--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every universe, our own included, begins…" description: "\"Every universe, our own included, begins in conversation. Every golem in the history of the world, from Rabbi Hanina's delectable goat to the river-cla..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/michael-chabon-627_clay_every-universe-our-own-included-begins-i_1121681.jpg" --- # Every universe, our own included, begins in conversation… ![“Every universe, our own included, begins in conversation. Every golem in the history of the world, from Rabbi Hanina's delectable goat to the river-clay Frankenstein of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, was summoned into existence through language, through murmuring, recital, and kabbalistic chitchat…” quote by Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/michael-chabon-627_clay_every-universe-our-own-included-begins-i_1121681.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/michael-chabon-627_clay_every-universe-our-own-included-begins-i_1121681.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/michael-chabon-627_clay_every-universe-our-own-included-begins-i_1121681.jpg) > “Every universe, our own included, begins in conversation. Every golem in the history of the world, from Rabbi Hanina's delectable goat to the river-clay Frankenstein of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, was summoned into existence through language, through murmuring, recital, and kabbalistic chitchat -- was, literally, talked into life.” [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language summons existence; conversation creates reality, from mythic beings to cultural narratives. **In simple terms:** Talk brings things to life. Key Takeaway Use dialogue to shape reality. Themes language creation mythology Mood poetic philosophical inspirational Type literary reflective When to use this quote - storytelling - education - cultural preservation - creative writing Key Concepts semiotics narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape perception? - What role does storytelling play in identity? A Different Perspective Words alone cannot replace tangible action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Golem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golem/) [Judah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judah/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Rabbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rabbi/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-history/) ## Related quotes > [“The shaping of a golem, to him, was a gesture of hope, offered against hope, in a time of desperation. It was the expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/the-shaping-of-a-golem-to-him-was-a-gesture-of-hope-offered-against/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“The shaping of a golem, to him, was a gesture of hope, offered against hope, in a time of desperation. It was the expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/the-shaping-of-a-golem-to-him-was-a-gesture-of-hope-offered-against-2/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“The golem is for Franz Kafka big headache.." The ache, he confided, grew in Kafka's head, spreading throughout his bones, his joints swelling until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stern/the-golem-is-for-franz-kafka-big-headache-the-ache-he-confided-grew/) [Steve Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stern/) > [“And indeed they didn’t, nor did they collide with their neighbors. For others were noticing them now, this tall and striking couple that spun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-wecker/and-indeed-they-didn-t-nor-did-they-collide-with-their-neighbors-for/) [Helene Wecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-wecker/) > [“He looked down at me, all heat and cinnamon-musk and midnight smirk. “Was there trouble?” Nope. Not unless you count being terminally unprepared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-hart/he-looked-down-at-me-all-heat-and-cinnamon-musk-and-midnight-smirk/) Jessie Hart > [“WORDS IN THE HEART CANNOT BE TAKEN.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/words-in-the-heart-cannot-be-taken/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [In 1913, the noted German actor and director Paul Wegener was making a film in Prague when he heard the legend of Rabbi Loew,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kage-baker/in-1913-the-noted-german-actor-and-director-paul-wegener-was-making-a/) [Kage Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kage-baker/) > [“He fell in love with his golem, found it a source of consolation. Life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/he-fell-in-love-with-his-golem-found-it-a-source-of-consolation-life/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [According to Jewish legend, only the very wisest and very holiest rabbis had the power to make golems, animated servants of clay. Strictly speaking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kage-baker/according-to-jewish-legend-only-the-very-wisest-and-very-holiest/) [Kage Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kage-baker/) > [“Nevertheless, the potential and actual importance of fantastic literature lies in such psychic links: what appears to be the result of an overweening imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/nevertheless-the-potential-and-actual-importance-of-fantastic/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [“Before we had finished the third round of beers, little Johnny and I had been poisoned. Someone must have put something in his beer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-adam-nyapi/before-we-had-finished-the-third-round-of-beers-little-johnny-and-i/) [Tomas Adam Nyapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-adam-nyapi/) > [“Thats all we should be, a squishy golem, an extremely articulate automaton, Without one thing- Spirit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lankford/thats-all-we-should-be-a-squishy-golem-an-extremely-articulate/) Bryan Lankford > [“Now that the book is out in the world, I’m amazed all over again at what my friend did for me in prompting me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-wecker/now-that-the-book-is-out-in-the-world-i-m-amazed-all-over-again-at/) [Helene Wecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-wecker/) > [“Rabbi Loew of sixteenth-century Prague. He is supposed to have formed an artificial human being—a robot—out of clay, just as God had formed Adam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/rabbi-loew-of-sixteenth-century-prague-he-is-supposed-to-have-formed/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Servanthood does not nullify leadership; it defines it. Jesus does not cease to be the Lion of Judah when He becomes the lamblike servant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/servanthood-does-not-nullify-leadership-it-defines-it-jesus-does-not/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) ## More by Michael Chabon > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Anyway, it's a pretty good story," I said. "You have to admit." "Yeah?" He crumpled up the Kleenex, having dispatched the solitary tear. "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/anyway-it-s-a-pretty-good-story-i-said-you-have-to-admit-yeah-he/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [There were so many Pittsburgh poets in my hallway that if, at that instant, a meteorite had come smashing through my roof, there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/there-were-so-many-pittsburgh-poets-in-my-hallway-that-if-at-that/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Badass.'" My grandfather sampled the flavor of the word. It did not seem to revolt him, but it was nothing he needed ever to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/badass-my-grandfather-sampled-the-flavor-of-the-word-it-did-not-seem/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [See you in the funny papers," he said. Jaunty, he reminded himself; always jaunty. In my panache is their hope for salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/see-you-in-the-funny-papers-he-said-jaunty-he-reminded-himself-always/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“I didn't want to be left alone with Timothy, not because I was afraid of him but because I was afraid that somebody would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/i-didn-t-want-to-be-left-alone-with-timothy-not-because-i-was-afraid/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“He had already seized this particular day once, but he was prepared, if need be, to go ahead and seize the motherfucker all over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/he-had-already-seized-this-particular-day-once-but-he-was-prepared-if/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“We figure he must have let him out. The perpetrator, I mean. He's blind and we figure he just wandered off and maybe got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/we-figure-he-must-have-let-him-out-the-perpetrator-i-mean-he-s-blind/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Then I reminded myself that I was always willing to listen to arguments in favor of avoiding an unpleasant chore, and I shook my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/then-i-reminded-myself-that-i-was-always-willing-to-listen-to/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Love great first lines and paragraphs. From The Yiddish Policemen's Union: Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/love-great-first-lines-and-paragraphs-from-the-yiddish-policemen-s/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Life blew in gusts from the hole in the side of the elephant with a rank smell and a comic flatulence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/life-blew-in-gusts-from-the-hole-in-the-side-of-the-elephant-with-a/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Not only would I never want to belong to any club that would have me for a member--if elected I would wear street shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/not-only-would-i-never-want-to-belong-to-any-club-that-would-have-me/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [That's the best thing about writing, when you're in that zone, you're porous, ready to absorb the solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/that-s-the-best-thing-about-writing-when-you-re-in-that-zone-you-re/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Most science fiction seemed to be written for people who already liked science fiction; I wanted to write stories for anyone, anywhere, living at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/most-science-fiction-seemed-to-be-written-for-people-who-already/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [ “For as long as I could remember, I'd been making vague and confident assurances that any day I would finish the thing \[my book\].… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/for-as-long-as-i-could-remember-i-d-been-making-vague-and-confident/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) [Explore all 436 Michael Chabon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## More Clay quotes > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We have been playing every summer on clay since I was five years old, so it is an easy surface for us in Belgium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goffin/we-have-been-playing-every-summer-on-clay-since-i-was-five-years-old/) [David Goffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goffin/) > [Our love was born outside the walls, in the wind, in the night, in the earth, and that's why the clay and the flower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/our-love-was-born-outside-the-walls-in-the-wind-in-the-night-in-the/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I love doing features, but it's a very different ballgame. Sometimes I yearn for short films again, working with a small team, getting my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/i-love-doing-features-but-it-s-a-very-different-ballgame-sometimes-i/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [When a buddha is painted, not only a clay altar or lump of earth is used, but the thirty-two marks, a blade of grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay-altar-or-lump-of-earth-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Better go drunk and begging round the taverns. Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/how-much-more-of-the-mosque-of-prayer-and-fasting-better-go-drunk-and/) [Omar Khayyam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/) > [As long as I sit at Henry Clay's desk, I will remember his lifelong desire to forge agreement, but I will also keep close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/as-long-as-i-sit-at-henry-clay-s-desk-i-will-remember-his-lifelong/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [“Come, dry your eyes, for you are LIFE, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg; the clay in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/come-dry-your-eyes-for-you-are-life-rarer-than-a-quark-and/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I have but shadowed forth my intense longing to lose myself in the Eternal and become merely a lump of clay in the Potter's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-but-shadowed-forth-my-intense-longing-to-lose-myself-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Was it for this the clay grew tall?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/was-it-for-this-the-clay-grew-tall/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [Yet some can be patriotic who have no self-respect, and sacrifice the greater to the less. They love the soil which makes their graves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/yet-some-can-be-patriotic-who-have-no-self-respect-and-sacrifice-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have never yet exercised the privilege of voting, but had I been called upon at the last presidential election to do so, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-taylor/i-have-never-yet-exercised-the-privilege-of-voting-but-had-i-been/) [Zachary Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-taylor/) > [“She fucking turns me inside out." "Women who matter have a way of doing that." Lucas scowled. "We sound like a couple of women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/she-fucking-turns-me-inside-out-women-who-matter-have-a-way-of-doing/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [I culled poetry from odors, sounds, faces, and ordinary events occurring around me. Breezes bulged me as if I were cloth; sounds nicked their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-santiago-baca/i-culled-poetry-from-odors-sounds-faces-and-ordinary-events-occurring/) [Jimmy Santiago Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-santiago-baca/) Browse all 681 Clay quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every universe, our own included, begins in conversation. Every golem in the history of the world, from Rabbi Hanina's delectable goat to the river-clay Frankenstein of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, was summoned into existence through language, through murmuring, recital, and kabbalistic chitchat -- was, literally, talked into life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Chabon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/every-universe-our-own-included-begins-in-conversation-every-golem-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clay" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/every-universe-our-own-included-begins-in-conversation-every-golem-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/michael-chabon-627_clay_every-universe-our-own-included-begins-i_1121681.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/michael-chabon-627_clay_every-universe-our-own-included-begins-i_1121681.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/michael-chabon-627_clay_every-universe-our-own-included-begins-i_1121681.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every universe, our own included, begins in conversation. Every golem in the history of the world, from…” — Michael Chabon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Chabon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every universe, our own included, begins...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/every-universe-our-own-included-begins-in-conversation-every-golem-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/every-universe-our-own-included-begins-in-conversation-every-golem-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```