Editing Tzadikim Nistarim (section)

==''Lamedvovniks''==

''Lamedvovnik'' ({{langx|yi|למד־װאָװניק}}), is the [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] term for one of the 36 humble righteous ones or ''[[Tzadik]]im'' 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]], where God told [[Abraham]] 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 language|Russian]] or Yiddish suffix indicating "a person who..." (As in "[[Beatnik]]"; in English, this would be something like calling them "The Thirty-Six'''ers'''".) 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 (symbol)|''chai'']], meaning "living", add up to 18. Because 36 = 2×18, it represents "two lives".

In some Hasidic stories, disciples consider their [[Rebbe]]s 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 ''Lamedvovnik'''s 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]]{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}, and some (like [[Jorge Luis Borges]]) <ref>{{Cite web |title=The book of imaginary beings {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/45958 |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=search.worldcat.org |language=en}}</ref>believe the concept to have originated in the [[Book of Genesis]] 18:26:
{{quotation|And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.<ref>{{bibleref|Gen|18:26|JPS}}</ref>}}