This verse was made famous in the trail of Rabbi Eliezer. Rather than quote the entire incident, allow me to summarize. The distinguished Rabbi was arguing alone against a group of other Rabbis about whether or not a an item was ritually pure or unpure. He called upon miracle after miracle to prove that he was right, but in the end, the majority was against him and did not agree with him. They ultimately invoked what is known in Judaism as a Takanot. For those unaware, a Takanot is a decree of the Rabbis/Pharisees that changes biblical law, in direct contradiction to the written word found in Deuteronomy 4:2 - “Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim which I am commanding you." Instead of following the written commands found in the Torah, the Rabbis directly contradicted what Moses wrote and instead quote selectively from the above verse in Sh'mot.
This is what is referred to commonly as eisegesis - imposing your own view upon the text (frequently by starting with an opinion and twisting the text to say what you want it to say) instead of exegesis which is to allow the text to tell you what it says. Instead of letting the verse say that you should not follow after a multitude to do evil, they interpret the verse to say "incline after the majority". Is that what is actually meant by the scripture though? The Torah is not some kind of divine code to only be interpreted by the scholars, scribes and leaders of the people. No, it is meant to be understood by the common farmer and fisherman. Anyone who says different is just not being honest with the full intent of the message from the creator.
The philosophy expressed by the Rabbis here that only they can interpret the written text of scripture because it is a divine code, and only they have been directed and inspired to translate it, is the same thing the Catholic church said for almost the entire period known as the Dark Ages. They burned people at the stake for having the audacity to print the Bible into the language of the common man. Where do we find an example of what I speak of? What gives me the idea that the Bible was given in such a way as to come away with the understanding that it was written for the common man to understand it? There's a couple places that tell me this.
Deuteronomy 30
11 “For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.
12 “It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’
13 “Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’
14 “For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.
Deuteronomy 31
9 And Mosheh wrote this Torah and gave it to the priests, the sons of Lĕwi, who bore the ark of the covenant of יהוה, and to all the elders of Yisra’ĕl.
10 And Mosheh commanded them, saying, “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time, the year of release, at the Festival of Booths,
11 when all Yisra’ĕl comes to appear before יהוה your Elohim in the place which He chooses, read this Torah before all Yisra’ĕl in their hearing.
12 “Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your sojourner who is within your gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn to fear יהוה your Elohim and guard to do all the Words of this Torah.
13 “And their children, who have not known it, should hear and learn to fear יהוה your Elohim as long as you live in the land you are passing over the Yardĕn to possess.”
From the above verses, we can see that it is not too hard for us to do and understand, it is in our very mouth and heart to perform, and the entire Torah was read every seven years to the entire congregation during the Feast of Sukkot. What is the purpose to read it to them if it is some sort of divine code? No, the word is simple for everyone to understand and do. It is not a divine code, and it is not meant to be there for the scholars, teachers and Rabbis to strip it out of its context and make it say what you want it to say.
What is evil? The verse above in Exodus says do not incline after the majority to do evil. We must ask ourselves, what does this word mean? If we are inclining after the majority to do evil, then what is that? The hebrew word there is רָע (ra), which is formed by the letters Reish followed by Ayin. It means the force that breaks, and in this context, violation of the commandments of Elohim, which breaks his law and has the ability to bring curses upon the nation, or to destroy that which he has created and start anew with your own idea of what is right and wrong. Now, having said all that, I hope I have convinced you that to incline after the majority to do evil is wrong.
Now, what are some of the commandments in the Torah that could be described as evil? Let me list a few examples:
- Dishonest weights and measures - in other words, doing business with others in such a way as you are cheating them and not giving them a fair wage for their labors
- Removing liberties from them that only Elohim has the right to give and take away
- Lack of judicial review prior to execution of justice
- Detention without any criminal due process
- Taxation to the point of poverty, ultimately resulting in seizure of property
- Removal from the citizenry of their right to self defense
Proverbs 3
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear יהוה and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 21
2 All a man’s ways are right in his own eyes, But יהוה weighs the hearts.
Deuteronomy 12
8 You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes.
For all those in the majority who are supporting one of the two major political candidates, you are the majority seeking after evil. That may not be your intention, but supporting one who has as their stated goal to subvert justice and perform acts that the Torah says are evil makes you part of the scripture in Exodus 23:2. There is this concept of voting for the lesser of two evils. Where in the Torah does it say I should support evil, even if it is less evil? The Torah concept is that I should support those who support the goals of Elohim, the creator of heaven and earth, and even if I am the lone voice crying out in the wilderness, that is what I will do. I will no longer support the lesser of two evils.
