- Family and Society
- Attitude Towards Secular and Reform Jews
191
Question
I read that some parts of the erev rav have something to do with lust, and heard somewhere else, that in the future all the pleasure souls will be (destroyed? I cant remember the exact details of what it said or where I read these concepts but do you know what Im referencing? ) What/who exactly does this include and not include? So where is the line of cutoff of when someone would fall into the category of being in that group vs just being a human who is a real jew who is not part of the erev rav who enjoys pleasure? Is it something where someone can change From one category to the other, or something where once someone is in one category they are destined to stay there?
Answer
Each and every one of us can always do Teshuva and improve ourselves! The concept of the erev-rav is often used by the midrash to take the blame off of the Jewish people and give them the benefit of the doubt, saying that the sinners are from the outside- those Egyptians who joined us when we left Egypt, or their offspring. In other words, the erev-rav are all sinners, but not all sinners are the erev-rav. We relate to every Jew as totally Jewish, and surely are not meant to point the finger at others to accuse them or God forbid, question their ancestry. There are no practical ramifications of this issue today!

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