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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:For multi Template:Infobox mythical creature A golem (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Template:Langx) is an animated anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century rabbi of Prague. According to Moment magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair."<ref name="Cooper">Cooper, Marilyn. Jewish Word | Golem". Template:Webarchive Moment. 17 July 2017. 24 August 2017.</ref>

In modern popular culture, the word has become generalized, and any crude anthropomorphic creature devised by a sorcerer may be termed a "golem".Template:Cn There may be metal golems, such as Talos, or stone golems, e.g., in Dungeons and Dragons.

Etymology

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The word golem occurs once in the Bible, in Psalm 139:16,<ref>Bible: Template:Bibleverse</ref> which uses the word Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration; 'my golem',<ref name="Introduction" /> 'my light form', 'raw material'<ref name="OED">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>) to connote the unfinished human being before God's eyes.<ref name="Introduction" /> The Mishnah uses the term to refer to someone who is unsophisticated: "Seven characteristics are in an uncultivated person, and seven in a learned one" (Template:Lang).<ref>Avot 5:9 in the Hebrew text; English translations vary.</ref>

In Modern Hebrew, Template:Transliteration is used to mean 'dumb', 'helpless', or 'pupa'. Similarly, it is often used today as a metaphor for a stupid man or other entity that serves a man under controlled conditions, but is hostile to him in other circumstances.<ref name="Cooper" /> Golem passed into Yiddish as Template:Transliteration, meaning someone who is lethargic or in a stupor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

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Earliest stories

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The oldest stories of golems date to early Judaism. In the Talmud (Tractate Sanhedrin 38b), Adam is initially created as a golem (Template:Lang) when his dust is "kneaded into a shapeless husk".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Like Adam, all golems are created from mud by those close to divinity, but no anthropogenic golem is fully human. Early on, the main disability of the golem was its inability to speak. Sanhedrin 65b describes Rava creating a man (Template:Transliteration), whom he then sends to Rav Zeira. Zeira speaks to the man, but he does not answer, whereupon Zeira says, "You were created by the sages; return to your dust".Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the Middle Ages, passages from the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) were studied as a means to create and animate a golem, although little in the writings of Jewish mysticism supports this belief. The earliest known written account of how to create a golem can be found in Sodei Razayya by Eleazar ben Judah of Worms, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

It was believed that golems could be activated by an ecstatic experience induced by the ritual use of various letters of the Hebrew alphabet<ref name="idel">Template:Cite book page 296</ref> forming a Template:Transliteration (any one of the names of God), wherein the Template:Transliteration was written on a piece of paper and inserted in the mouth or into the forehead of the golem.<ref name="jewishencyclopedia" /> In some tales (including certain stories of the Chełm and Prague golems), a word such as Template:Wikt-lang (Template:Transliteration, 'truth') is inscribed on the golem, sometimes on its forehead. In this example, the golem could then be deactivated by removing the aleph (א),<ref>Kerstein, Benjamin. Jewish Ideas Daily. 14 September 2010. 24 August 2017.</ref> thus changing the inscription from "truth" to "death" (Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Transliteration, 'dead').

One source credits Solomon ibn Gabirol, who lived in the 11th century, with creating a golem,<ref>Bokser, Ben Zion (2006). From the World of the Cabbalah. Kessinger. p. 57.</ref> possibly female, for household chores.<ref name="je-ibngabirol">Template:Cite Jewish Encyclopedia</ref> A legend also existed claiming that Samuel of Speyer created a golem in the 12th century.<ref name="magic" />

In 1625, Joseph Delmedigo wrote that "many legends of this sort are current, particularly in Germany."<ref name="magic" />

The Golem of Chełm

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Template:See also

The oldest description of the creation of a golem by a historical figure is included in a tradition connected to Rabbi Eliyahu of Chełm (1550–1583).<ref name="idel" /><ref name="Introduction">Introduction to "The Golem Returns" Template:Webarchive. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref><ref name="magic">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="gelbin">Gelbin, C . S., The Golem Returns – From German Romantic Literature to Global Jewish Culture, 1808–2008 Template:Webarchive, University of Michigan, 2011</ref>

A Polish Kabbalist, writing in about 1630–1650, reported the creation of a golem by Rabbi Eliyahu thusly: "And I have heard, in a certain and explicit way, from several respectable persons that one man [living] close to our time, whose name is R. Eliyahu, the master of the name, who made a creature out of matter [Heb. Golem] and form [Heb. tzurah] and it performed hard work for him, for a long period, and the name of emet was hanging upon his neck until he finally removed it for a certain reason, the name from his neck and it turned to dust."<ref name="idel" /> A similar account was reported by a Christian author, Christoph Arnold, in 1674.<ref name="idel"/>

Rabbi Jacob Emden (d. 1776) elaborated on the story in a book published in 1748: "As an aside, I'll mention here what I heard from my father's holy mouth regarding the Golem created by his ancestor, the Gaon R. Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of blessed memory. When the Gaon saw that the Golem was growing larger and larger, he feared that the Golem would destroy the universe. He then removed the Holy Name that was embedded on his forehead, thus causing him to disintegrate and return to dust. Nonetheless, while he was engaged in extracting the Holy Name from him, the Golem injured him, scarring him on the face."<ref>שו"ת שאילת יעב"ץ, ח"ב, סי' פ"ב Template:Webarchive. Cf. his בירת מגדל עוז, Altona, 1748, p. 259a; מטפחת ספרים, Altona, 1768, p. 45a Template:Webarchive; and מגילת ספר, ed. Kahana, Warsaw, 1896, p. 4 Template:Webarchive. See also שו"ת חכם צבי, סי' צ"ג Template:Webarchive, and the references cited in שו"ת חכם צבי עם ליקוטי הערות, Jerusalem, 1998, vol. 1, p. 421 and in the periodical כפר חב"ד, number 351 (1988), p. 51. Cited by Leiman, S.Z., "Did a Disciple of the Maharal Create a Golem?" Template:Webarchive</ref>

According to the Polish Kabbalist, "the legend was known to several persons, thus allowing us to speculate that the legend had indeed circulated for some time before it was committed to writing and, consequently, we may assume that its origins are to be traced to the generation immediately following the death of R. Eliyahu, if not earlier."<ref name="idel" /><ref>The tradition is also recorded in ה לחורבנה /תל-אביב: ארגון יוצאי חלם בישראל ובארה"ב, תשמ"א</ref>

The classic narrative: The Golem of Prague

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File:Rabbi Löw Saloun.JPG
Rabbi Loew statue at the New City Hall of Prague
File:Old New Synagogue-back.jpg
Old New Synagogue of Prague with the rungs of the ladder to the attic on the wall. In the legend, the Golem was in the loft
File:Ústěk Jewish museum.jpg
The Úštěk Synagogue with a statue of a Golem in Úštěk
File:Golem by Philippe Semeria.jpg
Illustration by Philippe Semeria, 2009. The Hebrew word Template:Langx, is inscribed on the golem's forehead.

The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century rabbi of Prague, also known as the Maharal, who reportedly "created a golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava River and brought it to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations to defend the Prague ghetto from antisemitic attacks and pogroms".<ref>Green, Kayla. "The Golem in the Attic". Template:Webarchive Moment. 1 February 2011. 25 August 2017.</ref><ref name="newlife">Template:Cite news</ref> Depending on the version of the legend, the Jews in Prague were to be either expelled or killed under the rule of Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor. The Golem was called Josef and was known as Yossele. He was said to be able to make himself invisible and summon spirits from the dead.<ref name="newlife" /> Rabbi Loew deactivated the Golem on Friday evenings by removing the shem before the Sabbath (Saturday) began,<ref name="jewishencyclopedia" /> so as to let it rest on Sabbath.<ref name="jewishencyclopedia" />

One Friday evening, Rabbi Loew forgot to remove the shem, and feared that the Golem would desecrate the Sabbath.<ref name="jewishencyclopedia" /> A different story tells of a golem that fell in love, and when rejected, became the violent monster seen in most accounts. Some versions have the golem eventually going on a murderous rampage.<ref name="newlife" /> The rabbi then managed to pull the shem from his mouth and immobilize him<ref name="jewishencyclopedia" /> in front of the synagogue, whereupon the golem fell in pieces.<ref name="jewishencyclopedia" /> The Golem's body was stored in the attic genizah of the Old New Synagogue,<ref name="newlife" /> where it would be restored to life again if needed.<ref name="Legend">Template:Cite web</ref>

Rabbi Loew then forbade anyone except his successors from going into the attic. Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, a successor of Rabbi Loew, reportedly wanted to go up the steps to the attic when he was Chief Rabbi of Prague to verify the tradition. Rabbi Landau fasted and immersed himself in a mikveh, wrapped himself in phylacteries and a prayer-shawl and started ascending the steps. At the top of the steps, he hesitated and then came immediately back down, trembling and frightened. He then re-enacted Rabbi Loew's original warning.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to legend, the body of Rabbi Loew's Golem still lies in the synagogue's attic.<ref name="jewishencyclopedia" /><ref name="newlife" /> When the attic was renovated in 1883, no evidence of the Golem was found.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some versions of the tale state that the Golem was stolen from the genizah and entombed in a graveyard in Prague's Žižkov district, where the Žižkov Television Tower now stands. A recent legend tells of a Nazi agent ascending to the synagogue attic, dying under suspicious circumstances thereafter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The attic is not open to the general public.<ref>Old New Synagogue located in Praha, Czech Republic|Atlas Obscura|Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations Template:Webarchive. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved on 23 September 2011.</ref>

Some Orthodox Jews believe that the Maharal did actually create a golem. The evidence for this belief has been analyzed from an Orthodox Jewish perspective by Shnayer Z. Leiman.<ref name="leiman">Leiman, S. Z., The Golem of Prague in Recent Rabbinic Literature Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="tradition" />

Sources of the Prague narrative

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The general view of historians and critics is that the story of the Golem of Prague was a German literary invention of the early 19th century. According to John Neubauer, the first writers on the Prague Golem were:

  • 1837: Berthold Auerbach, Spinoza
  • 1841: Gustav Philippson, Der Golam, eine Legende
  • 1841: Franz Klutschak, Der Golam des Rabbi Löw
  • 1842: Adam Tendlau Der Golem des Hoch-Rabbi-Löw
  • 1847: Leopold Weisel, Der Golem<ref name="neubauer" />

A few slightly earlier examples are known, in 1834<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and 1836.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

All of these early accounts of the Golem of Prague are in German by Jewish writers. They are suggested to have emerged as part of a Jewish folklore movement parallel with the contemporary German folklore movement.<ref name="gelbin" />

The origins of the story have been obscured by attempts to exaggerate its age and to pretend that it dates from the time of the Maharal. Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg (1859–1935)<ref name="Kieval">Kieval, Hillel J. "Golem Legend". Template:Webarchive The YIVO Encyclopedia. 24 August 2017.</ref> of Tarłów, before moving to Canada where he became one of its most prominent rabbis, is said to have originated the idea that the narrative dates from the time of the Maharal. Rosenberg published Nifl'os Maharal (Wonders of Maharal) (Piotrków, 1909),<ref name="Kieval" /> which purported to be an eyewitness account by the Maharal's son-in-law, who had helped to create the Golem.

Rosenberg claimed that the book was based upon a manuscript that he found in the main library in Metz. Wonders of Maharal "is generally recognized in academic circles to be a literary hoax".<ref name="idel" /><ref name="tradition">Leiman, S.Z., " The Adventure of the Maharal of Prague in London: R. Yudl Rosenberg and The Golem of Prague", Template:Webarchive Tradition, 36:1, 2002</ref><ref>Sherwin, Byron L. (1985) The Golem Legend: Origins and Implications. New York: University Press of America</ref> Gershom Sholem observed that the manuscript "contains not ancient legends, but modern fiction".<ref>Sholem, G., Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, Schocken, 1961</ref> Rosenberg's claim was further disseminated in Chayim Bloch's (1881–1973) The Golem: Legends of the Ghetto of Prague, English edition 1925.

The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 cites the historical work Zemach David by David Gans, a disciple of the Maharal, published in 1592.<ref name="jewishencyclopedia">GOLEM Template:Webarchive. Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 23 September 2011.</ref><ref>HUNGARIAN STUDIES 2. No. 2. Nemzetközi Magyar Filológiai Társaság. Akadémiai Kiadó Budapest [1986] Template:Webarchive. (PDF). Retrieved on 23 September 2011.</ref> In it, Gans writes of an audience between the Maharal and Rudolph II: "Our lord the emperor ... Rudolph ... sent for and called upon our master Rabbi Low ben Bezalel and received him with a welcome and merry expression, and spoke to him face to face, as one would to a friend. The nature and quality of their words are mysterious, sealed, and hidden."<ref>Gans, D., Zemach David, ed. M.Breuer, Jerusalem, 1983, p.145, cited Rabbi Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg and the Maharal's Golem Template:Webarchive</ref>Template:Better source needed

But it has been said of this passage, "Even when [the Maharal is] eulogized, whether in David Gans' Zemach David or on his epitaph ..., not a word is said about the creation of a golem. No Hebrew work published in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries (even in Prague) is aware that the Maharal created a golem."<ref name="neubauer">Neubauer, J., "How did the Golem get to Prague?" Template:Webarchive, in Cornis-Pope, M., and Neubauer, J. History of The Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe, John Benjamins, 2010, see also: Dekel E., Gurley D.E., "How Did Golem \came to Prague", JQR, Vol. 103, No. 2 (Spring 2013), pp. 241–258 [1] Template:Webarchive</ref> Furthermore, the Maharal himself did not refer to the Golem in his writings.<ref name="leiman" /> Rabbi Yedidiah Tiah Weil (1721–1805), a Prague resident, who described the creation of golems, including those created by Rabbis Avigdor Kara of Prague (died 1439) and Eliyahu of Chelm, did not mention the Maharal. Rabbi Meir Perils' biography of the Maharal<ref name="megilasYuchsin">Template:Cite book</ref> published in 1718 does not mention a golem.<ref name="gelbin" /><ref name="leiman" />

The Golem of Vilna

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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. "Sifra de Tzeniuta, Introduction". Template:Webarchive 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" />

Theme of hubris

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File:Clay-golem.jpg
A statue of the Prague Golem created for the film The Emperor and the Golem

The existence of a golem is sometimes a mixed blessing. Golems are not intelligent; if commanded to perform a task, they will perform the instructions literally. In many depictions, golems are inherently perfectly obedient. In its earliest known modern form, the Golem of Chełm became enormous and uncooperative. In one version of this story, the rabbi had to resort to trickery to deactivate it, whereupon it crumbled upon its creator and crushed him.<ref name="Introduction" />

A similar theme of hubris is seen in Frankenstein, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and some other stories in popular culture, such as The Terminator. The theme manifests itself in R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), Karel Čapek's 1921 play that coined the term robot. The play was written in Prague, and while Čapek denied that he modeled the robot after the golem, many similarities are seen in the plot.<ref>Koreis, Voyen. Introduction. "Two Plays by Karel Capek: R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) & The Robber". Template:Webarchive Google Books. 25 August 2017.</ref>

Culture of the Czech Republic

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The golem is a popular figure in the Czech Republic. The 1915 novel by Gustav Meyrink (The Golem) was briefly popular and did much to keep the imagination about the golem going. Several restaurants and other businesses have names that make reference to the creature. A Czech strongman, René Richter goes by the nickname "Golem",<ref name="newlife" /> and a Czech monster truck outfit calls itself the "Golem Team".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Abraham Akkerman preceded his article on human automatism in the contemporary city with a short satirical poem on a pair of golems turning human.<ref>Template:Cite magazine Published also as Paper CTS-04-06 by the Center for Theoretical Study, Prague.</ref>

Clay Boy variation

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A Yiddish and Slavic folktale is the Clay Boy, which combines elements of the golem and The Gingerbread Man, in which a lonely couple makes a child out of clay, with disastrous or comical consequences.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In one common Russian version, an older couple, whose children have left home, make a boy out of clay and dry him by their hearth. The Clay Boy (Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration) comes to life; at first, the couple is delighted and treats him like a real child, but the Clay Boy does not stop growing and eats all their food, then all their livestock, and then the Clay Boy eats his parents. The Clay Boy rampages through the village until he is smashed by a quick-thinking goat.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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File:Mdm. Tussauds Prag 8.jpg
Golem depicted at Madame Tussauds in Prague

Template:In popular culture In popular culture, the term "golem" is often used to refer to any magically created human figure" rather than specifically "a humanoid formed by Kabbalistic means".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Film and television

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Golems are frequently depicted in movies and television shows. Programs with them in the title include:

Other references to golems in popular culture include:


Literature

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Tabletop and video games

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Music

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Other

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See also

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Notes

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References

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Further reading

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