Sukkah 45

Um . . . isn’t someone else’s righteousness absolving me of sins a Christian thing?

And Ḥizkiya said that Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: I am able to absolve the entire world from judgment for sins committed from the day I was created until now.

Yep, this guy thinks he’s so righteous and has suffered so much, that he has sufficiently atoned for the sins of the entire world during his lifetime. (Clearly humility is not part of that righteousness, but I digress.) But that’s only in his lifetime! What about everyone else? Don’t worry: And were the merit accrued by Eliezer, my son, calculated along with my own, we would absolve the world from judgment for sins committed from the day that the world was created until now. I know what you’re thinking, that’s great for everyone who existed until that point, but what about us? Don’t fret: And were the merit accrued by the righteous king, Jotham ben Uzziah, calculated with our own, we would absolve the world from judgment for sins committed from the day that the world was created until its end.

But are they the only righteous? Haven’t there been many? Aren’t there many?

And Ḥizkiya said that Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: I have seen members of the caste of the spiritually prominent, who are truly righteous, and they are few. If they number one thousand, I and my son are among them. If they number one hundred, I and my son are among them; and if they number two, I and my son are they. The Gemara asks: Are they so few? But didn’t Rava say: There are eighteen thousand righteous individuals in a row before the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “Surrounding are eighteen thousand” (Ezekiel 48:35)? Apparently, the righteous are numerous. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. This statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai is referring to the very few who view the Divine Presence through a bright, mirror-like partition, while that statement of Rava is referring to those who do not view the Divine Presence through a bright partition. The Gemara asks further: And are those who view the Divine Presence through a bright partition so few?

Now we get one of my favorite Talmudic ideas:

But didn’t Abaye say: The world has no fewer than thirty-six righteous people in each generation who greet the Divine Presence every day, as it is stated: “Happy are all they that wait for Him [lo]” (Isaiah 30:18)? The numerological value of lo, spelled lamed vav, is thirty-six, alluding to the fact that there are at least thirty-six full-fledged righteous individuals in each generation. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. This statement of Abaye is referring to those who enter to greet the Divine Presence by requesting and being granted permission, while that statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai is referring to those who enter even without requesting permission, for whom the gates of Heaven are open at all times. They are very few indeed. . .

I love this teaching about lamed vavnicks, the 36 righteous individuals, without whom the world would be destroyed. In contradistinction to the braggadocios Simeon bar Yohai, they, and we, don’t know who they are. Maybe you are one of them. Maybe, if you fail to live up to your potential, we are all doomed. Maybe, we are all saved because of you . . .