cellio | daf bit: Sukkah 45

It was said in the name of Shimon bar Yochai: I have seen the sons of heaven -- that is, those who will merit to see the presence of God in the hereafter -- and they are few in number. If there are only 1000, I and my son are among them. If there are only 100, I and my son are among them. If there are only two, they are I and my son. But are there so few? Did not Raba say: the row of righteous men immediately before the Holy One blessed be He is 18,000, for it is said: "it shall be 18,000 round about" (Ezek. 48:35)? This is no difficulty; the former (two) see through a bright speculum, while the latter (18,000) through a dim one (they receive a clouded vision of the divine presence). But are the former so few? Did not Abaye say: there are always 36 righteous who are vouchsafed a sight of the Shekhinah (divine presence) every day? There is no difficulty: this (36) refers to the number who can enter the divine presence with permission, while the first (2) refers to those who can enter without permission. (45b)

You may be wondering: who is Shimon bar Yochai to make such an audacious claim? You can read more abut him here, but in short: he was a disciple of Rabbi Akiva who witnessed Rome's cruelty toward the sages (and his teacher's martyrdom) and was himself persecuted by them. He and his son fled and lived in a cave for 12 years, during which time God provided miraculous nourishment while they studied and prayed. At the end of this time Eliyahu himself came to fetch them, but they weren't ready for the world (or the world wasn't ready for them) and God told them to go back. When they came out the second time (at God's call) they had a deep mystical connection. R. Shimon is said to have written the Zohar, a key kabbalah text. So he's not "just some guy"; he is said to have had significant, direct, divine contact.

Also, the lamed-vavniks, the 36 righteous in every generation on whose account the world is sustained, seem to have talmudic roots. I didn't know that.