Lamedvavnik

The Tzadikim Nistarim (, "hidden righteous ones") or Lamed Vav Tzadikim (,x"36 righteous ones"), often abbreviated to ''Lamed Vav(niks)'', refers to 36 righteous people, a notion rooted within the mystical dimensions of Judaism. The singular form is Tzadik Nistar ().

Origins

The existence of thirty-six righteous people is first mentioned in the Talmud:
"There are no fewer than 36 righteous people in the world who greet the Shekhinah in each generation."

Another Talmudic passage mentions the righteous people, most unknown, who sustain the world. However, it gives a number other than 36:

These two sources were combined into the idea that 36 righteous people sustain the world. The combination may have derived from the fact that to "greet the Shekhinah" was associated with Temple service and that was considered to sustain the world (Pirkei Avot 1:2).

The idea of 36 righteous became fully fleshed out in later generations:

The idea is particularly prominent in Hasidic Judaism. Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov, for example, wrote that "in every generation, there are great righteous people who could perform wondrous acts, but the generation is not deserving of that, so the stature of the righteous people is hidden and they are not known to the public; sometimes they are woodchoppers or water-drawers."

Revealed and hidden righteous

Commenting on ("...those who lead the masses to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever"), the midrash explains that "just as the stars are sometimes revealed and sometimes hidden, so, too with righteous people. And just as there are innumerable clusters of stars, so, too, there are innumerable clusters of righteous people," which indicates that there are significantly more than 36 in the world.

Their purpose

Mystical Hasidic Judaism as well as other segments of Judaism believe that there exist thirty-six righteous people whose role in life is to justify the purpose of humanity in the eyes of God. Jewish tradition holds that their identities are unknown to each other and that, if one of them comes to a realization of their true purpose, they would never admit it:

The ''Lamed-Vav Tzaddikim'' are also called the ''Nistarim'' ("concealed ones"). In our folk tales, they emerge from their self-imposed concealment and, by the mystic powers, which they possess, they succeed in averting the threatened disasters of a people persecuted by the enemies that surround them. They return to their anonymity as soon as their task is accomplished, 'concealing' themselves once again in a Jewish community wherein they are relatively unknown. The ''lamed-vavniks'', scattered as they are throughout the Diaspora, have no acquaintance with one another. On very rare occasions, one of them is 'discovered' by accident, in which case the secret of their identity must not be disclosed. The lamed-vavniks do not themselves know that they are one of the 36. In fact, tradition has it that should a person claim to be one of the 36, that is proof positive that they are certainly not one. Since the 36 are each exemplars of ''anavah'', ("humility"), having such a virtue would preclude against one’s self-proclamation of being among the special righteous. The 36 are simply too humble to believe that they are one of the 36.

''Lamedvovniks''

''Lamedvovnik'' (), is the Yiddish term for one of the 36 humble righteous ones or ''Tzadikim'' mentioned in kabbalah or Jewish mysticism. According to this teaching, at any given time there are at least 36 holy persons in the world who are ''Tzadikim''. These holy people are hidden; i.e., nobody knows who they are. According to some versions of the story, they themselves may not know who they are. For the sake of these 36 hidden saints, God preserves the world even if the rest of humanity has degenerated to the level of total barbarism. This is similar to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Hebrew Bible that he would spare the city of Sodom if there was a quorum of at least 10 righteous men. Since nobody knows who the ''Lamedvovniks'' are, not even themselves, every Jew should act ''as if'' he or she might be one of them; i.e., lead a holy and humble life and pray for the sake of fellow human beings. It is also said that one of these 36 could potentially be the Jewish Messiah if the world is ready for them to reveal themselves. Otherwise, they live and die as an ordinary person. Whether the person knows they are the potential Messiah is debated.

The term ''lamedvovnik'' is derived from the Hebrew letters ''Lamed'' (L) and ''Vav'' (V), whose numerical value (see Gematria) adds up to 36. The "nik" at the end is a Russian or Yiddish suffix indicating "a person who..." (As in "Beatnik"; in English, this would be something like calling them "The Thirty-Sixers".) The number 36 is twice 18. In gematria (a form of numerology used in Judaism), the number 18 stands for "life", because the Hebrew letters that spell ''chai'', meaning "living", add up to 18. Because 36 = 2×18, it represents "two lives".

In some Hasidic stories, disciples consider their Rebbes and other religious figures to be among the ''Lamedvovniks''. It is also possible for a ''Lamedvovnik'' to reveal themselves as such, although that rarely happens—a ''Lamedvovniks status as an exemplar of humility would preclude it. More often, it is the disciples who speculate.

These beliefs are articulated in the works of Max Brod, and some (like Jorge Luis Borges) believe the concept to have originated in the Book of Genesis 18:26:

In popular culture

* In the 1880 play ''The Flying Matchmaker'' by Abraham Goldfaden, Pinkhsel surmises that Kuni-Leml, the man betrothed to his daughter Carolina, is a "lamed-vavnik" because of the mysterious changes to his behavior and ability. In fact, it is Max, Carolina's love interest, who keeps reentering the house disguised as Kuni-Leml.
* A play by Hans Rehfisch called ''Nickel and the 36 Righteous'' is a comedy in 3 acts (1925).
* Jorge Luis Borges has an entry for the "Lamed Wufniks" in his ''Book of Imaginary Beings'' (1957–1969).
* In the 1959 novel '' The Last of the Just'' by Andre Schwarz-Bart, one Just Man of the Lamed-Vov is designated in each generation of the Levy family. Their legacy spans more than eight centuries. The original French title was '' Le Dernier des Justes''.
* In the 1984 novel ''The Journeyer'' by Gary Jennings, Marco Polo is periodically saved from death by the 36. The rescuer's identity is never explicit, and he may be more than one of the Righteous Men.
* In the 1991 issue "Three Septembers and a January", from Neil Gaiman's comic '' The Sandman'', Death remarks to the soul of Joshua Norton: "they say that the world rests on the backs of 36 living saints – 36 unselfish men and women. Because of them the world continues to exist. They are the secret kings and queens of this world," with the implication that he was one of the tzadikim.
* Jonathan Carroll's 1992 fantasy novella "Uh-Oh City" features one of the Lamed Vav.
* In the 1998 documentary '' The Cruise,'' it is suggested that the film's subject, Tim "Speed" Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan's Gray Line double-decker buses, is a Lamed Vovnick.
* In the 1999 novel ''Keeping Faith'' by Jodi Picoult, the main character, Faith White, is believed to be one of the Lamed Vovnik by Rabbi Solomon.
* In the 2001 film ''Invincible'' by Werner Herzog, a fictionalized account of the life of Jewish strongman Zishe Breitbart (aka Siegmund Breitbart), a Berlin Rabbi tells Zishe (played by Jouko Ahola) that he may be one of the 36 just men who feel the suffering of the world.
* The 2003 movie ''Time of the Wolf'' by Michael Haneke refers to the 36, a secondary character hinted as being one of them.
* In the 2005 novel ''The History of Love'' by Nicole Krauss, Alma's brother Bird believes himself to be a Lamed Vovnik, one of the 36 special people in the world.
* The 2006 mystery thriller novel ''The Righteous Men'' by Sam Bourne deals with the murder of the righteous ones, one by one, and solving the murders.
* In the 2007 novel ''The Yiddish Policemen's Union'' by Michael Chabon, the protagonist, Detective Landsman, is involved in the case of the murder victim who may have been the Tzadik Ha-dor.
* The 2007 novel ''The Book of Names'' by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori is a thriller based on the actual principles of the Kabbalah, which teaches that the world's existence requires that the thirty-six Lamed-Vovniks occupy it.
* In the 2008 TV film God on Trial, a rabbi in Auschwitz is proclaimed by a fellow prisoner as one of the 36.
* In the 2009 Coen Brothers film, ''A Serious Man'', the eulogy spoken by the rabbi at a funeral refers to the deceased, Sy Abelman, as perhaps having been a "Lamed Vavnik".
* In the 2009 novel Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, the narrator of Book One mentions hearing of the myth of "thirty-six hidden saints" while in college and compares the actions of his Christian brother Corrigan to one of the saints.
* In the 2012 television series ''Touch'', season 1, episode 9, "Music of the Spheres", Jacob "Jake" Bohm, a mute boy who mysteriously feels the suffering of those along his path and aims to adjust their fates positively, is revealed as possibly one of the "Lamed Vav Tzadikim" by a Hasidic man. In the second season of ''Touch'', Jake and other people who have special gifts are referred to as members of the 36; throughout the episodes they are exploited for their capabilities and are hunted down by one who believes they hold too much power. The final episode considers Kabbalah and the mystical roots of the legend of 36.
* In the 2013 novel ''Eyes Wide Open'' by Ted Dekker, the 36 are a group of children called Project Showdown. Christian monks raised orphans to follow the path of light, attempting to rebirth the Earth into a new age.
* In the 2016 television series '' Transparent'', season 3, episode 5, "Oh Holy Night", Rabbi Raquel Fine, while holding a lit candle, addresses the attendees of a Hinei with a discussion of the who the 36 people who sustain the world's righteousness may be. "Who are these 36? We don't know. Even the 36 don't know. So what is the lesson? The lesson is to treat each other...as if we might be one. Or who knows? You might be standing next to one now."
* In the 2017 television series ''Kevin (Probably) Saves the World'', the title character is chosen to be a righteous soul who has to find and initiate the other 35.

Notes

* In Hebrew numerals, 30 is ''lamed'' (), and 6 is ''vav'' (). The number 36 is written .

References

External links

Why Thirty-Six?
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040910162008/http://www.neveh.org/winston/wonder36/36-08.html , date=2004-09-10

Jewish mysticism
Jewish religious occupations
Jewish theology

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