A Blip in the Cosmos

Author and teacher RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO is encouraging Perennial Wisdom to lead us beyond alienation and isolation to integration and unity, based on Genesis 12:3: “You shall be a blessing to all the families of the earth.”

- RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO

We humans are nothing more than a blip in the infinite expanse of the cosmos. Why do people matter?

Rabbi Rami: Think of the 26 letters of the English alphabet. These letters are the smallest component of this column—just a blip. Yet without letters there are no words, and without words there are no sentences, and without sentences there are no paragraphs, and without paragraphs there is no column, and without this column there is no paycheck, and without a paycheck there is no food, and without food there is no me, and while I am also a blip, I matter—at least to me, my loved ones, and my creditors. So, while it is true that we humans are just a blip in the cosmos, without blips there is no cosmos at all.

Given the drop in religious belief, my Gen Z grandchildren will likely grow up to be atheists. How do I keep this from happening?

My grandson is four years old: the last of the Gen Z cohort. He asked me about God the other day and I had three options as to how to respond: (A) I could talk with him about nondual panentheism, explain Spinoza’s notion of God as natura naturans (nature naturing), and explore the meaning of YHVH (from the Hebrew verb “to be”) as the Happening of all happening as him and all reality at any given moment; (B) We could read Etan Boritzer’s very insightful children’s book called What Is God?; or (C) We could look at the leaves he loves through a microscope and see how all life is the dancing of God.

I opted for Choice B and ordered the microscope so that Choice C would be a real option in the future. Ultimately, I hope he comes to