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Protector of the Jewish community, created from clay or mud, animated through mystical rituals. A golem (/ ˈɡoʊləm / GOH-ləm; Hebrew: גּוֹלֶם, romanized: gōlem) is an animated anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud.
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Medieval techniques of creating a golem often revolved around a highly complex procedure which required the mystic(s) to recite, presumably from memory and probably while in a state of meditation, an array of Hebrew alphabet letter combinations and/or various permutation of one or more Names of God.
In Jewish literature, a golem is a manmade, human-like creature endowed with a rudimentary form of life. According to certain accounts, golems were created by saintly individuals to protect the Jewish community from blood libels and other anti-Semitic agitations, most notably in 16th-century Prague. How much credence should be given to these ...
- History of Golems
- Legend of Rabbi Löew
- Feminism and Golems
- Golems in Contemporary Literature
- Sources
The earliest reference to golems is in the book of Psalms in the Old Testamentof the Judeo-Christian Bible, 139:16, written in the 4th/5th century BCE. That verse is a reference to the creation of the first man, Adam, who was the original golem: a man made from the earth. "Adamah" means "one taken from the earth" in Hebrew. In many Bronze Age mytho...
The primary golem legend cited is that of Rabbi Yude-Leyb ben-Betsalel, the Maharal ("Teacher") of Prague (1525–1609), popularly called Rabbi Löew. In 1580, Rabbi Löew and his congregation experienced great struggle and persecution. Their situation became truly dire when a rumor that Jewish Passover matzos were made with the blood of Christians was...
A feminist take on the golem myth wonders if the concept of golems is a veiled code for the role of women in Jewish culture. The primary function of golems is to save Jewish people from danger, but some golems assist with homemaking duties like lighting stoves on the Sabbath and fetching water. The word golemmeans "unformed substance," and is tradi...
Many contemporary writers have found the golem to be a rich source of narrative potential in literature and film. Writers such as Elie Wiesel (The Golem), Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay), and Terry Pratchett (Feet of Clay) have told stories about golems. The Hulk, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is an example of a myt...
Anolik, Ruth Bienstock. "Reviving the Golem: Cultural Negotiations in Ozick's " Studies in American Jewish Literature (1981–) 19 (2000): 37–48. Print.the Puttermesser Papers and Piercy's He, She an...Honigsberg, David M. "Rava's Golem." Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts7.2/3 (26/27) (1995): 137–45. Print.Krause, Maureen T. "Introduction: 'Bereshit Bara Elohim:' A Survey of the Genesis and Evolution of the Golem." Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts7.2/3 (26/27) (1995): 113–36. Print.Rubin, Charles T. "The Golem and the Limits of Artifice." The New Atlantis39 (2013): 56–72. Print.The classic narrative of the golem tells of how Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague (known as the ; 1525-1609) creates a golem to defend the Jewish community from anti-Semitic attacks. But eventually, the golem grows fearsome and violent, and Rabbi Loew is forced to destroy it.
How to Make a Golem. Dr. Alana Vincent, Associate Professor of Jewish Philosophy, Religion and Imagination at the University of Chester, tells us more about one of the most famous Jewish...
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- University of Chester
Golem, in Jewish folklore, an image endowed with life. The term is used in the Bible (Psalms 139:16) and in Talmudic literature to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance. It assumed its present connotation in the Middle Ages, when many legends arose of wise men who could bring effigies to.
