Lamed Vav Tzaddikim

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This series which began in 1995 and continues to this day, is a literal interpretation of the legend of the Lamed Vav Tzaddikim. The over 36 nearly 10"x8" images in the Lamed Vavnick series are of individuals who may be one of of the Lamed Vav Tzaddikim (Lamed Vavnicks or Lamed Vavniks). 

The legend of the Lamed Vav Tzaddikim goes that there are 36 people upon whose good deeds the world depends. The legend is that if those 36 come to know who they are and all come to know one another then the entire world will change and shift for the better.

This series is a companion for two other more abstract series': the Alef Bet series and the Evolution series. I've been doing this series since 1996. Whenever I see a person who seems to be bearing the weight of the world, I think to myself that maybe that person IS bearing the weight of the world. Maybe that person, maybe you, are a Lamed Vavnick at that moment, for those few minutes, for that day, week, month, year or lifetime. Maybe we all get a chance to be a Lamed Vavnick. Maybe the responsibility passes from person to person like a dollar bill. 

Lamed is the Hebrew letter that stands for the number 30. Vav is the Hebrew letter that stands for the number 6. A Tzaddik is a person who walks the middle path between the red-colored Din (justice) or Gevurah (strength) and the blue-colored Chesed (mercy). The middle path between the two extremes is the path of lovingkindness; neither too hard and unyielding nor too soft and pliable. Tzaddikim is the plural form of a single Tzaddik.

Details? The legend of the Lamed Vav Tzaddikim (36 lovingkind people) has been part of Jewish mysticism since at least the days of the Rabbis at the start of the Common Era around 200 CE. This legend states that without the selfless actions of 36 people (hidden Tzaddiks), the human world would be destroyed. The legend says that if all 36 come to know who they are and who are the others, then the entire world will change for the better and a new age of peace will be born. The 36 Tzaddikim are like seed crystals added to ultra-concentrated solution, everything crystalizes.

If everyone acted as though they were a Lamed Vavnick, maybe the world would change for the better and we'd be living in what some people call a Messianic Age, others call Utopia and I call a sustainable, healthy, equitable world. 

I draw people because they inspire me! I love them. 

In the world are people of all types, shapes, sizes and the one thing we have in common is that we are one big species that is spread out over the entire world. We humans have adapted our environment and ourselves so we can live almost anywhere. In this series I visually document the beautiful diversity in my city. I also included some friends and my grandma.

This series has been exhibited as one component of a solo exhibition at Sym's Park Avenue in NYC and at Temple Emeth in Teaneck, NJ. They were also part of a 2-person exhibition at the Westchester Jewish Center in Marmaronek, NY as well as one component of my MFA group exhibition at the Art Director's Club in NYC. Please contact me if you would like to exhibit or acquire one or more of the images in this series at jen@jenseron.com