Lamed Vav Tzadikim

Lamed Vav Tzadikim means the 36 Righteous (or Saintly) people, a notion rooted within the more mystical dimensions of Judaism. (In Hebrew, Lamed is the letter representing "thirty", and vav represents "six". Tzadikim is the plural for "righteous" or "saintly"). They are also known as the Lamed vavniks (the "Thirty Six" [people]). They may also be referred to as Tzadikim Nistarim: "Hidden Righteous [Saints]".

Origins

The source is the Talmud itself, explained as follows:

"As a mystical concept, the number 36 is even more intriguing. It is said that at all times there are 36 special people in the world, and that were it not for them, all of them, if even one of them was missing, the world would come to an end. The two Hebrew letters for 36 are the lamed, which is 30, and the vav, which is six. Therefore, these 36 are referred to as the Lamed-Vav Tzadikim. This widely-held belief, this most unusual Jewish concept is based on a Talmudic statement to the effect that in every generation 36 righteous "greet the Shechinah," the Divine Presence (Sanhedrin 97b; Sukkah 45b)." [1]

Their purpose

Mystical Hasidic Judaism as well as other segments of Judaism know that there is the Jewish tradition of 36 righteous men whose role in life is to justify the purpose of mankind in the eyes of God; their identity is unknown to each other; if one of them comes to a realization of his true purpose then he may die and his role is immediately assumed by another person:

"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 he is 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." [2]

Other references

These beliefs are articulated in the works of Max Brod, and some believe the concept to have originated in the Book of Genesis 18: "And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." [3]

An analogous group of individuals may be discerned within the Islamic tradition of the Kutb.

External links

• Lamed Vav by Ilil Arbel, Ph.D.
• The 36 – Who are they?
• Why Thirty-Six?