HOW MANY LEFT EGYPT?

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

The festival of Passover recalls a major event in the history of the Jews during the biblical times. The main message of the holiday, which has resonated with our people over the centuries, is that we were slaves in Egypt, and then we became free. Jews have celebrated this special event for a long period of time, through a ritualized family meal, called the Seder, and using a traditional text named “Haggadah,” meaning “the telling (of the story).”

As the historian John Bright already pointed out, “there is no direct witness in Egyptian records to Israel’s presence in Egypt…(however), it is not the sort of tradition any people would invent” (History of Israel, 1981, 121). The details of the slavery in Egypt as well as the liberation from it are buried in many legends that have been transmitted through the ages from generation to generation. One of them is the number of people who actually left Egypt.

According to Ex.12: 37, about 600,000 men, plus women and children as well as a “mixed multitude” departed from Egypt. In the opinion of a medieval rabbinic commentator, Abraham Ibn Ezra (d.1167, Spain), this extra group were some Egyptians who joined them. It could also refer to other enslaved people in Egypt who escaped along the Israelites.

600,000 is a round number (the Hebrew text reads, “about 600,000”) and is not too far from other biblical sources that put it at 600,550 (Num.1:46), 600,000 (Num.11:21) or  at 601,730 (Num.26:51). Many people, therefore, estimated that the total number of Israelites who left Egypt, including women, children and others, would be about two and a half million.

And this is where the problem lies:

1.     According to a biblical text, the Israelites arrived in Egypt with 70 people (Deut. 10:22), and lived in the land 430 years (Ex 12:40).  (By the way, Gen. 15:13 and 15:16 claim 400 years in 4 generations). The defenders of the biblical text point to another biblical verse that states that the Israelites were very prolific and multiplied greatly (Ex.1: 7; see Deut. 1: 10). But even with this exaggerated claim, it is hard to believe that 70 people can generate about two or three million within 400+ years.

2.     According to another biblical text, the Israelites in Egypt had only two mid-wives by the name of Shifra and Puah (Ex.1: 15-21). It is not clear if these were Hebrew mid-wives or Egyptian mid-wives to the Hebrews. The names, however, are Semitic and not Egyptian. Some medieval commentators, like Ibn Ezra, maintain that they were the overseers of the actual mid-wives in the country. The defenders of the biblical text say that the Hebrew wives in Egypt were “vigorous,” and did not wait for the mid-wives to arrive (Ex.1: 19). But, still, it is hard to believe that only two women , even with outside help, could possibly serve all the Israelites living in the country.

3.     Given the climatic conditions of the land, there is no way that the Sinai desert could have sustained such a large group of more than two million.

To solve the problem, many scholars proposed various solutions:

1.     Some argued that the Hebrew word “ELEF,” meaning “thousand” referring to the number of men who left Egypt (in Ex.12:37) should be understood as “clans.” That would bring the number down to a few thousands. Thus, for example, Mendenhall suggested, maybe 5000; Sarna argued in favor of 600 family units and Wenham proposed a total of 72,000 people.. Now, that makes more sense.

2.     Other scholars suggested that not all 12 Israelite tribes left Egypt, and perhaps not all of them together. Already M. Noth had indicated that “the tribes of Israel did not all settle on the soil of Palestine at the same time” (History, 1958, p. 72). Some even suggested that perhaps only 2 or 3 left, and the others escaped before or after the Exodus. In reality, the number 12 is post-Exodus and reflects the reality during the days of the Monarchy, later on.

 These details, however, did not make it into the Hebrew Bible or the Haggadah. Oral tradition embellished the history of the liberation, and human imagination added all sorts of stories to the almost miraculous event in order to highlight the major teaching of the holiday that celebrates the freedom from bondage in the distant past. In fact, according to the Haggadah, “in every generation each person must feel obligated to think that he/she had personally came out of Egypt.” No wonder why so many people still today rejoice in it and proclaim it to the entire world. 

A JEWISH VIEW OF ISLAM

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

The present conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land has created the false impression that the tension between Jews and Muslims has been going on for centuries. That is not correct. Peaceful coexistence has occurred in many places. In fact, Islam (meaning “submission” to God’s will) recognizes that it owes a great deal to Judaism (and Christianity) in its formulation of its own faith.

I grew up in Turkey and had a good exposure to Islam. I have visited  and, in fact, attended many services at Mosques in many parts of the country and, later on, studied Arabic at the University of Pennsylvania.

Islam began when Mohammad, born in Mecca around 570 CE, claimed to have received his first revelation from God in 610. After he and his followers escaped Mecca (in 622) for a northern city called Yathrib, later known as Medina, Mohammad interacted with a number of Jewish tribes. At the beginning, relationships were good but as Jews began to refuse Mohammad’s claims to prophecy, things began to sour between them, and Mohammad started to come up with statements critical of Jews as well as Christians. Thus, for example, even though he had identified these two groups as the “people of the book” (namely the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament; see, Sura 3: 84), he later on told his followers, “Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; some of them are allies of one another” (Sura, 5:51). After Mohammad’s conquest of Mecca in 630, he began to come out with newer religious teachings. These eventually became the substance of the Koran, the sacred text in Arabic of the newly formed faith. He died in Mecca in 632 at the age of 62, and was followed by Abu-Bakr (632-634), Uthman (644-656), and Ali (656-661). Some Muslims, namely the Shiites, believed that Ali should have followed Muhammad as caliph (“successor”), and therefore split from the Sunni Muslims. Today, for example, while  most people in Iran are Shiite, the majority of Turks are Sunnis.  It is estimated that 90% of the Muslims are Sunnis and 10% are Shiite. There are a few differences between these two Muslim groups with regards to some religious practices but not concerning the main instructions of the Koran.

Islam promotes five major teachings: 1. It is monotheistic, and declares the unity of God and promotes Mohammad as God’s messenger; 2. It requires 5 different prayer services during the day, facing Mecca; 3. It demands that 2.5% of one’s savings be given to the poor and the needy; 4. It asks that followers fast and exercise self-control during the daylight hours of the holy month of Ramadan, the 9^th month of the Muslim calendar; and, finally, 5. It encourages Muslims to undertake a  pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a lifetime, if one is able.

During the medieval times, in spite of the fact that both Jews and Christians were considered dhimmis, namely, second class citizens in the Muslim world, Jews, especially, were able to create kind of a “golden age” for a period of time in Andalucía, Spain, where they spoke and wrote in Arabic, and gave rise to great philosophers and poets, like Ibn Ezra, Judah Halevi and Maimonides. However, because of deteriorating circumstances and the Reconquista of Spain by the Christians, Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, who then spread through North Africa and all over Europe, including the Ottoman Empire.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam share a number of teachings:

1.     They are all monotheists, but Muslims do not accept Jesus as divine.

2.     Islam recognizes the biblical prophets, both Jewish and Christians, but these two groups do not accept Mohammad as a prophet.

3.     All three religions consider Jerusalem a holy city.

4.     Both Jews and Muslims require circumcision of males, even though Jews do it on the 8^th day after birth and Muslims shortly before puberty. Christians do not require this procedure.

5.     During worship services, most Jews and all Muslims cover their heads, whereas among Christians  nuns do that. Also, in the Catholic Church, the Syrian Orthodox church and in Anglicanism, clerics wear a zucchetto, like a skullcap. 

6.     Both Jews and Muslims stay away from eating pork, and follow certain required rules of diet. Christians have no restrictions regarding food, except during Lent (no meat).

7.     Jews or Muslims do not allow sculptures or human images in their respective houses of worship, even though Christians do.

In our time, especially in the USA, there is a strong movement towards  establishing respectful relationship among the clergy of the main three faiths, especially in religious associations of all the professionals. And, that is the way it ought to be.

 (Comments are welcome)

THE NAMES OF GOD IN THE HEBREW BIBLE

 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

In the Hebrew Bible, we find different names for God. (Later on, Rabbis came up with new terms):

a.     EL

 This is the generic term for any divinity in the ancient Near East, often appearing in Akkadian as as ilu. In the Bible, this name is at times found in compound names, such as El Elyon (Gen. 14:18, “El, the Most High “), El Roi (Gen.16:13, “El who looks upon me”), El Betel (Gen 31: 13, “El of Bethel”), El Shaddai (Gen. 17:1, “El almighty”), El Berit (Judg. 9: 46, “El of the Covenant”), or even attached to personal names, like Yehezkel (“El strengthens”).

 ELOHIM

This term contains a Hebrew plural ending, im, and often refers to the gods of other nations (e.g., Ex.12:12). However, it also appears as the name of the Israelite God. Often, it is accompanied by a singular verb, like : “When God (Elohim) was about to create…(Gen. 1:1), but at times it is followed by a plural ending, such as “When God (Elohim) made me wander…( Gen.20: 13), perhaps as a vestige of the old, polytheistic, usage.

c.     ELOHA    

T      This is a singular evocative form of Elohim, and simply means God, like in Deut. 32: 15 (“He     forsook  the God –Eloha-who made him”) or 32:17 (“They sacrificed to demons, no gods, lo     eloha”).

d.     SHADDAY

     The original meaning of this term is not clear. In the Septuagint (Greek      translation of the Bible) and the Vulgate (Latin translation of the Bible), it is   rendered as “Almighty.”  Most likely, the word is related to the Akkadian   shadu, meaning “mountain.” Others, derive it from shadayyin, divinities  mentioned  in old Aramaic texts. Often, this term appears alone, referring to  the Israelite God (Num. 24:4 or Ps. 91:1), but at times we find it in combination with the name EL, such as El Shadday (Gen. 17:1) or attached to human names, like Zurishaddai (Nu. 1:6).

e.     YHVH

     Often transliterated as Yahweh, this tetragrammaton appears more than 600   times in the Hebrew Bible as the personal name of God. It also has a  shortened form as YAH (Ex. 15:3) or YAHU, in personal names, like Uziyahu (Is.6:1). Often, it appears as YY. Its root is likely related to the  Hebrew verb HAYAH, meaning to be, to exist. The term is also found in      sources outside of Israel, such as in 9/8 th cent. BCE Phoenician storage  jars, in northern Sinai, in the form of “YHVH and his Asherah,” or in association  with other groups, like “YHVH of Samaria.” In the synagogue,  the term is pronounced as ADONAY, by applying the vowels of the Hebrew word, “My Master.” In reality, we do not know how this name was  pronounced in Biblical times. The term “Jehovah” appears for the first    time in 1530 in the English Bible by William Tyndale.

In the Ten Commandments, the law states that we should not swear falsely or take God’s name in vain (Ex.20:70. Based on this teaching, some people believe that it is sinful to write God’s name in full and that we should write G-D or L--D instead. There is no justification for that because G-D or L--D does not refer to God’s real name in the Bible. In fact, I would argue, God does not even need a personal name. If God represents the totality of Being, the simple term “God” in English (Deus in Latin, Dieu in French, Dio in Italian, Dios in Spanish, Gott in German, Theos in Greek, Allah in Arabic and Turkish, etc.) should do just fine.

For more details, see the recent Responsum by David Golinkin on “Must God’s Name be Written in English as G-D, 02/22021.

(Comments are welcome)