Now that all my belongings have gone (found this rather difficult when trying to find bowls and measuring equipment for my favourite Shabbat chocolate cake, which I was going to make in advance today and offer to guests who are coming to see me tonight to discuss the next Anglican Synod in York), I think it appropriate to spend some time over the next month or so discussing the concept of the 36 tsaddikim and give some examples who have impinged on my life.
It is almost impossible to define the concept of tsaddik in English. In Judaism we do not have a concept of saints: no-one is regarded as perfect, and the aim is to be as human as humanly possible, i.e. a mensch. A tsaddik then is a person of integrity, which in Judaism means being willing to go public with this integrity, even at the risk of ridicule or unpopularity: to go against the grain in order to do the right thing.
According to midrash, there are 36 of these tsaddikim in every generation and it is they who make that generation survive. Sometimes they are hidden, but in today's world, that is less and less likely, because of the power of the media.
And why 36? Because this stands for lo, lamed-vav and in Yiddish the 36 are called lamed-vavniks. It all stems from the concept of the lulav, a branch we wave around during the autumn festival of Succot. Lulav means 'to him a heart', and if you say it aloud, you can hear the word 'love'. So, in Judaism love and integrity go together, and when you get both in one person, it is very very special.
And, pace the ABC's speech at the Queen's birthday commemoration today, many of my examples will be journalists, because in my experience they have the highest integrity of the lot.
So let us sing the praise of journalists, who are the real saints and repairers of the world today. For of any profession that you can name, time and time again they have come up trumps.
But I shall start with a Dean whose name is - appropriately Moses.
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