I think we all do sometimes. It’s easy to feel insignificant when you look up at the night sky or just consider the sheer scale of the world around us. But what if I told you that, according to ancient wisdom, the whole universe, everything, was created just for you?
Sounds a little crazy, right?
That's the question the great Kabbalist Baal HaSulam grapples with in his introduction to the Zohar. The Sages, he points out, tell us that all the worlds, both the upper and the lower, were created for humanity. It’s an idea that seems almost impossible to grasp. I mean, think about it. We’re just… people. How can we possibly be the reason for everything?
Baal HaSulam, whose real name was Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag, doesn't shy away from the apparent absurdity. He highlights the contrast. Compared to the immensity of the cosmos, he says, man is "not even like a hairsbreadth." It's a striking image. How could something so seemingly small and insignificant be the purpose behind such vastness? And, even if it were true, what could we possibly do with all those "multiple and wondrous upper, spiritual worlds?" What’s the point of it all?