Editing Golem (section)

==The Golem of Vilna==
A similar tradition relates to the [[Vilna Gaon]] or "the saintly genius from Vilnius" (1720–1797). Rabbi [[Chaim Volozhin]] (Lithuania 1749–1821) reported in an introduction to ''Sifra de Tzeniuta'' that he once presented to his teacher, the Vilna Gaon, ten different versions of a certain passage in the ''Sefer Yetzira'' and asked the Gaon to determine the correct text.<ref name="Chaim">Chaim of Volozhin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UXtWbo-QGoAC&dq=golem+Volozhin&pg=PT197 "Sifra de Tzeniuta, Introduction"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204022205/https://books.google.com/books?id=UXtWbo-QGoAC&pg=PT197&lpg=PT197&dq=golem+Volozhin&source=bl&ots=QN3UmnwneO&sig=dgIOspJMP-FDHhtKj0YCaQ20quk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFn4nQ2vDVAhUpsVQKHXb0BBkQ6AEITzAL#v=onepage&q=golem%20Volozhin&f=false |date=4 February 2021 }} ''The Kabbalistic Tradition: An Anthology of Jewish Mysticism'', edited by Alan Unterman. ''Google Books''. 24 August 2017.</ref> The Gaon immediately identified one version as the accurate rendition of the passage.<ref name="Chaim" />

The amazed student then commented to his teacher that, with such clarity, he should easily be able to create a live human. The Gaon affirmed Rabbi Chaim's assertion and said that he once began to create a person when he was a child, under the age of 13, but during the process, he received a sign from Heaven ordering him to desist because of his youth.<ref name="Chaim" />