUST work together for survival and success. His legacy is undoubtedly one of peace, freedom, and hope, but it is also the very image of our Torah portion; this mixed multitude of former slaves, setting off into an unknown future, but banding together to fight and strive for a shared destiny of opportunity, independence, and faith. 

As we prepare for this year's Martin Luther King Day, let us all remember this legacy. In the face of anti-immigrant rhetoric, us-versus-them hate speech, and the fear that things will never get better, we need to firmly hold on to 

the image of the Erev Rav. Our story began as part of a mixed multitude, and not only did our people survive, we thrived! And we are still here. Not because we separated off and cared only for ourselves, and not because we shunned influence or interaction with others around us. The motley crew is a key to our achievements. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of this by the great minds and leaders of another cultural group. Thank you, Dr. King! 

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image courtesy of SaulJordison onWikimedia Commons

2. CC image courtesy of Cmglee on Wikimedia Commons

3. CC image courtesy of the New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection on Wikimedia Commons

4. CC image courtesy of Jim Padgett on Wikimedia Commons