Q&A: Tribal Affiliation of a Convert and the Mixed Multitude
Tribal Affiliation of a Convert and the Mixed Multitude
Question
Hello Rabbi, regarding conversion in the period of the tribes: the story of Ruth the Moabite is well known—she converted and married Boaz from the tribe of Judah, and therefore joined the tribe of Judah. The question is: what would happen in the case of a man who converts—how does he join some tribe, if at all? The same applies to a couple who convert. Also, when the children of Israel left Egypt, the Torah states that 600,000 foot soldiers left, and in addition a mixed multitude also went out with them. But for some reason, in the population censuses, the mixed multitude is not recognizable in the count. Was it absorbed into the tribes? And if so, how?
Answer
A convert who converts does not join any tribe.
As for the mixed multitude, it seems to me that many of them died in the wilderness (and of course many also died in Egypt itself—and the children of Israel went up armed). I’m fairly sure that the biblical commentators discuss this. It’s an area I hardly deal with.