The Tzadik who lies here should be remembered for Bracha.
I decided to create a new page for this topic for several reasons. The most important of these reasons is that I have always had an intense interest in the topic of the Lamed Vav Tzadikim from the very first moment that I had heard of the concept.
When I was in high school, I had a teacher who taught us about the nature of the element of silver in a class called Photo Science. He mentioned that one could never really see silver, because it was an element that was sensitive to light, the very moment the light hit the silver it would be changed. I can even recall the hand gesture my teacher made when he explained the concept. The idea he was explaining was that the surface of the silver we see, had already been exposed to light, and the very moment we scratch the surface of the silver (to see the unreacted silver underneath) it will have already changed. This is somehow part of my belief, as I write these pages. Whatever I will learn, and whatever I will seek to explain, as I write these words that you are now reading, will somehow at least in concept change the mysterious or hidden nature of the Lamed Vav Tzadikim.
Another one of my high school teachers, first mentioned to me the concept of the Lamed Vav Tzadikim, by stating the following (and I paraphrase) one day when I was showing him some nature photographs.
There are about 36 righteous individuals in the world at any given time. This is based on the numerical value of the Hebrew letters Lamed and Vav. These individuals are hidden, yet they are important. The concept is from a mystical part of judaism known as Kabbalah.
At the time of this article being written (just about every article on this site is written in real time while on the internet, while the WYSIWYG editor on my wordpress page is open) there are 2,601 references that come back when you type in the keywords: “lamed vav tzadikim” actually when you include the quotes it comes down to 2,101. I include the 1, in both quantities because google will also pick up this article fairly quickly, after all at the moment my website has the second position in the current google search (with or without quotes) when you search for the Lamed Vav Tzadikim. My site is only trumped by wikipedia.org at the moment.
How these article get written: Part of the idea behind this website is that in addition to having written content, that somehow it also about writing or the writing process. Typically sources are researched or ideas are checked as they are written. Introductory material is typically more comprehensive then I had originally intended for various reasons. For example researching my google results leads me to another word, Nistarim. From what I have read the word implies concealed or anonymous. While I like to get my ideas out before I have done all the research, the research sometimes does need at the minimum significantly add to the introductory material.
Here is something that I did not learn from any written or verbal source. The idea of Lamed Vav actually standing for the numerical value of 36, may indeed be secondary to understanding the meaning of the shape of the Hebrew letters. Lamed is distinct in that it is the only Hebrew letter that goes above the guideline. Kabbalistically this can be explained to be the letter that taps into shemayim (heaven) to capture a creation or an idea. However capturing an idea alone might not be enough, and that is where the Vav comes in. The straight line from the top to the bottom which can be thought of to be the essence of the Vav, is what is needed to take an idea who’s origin is in Shemayim, and bring it down to the world where it van be revealed, understood, and acted upon.
In other words the descriptive word or adjective associated with these hidden and perfectly righteous individuals may not be to simple tell us that there are thirty six of them. For if one could not even truly hope in earnest to find even one of these Tzadikim, then what would be the use of making the only other descriptive term, which defines these people, to mean something so simple and mundane as a number?
So lets take a look at the new way to view the Lamed Vav Tzadikim. A great example of a Lamed Vav Tzadik from the Torah would be one of the 12 brothers, or son of Yakov, or tribes: Joseph.
Joseph was hurried out prison over to Pharoh to interpret his dream. He is given a new name by Pharoh; Zaphenath-paneah. which means according to Rashi and Rashbam means “he who explains what is hidden”.
Reality: When the Dreamer Wakes Up and Tell Us What to Do.
In my humble opinion, Joseph, is the is a perfect example of who and what is a Lamed Vav Tzadik. Under normal circumstances a Lamed Vav Tzadik could be found in very low or humble places. However when it is required for someone to understand Hashem’s will, and put into effect the proper changes or tikkun, then it is the Lamed Vav Tzadik who is someone who can bring down the wisdom from heaven and implement the proper corrections (tikkun) on earth.
Aharon Moshe (Stephen C.) Sanders
Yud Aleph Teves, 5770
December 27, 2009