This reflection was originally written for our religious school newsletter by Chaya Silver, Youth and Education Director. We’re sharing it here so our community and visitors can learn from this lesson at any time of year.
The Hidden Righteous Who Sustain the World
One of my favorite Jewish teachings is the story that there are 36 hidden righteous people upon whose merit the world is sustained. In Hebrew, these people are known as Lamed Vavnicks—ל (lamed), which has the numerical value of 30, and ו (vav), which has the value of 6.
According to tradition, Lamed Vavnicks do not know that they are among the special 36, and no one else can know who they are either. It is because of the quiet goodness, compassion, and righteousness of these individuals that the world continues to exist.
I often wonder about them.
Are Lamed Vavnicks born as such, or do people grow into that role?
Are they Lamed Vavnicks their entire lives, or only for brief moments when a situation calls forth extraordinary moral courage or kindness?
A Lamed Vavnick, our tradition teaches, could be anyone: a child, a stranger, a neighbor, or a beggar.
How This Teaching Changes the Way I Live
Living with this idea fundamentally changes how I interact with others.
Because I don’t know who the Lamed Vavnicks are, I try to treat every person I encounter with the dignity and care I would offer royalty. And because I don’t know whether I might be a Lamed Vavnick, I try never to waste an opportunity to show kindness, give tzedakah, or go the extra mile for another human being.
Who knows?
It could be my next action—large or small—that tips the balance and determines whether humanity deserves to be saved.
Seen this way, each interaction matters. Every moment adds something to the collective ledger of good deeds that sustains the world. Acting with mindfulness and holiness in our daily encounters suddenly feels not just admirable, but essential.
Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly
If this language sounds familiar, it is because it echoes the guiding words of our congregation. Our namesake, the prophet Micah, taught:
הִגִּ֥יד לְךָ֛ אָדָ֖ם מַה־טּ֑וֹב וּמָֽה־יְהֹוָ֞ה דּוֹרֵ֣שׁ מִמְּךָ֗ כִּ֣י אִם־עֲשׂ֤וֹת מִשְׁפָּט֙ וְאַ֣הֲבַת חֶ֔סֶד וְהַצְנֵ֥עַ לֶ֖כֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
“You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
and what God requires of you:
Only to do justice, and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.”
—Micah 6:8
A Balm for a Troubled World
The Jewish teaching of the 36 hidden righteous—Lamed Vavnicks—invites us to live with greater kindness, humility, and justice, reminding us that every small act may help sustain the world.
In a world that often feels bitter, contentious, and frightening, the idea that any one of us might be a Lamed Vavnick is a balm to my soul.
It reminds me that goodness matters, even when it goes unnoticed. That kindness is never wasted. And that the quiet choices we make—how we speak, how we listen, how we treat one another—may be holding up more of the world than we will ever know.
