Tzadikim Alert! 36

According to Jewish teachings, at any given time, Lamedvavniks or Tzadikim, 36 righteous holy people walk among us in the world.  No one knows who they are, and they themselves don't know they are Tzadikim.   

God puts these hidden saints among us, to preserve humanity, even if the rest of the world has degenerated to an intolerable level of cruelty and inhumanity.

And here’s the kicker.  Since no one knows who the Lamedvavniks are, every Jew should act AS IF he or she might be one of them, lead a humble and holy life and pray for the sake of fellow human beings.   

These holy people, also called Nistarim, concealed ones, emerge in times of trouble and from the mystic powers they possess, they avert threatened disasters of a people persecuted by their enemies.  They return to their anonymity once their task is accomplished, concealing themselves, remaining unknown in their community.

One morning as I looked up as I left the walking path and headed towards my car parked lot in front of Mollie Stones market, coming towards me was a striking black woman.  Her hair was piled on top of her head, about two feet high, with a maroon, yellow, pink, and black geometric patterned scarf tied up around her forehead.  More black hair descended straight into the sky.  She wore strings of beads, also maroon, and yellow and black.

I don’t remember anything else from that point down because I was zapped with her warmth and this glow. I looked her in the eyes and greeted her. “Good morning.  You look beautiful.  Where are you going?”  She smiled and said, “Just out for a walk.”   I’m not saying for sure that this woman was one of the 36, but as she vanished into the crisp morning air, the thought crossed my mind.

These Lamedvavniks don’t know one another. If a person claims to be one, it is proof that he or she is definitively not.  One of these 36 could potentially be the Jewish Messiah, if the world is ready for them to reveal themselves. In the meantime, they are exemplars of humility, or anavah.

As I wonder how to respond to the bleakness of these times, I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea of the Tzadikim.  I try not to wake each morning in fear, though I must say that I am still not sleeping easy.  I have started to say a daily prayer, an antidote to the politics unfolding around us.

How do we move forward with fortitude and positivity, how do we act AS IF?

And what exactly does that look like?  I pray to abandon that wait and see attitude. I pray to not let circumstances and situations determine how I feel.  I pray to embrace the power of the possible (not the literal, predictable, or the inevitable).  

By acting AS IF in our lives, we actively create the reality we want. It’s a radical idea.  What if we acted as if we believed we were each lamedvavniks?

Rather than succumb to cynicism and depression, I do believe in something that doesn’t currently exist, and live with a strong faith in things not seen, not proven, and not guaranteed. 

I have signed more than two dozen petitions, placed phone calls to the offices of politicians, donated money to a handful of organizations that I believe will fight the good fight.   Every day I try to do something, even something small.  And each day I will attempt to act AS IF, as if any action, any act of resistance, any act of kindness does makes a difference.