Tzadikim Nistarim

The Tzadikim Nistarim (צַדִיקִים נִסתָּרים, "hidden righteous ones") or Lamed Vav Tzadikim (ל"ו צַדִיקִים,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 (צַדִיק נִסתָר). The existence of 36 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 of them unknown, who sustain the world. However, it gives a number other than 36: "A homer of barley, and a letech of barley" () - [this refers to] 45 righteous who cause the world to be sustained ... 30 in the land of Israel and 15 here [in Babylonia]. Abaye said: And most of them can be found in the synagogue, under the upper room [i.e. among the unhonored masses]. These two sources were combined into the idea that the world is sustained by 36 righteous people. The combination may have derived from the fact that to "greet the Shekhinah" was originally associated with Temple service, and Temple service was considered to sustain the world (Pirkei Avot 1:2). The idea of 36 righteous became fully fleshed out in later generations: 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 6. Therefore, these 36 are referred to as the Lamed-Vav Tzadikim. 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.