The Lamed Vavnik and Pop Culture
In Jewish mysticism there’s a concept called the Lamed Vavnik. According to the Jewish Kabbalah, there exist 36 righteous people in the world at all times responsible for the fate of humanity. (Lamed is the Hebrew letter L with a numerical value of 30; Vav, the Hebrew letter V, has a numerical value of 6.) God preserves the earth for these 36 holy saints even if the rest of society degenerates into utter barbarism. Whenever a Lamed Vavnik dies, a new one appears to take his place. If one Lamed Vavnik were to turn to sin, God would destroy the world.
Nobody knows who the Lamed Vavnik are, including themselves. They may appear as fools, bums or lost souls. They embody humility and experience the “divine presence.” In Yiddish folklore, Lamed Vavniks are bestowed with mystical powers and emerge from the shadows whenever disaster threatens the Jewish people. Once the threat is averted, they return to anonymity. They are scattered around the world and have no acquaintance with one another. The Lamed Vavnik legend may be inspired by the story of Abraham who begged God to save Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of a few righteous people in the land. God told Abraham, “I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Jewish writers and filmmakers have long been inspired by the Lamed Vavnik ethos. In Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 1953 short story Gimpel the Fool, the main character…
