Beloved are the strangers — the converts to Judaism. The Mekhilta emphasizes how many times the Torah exhorts Israel to treat them well. "And a stranger you shall not afflict" (Exodus 22:20). "And you shall love the stranger" (Deuteronomy 10:19). "And you have known the soul of the stranger" (Exodus 23:9). The repetition is deliberate and meaningful.
Rabbi Eliezer explained why the Torah returns to this theme so persistently: because a stranger's past is to his disadvantage. The convert has left behind his former community, his former religion, his former identity. He arrives in Israel without the social capital that native-born Jews possess — no family connections, no ancestral land, no established reputation. He is starting from nothing.
This vulnerability is precisely why the Torah commands Israel to protect him — not once, but repeatedly. A single command might be forgotten or downplayed. Multiple commands, scattered throughout the Torah, ensure the message cannot be ignored. The stranger's protection is woven into the fabric of Jewish law at multiple points, creating a safety net of overlapping obligations.
Rabbi Eliezer's insight transforms the convert's weakness into a theological principle. The Torah does not command extra protection for the powerful. It reserves its most emphatic and repeated commands for those who need them most. The frequency of the commandment is proportional to the vulnerability of the protected class.