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It was while watching the Amazon series “Transparent” that I first heard of Tzadikim Nistarim.  It’s from the Talmud and I wasn’t familiar with it — much less able to pronounce it — so I did a little research.  According to certain segments of Judaism, at any given time there are on the earth 36 righteous people whose role in life is to justify the purpose of humankind in the eyes of God.  That’s the gist of the simplified explanation that I found on Wikipedia.  It goes on to say that Tzadikim Nistarim exemplifies a mode of leadership that differs from the notion of today’s visionary public leader — a notion that may be overrated in our modern culture. The article also quotes Harry Truman. “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”  In a religious ceremony on the show, people in the Pfefferman family stood in a circle with many other people.  Participants were advised by the rabbi to behave as if they were each actually one of the righteous 36 — and to treat the person standing on either side of them as if he or she were one of the chosen ones as well.  This concept might be a good example for the world in general, I think.  Imagine, each of us behaving as if we were righteous and chosen and treating everyone that we meet as righteous and chosen as well.  I’m pretty sure that I’m still unable to pronounce Tzadikim Nistarim correctly but I like the rabbi’s lesson and the concept.  A lot.