Why does Bird tell believe he is one of the lamed vovniks in the novel, The History of Love?

Bird tells Anna he believes he may be a lamed vovnik, one of the 36 holy people upon which the world's existence depends. He found out about them from Mr. Goldstein, who also told him the Messiah is one of the lamed vovniks and that in every generation one person has the potential to be the Messiah.