There seems to be a current obsession about who is the GOAT — the greatest of all time. Who is the greatest football player, who was the greatest President, what is the greatest movie, what is the greatest book? Actually that seems to be not a current obsession but a perennial one: The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” The problem with this type of thinking is that it is based on making a comparison. The greatest must be better than the others. However, in the eyes of God making such comparisons misses the point. Each one of us can be the GOAT version of me. Rabbi Zosima observed, “On judgement day God will not ask me ‘why were you not like Abraham or like Moses?’ No, on judgement day God will ask me, ‘were you truly Zosima.'” Once we stop comparing ourselves with others and strive to be ourselves we become the GOAT.
