Hi Sue,

It's meant to be quite serious. I posted some links. Apparently it's been considered if there are less than 36, possibly the world cannot exist. The rabbi did say they keep the world in Ma'at, however, that's my take on what he said. He said they keep the world in order, righteous order. Personally, I think Ma'at is a lot like kosher or vice versa...

My interest in this is in the age or history of this idea. It's probably a medieval kabbalistic idea, but I wondered if it might be older or known to be derived from something older.