Rabbi's Blog

Have you u heard the Yiddish word, kaynahoreh? (Keep away the evil eye). My great-grandmother used to say that all the time that she mentioned something good.

What a cute baby, kaynahoreh! (phoo, phoo for good measure)

 Which reminds me of a story:

 Mr. Finkelstein is called as a witness in a trial.

"How old are you?" asks the D.A.

"I am, kaynahoreh, ninety one."

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

"I said, I am, kaynahoreh, ninety-one years old."

"Sir, the clerk can't type unusual words, please just answer the question with no embellishments," says the D.A. "I ask you again, How old are you?"

"I told you. Kaynahoreh, I'm ninety-one."

The D.A. is really getting annoyed. The judge is also losing his patience. He instructs, "The witness will answer the question simply and plainly or be held in contempt of court!"

The defense lawyer rises and says, "Your Honor, I think I can resolve this. May I ask the question?"

"If you can get this trial moving, please, be my guest."

"Mr. Finkelstein, let me ask you, kaynahoreh, how old are you?

you?"

Mr. Finkelstein replies, "Ninety-one!!"

According to Jewish tradition, the world, or more precisely recorded history, is now (kaynahoreh!) 5785 years old. On Rosh Hashanah we celebrate the birthday of world, the beginning of a New Year full of possibilities. But in recent years it has seemed more like the fate of the world was hanging in the balance. After 5785 years or so of recorded civilization, life has gotten better in many ways, but we have not solved the fundamental problems of human rights for all, equal rights for women around the world, or peace in regions of violence. Climate change has become real with mega-fires and super storms. The past year has been a particularly difficult one for Israel and its neighbors, and the Jewish people worldwide. While technology advances by leaps and bounds, human development and interpersonal ethics often seem to proceed by baby steps, and we wonder how long humanity’s saga on the planet can be sustained under these conditions.

But the world has always been full of troubles and challenges.  Our ancestors, too, asked: How does this world keep going? Enter the legend of the lamed vavniks, the thirty-six blessed humble souls whose merit keeps society from falling apart. The people who make us want to do better just by meeting them or hearing their stories.

Sometimes we read about them, like Maggie Doyne, age 19 on a backpack trip to Nepal, who saw a little girl by the side of the road breaking stones to earn money for her family. Maggie was so moved by the child’s plight that she asked her parents to send all of her personal savings to help out. She decided to stay in the country and eventually took in 50 foster children. Today, Maggie Doyne runs the Blink Now foundation, that supports the home and a school that serves 400 children and their families in the Kopla valley of Nepal. She describes her life’s work as a privilege and blessing.

Danny Siegel, who spoke here for the Alfred Gross weekend, coined the term “mitzvah hero.” He got a generation of USY teens to take a break from adulating sports heroes and celebrities and find role models in people like Hadassah Levi, the founder of Israel’s Ma’on LaTinok, a loving home for 40 abandoned infants with Down Syndrome, Clara Hammer, the “Chicken Lady of Jerusalem,” who raised the money and made the connections to feed hundreds every Friday night; or Trevor Ferrell, who at 11 years old began a campaign to help the homeless on the streets of Philadelphia.

Hopefully we all know at least one or two people, well-known or obscure, who seem to be living their entire lives on a different plane. Take a moment to think of someone you know who fits this description of an unassuming human being who lives by his or her ideals . . . You may have met a lamed vavnik.

We first hear of the Lamed Vavniks in the Talmud, where the sage Abbaye uses some biblical word play to conclude that “the world must contain not less than 36 righteous individuals in each generation who greet the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence) each day.” 36 is twice 18, equivalent to the word Chai, or Life, in Jewish tradition. It’s clearly a symbolic number; the sages said there might be many more.

Is this all just a quaint and charming folktale? Actually, I think that the legend of the Lamed Vavniks has a special meaning today. Thanks to modern media technology, we know troubles going on around the globe almost as they happen, which may lead us to feel responsible for things over which we have no power and little influence. We can get the sense that our deeds are too small to matter. One of our favorite Jewish terms, Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, might suggest that we need to get out there and fix the whole planet, ASAP. But we have to remember that our tradition also says that each person is an entire world. The idea of the Lamed-Vavniks suggest that each person can make a difference where we are: think global, act local.

According to Talmud and to Maimonides, we don’t really know the weight of our every individual act on the planet as a whole. Leaders have a lot of power, and in a democratic society, it is our duty to support and choose righteous ones. But the legend of the lamed-vavniks reminds us that behind the scenes, ordinary people throughout the world are right now taking actions, starting movements, and making discoveries that will impact life for future generations. Each small individual deed may ultimately have a global impact, like casting a stone into a pond can cause ripples the reach a distant shore.

Golda Meir once told a pompous individual: “Don’t try to be so humble; you’re not that great.” It used to be hutzpah to consider oneself a lamed vavnik. But with the state of the world today, I think that we all need to access some lamed vavnik energy. We can be “lamed vavniks in training” (take a bracelet) and look to the role models of righteousness—famous or obscure—and take one step in their direction. Because in order to heal our planet, we need to do more than advance our technology. We need to develop our character, our compassion, our soul.

Contemporary American Rabbi Rami Shapiro suggests a new twist on the old legend. It’s not that there are 36 perfectly righteous people out there, he says, but that we all take turns being the lamed-vavniks. He writes, “The tipping point for maintaining human life on this planet is thirty-six people practicing the sacred art of lovingkindness at any given moment. These need not be the same thirty-six people at each moment, however. I believe that people step into and out of the lamed-vavnik role. . .Right now, at this very moment, there must be thirty-six acts of lovingkindness occurring on the planet, or the collective weight of human ignorance, fear, anger, and greed would crush humankind. The fact that ….the world is still functioning means that someone, or rather thirty-six someones, are carrying out the lamed-vavnik obligation.

“But what about the next moment? Can you really afford to let … the entire world rest on the shoulders of others? Or should you consciously pitch in and take up the challenge of being a lamed-vavnik yourself? And, if you do choose to step in…should you bring a few others along with you? . . .Once you realize that the whole world depends on you…you will not lack in opportunities to serve. Just remember that you are a hidden saint. While it is fine to invite others to join with you, make sure you don't advertise your own saintliness. While being a lamed-vavnik may be good for your soul, it doesn't belong on a resume."

          Finally, today, it may take a village to be a lamed-vavnik. At a Jewish Renewal retreat, a participant wisely said that with the scale of the world’s population now, thirty-six righteous individuals aren’t enough. We need thirty-six (or many more) righteous communities. If we could develop 36 lamed-vavnik communities, and then another and another, we could have the critical mass to tip the balance of human history in a new direction.

We are on the path to being one of those communities. I’m proud of the remarkable community right here at Seaside, full of energy, friendliness, and spirit. I’m especially proud of the mitzvot and acts of kindness that our members do – about which we will hear more on Yom Kippur morning. But we need more members of our community to step up and take a turn at the lamed-vavnik way. Each member who gets involved in the good deeds of the community brightens the light we send out to the world.

Kaynahora! I think we can do this.