There are legends of golems
throughout the world. The roleplaying game, Dungeons and Dragons, has golems of
many varieties, from flesh to stone to metal. Golems supposedly came from
kabbalistic tradition, though there have been tales of the creation of being
from magic in other cultures like the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. According to kabbalistic lore, a golem is an
artificial living creature created using the sacred names of God.
One of the most famous legends
about the golem is from Prague. A Rabbi
used his magical prowess to combine the four elements fire, water, air and
earth to give life to a sculpture made out of mud. The golem, Joseph, was
created to protect the Jewish people of Prague against Anti-Semitic attacks. He
was even given a special amulet that made him invisible.
There is a lot of conjecture about
the size of the golem. Some say he was huge, while others say he was normal
sized. Apparently, he was hard to tell apart from humans, except he couldn't speak. This was probably because in order to give him life, a clay tablet had
to be inserted into his mouth. There are
tales that he started out small and grew to a huge size. He did indeed grow
stronger. And with more strength he became harder to control and grew
destructive.
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| Old New Synagogue in Prague by Petr Broz |
One day the people found the golem
destroying the Rabbi’s house while he was in the synagogue singing psalm 92.
The Rabbi rushed home and removed the tablet from the golem’s mouth. He never
revived him again. The golem was supposedly placed in the attic of the
synagogue. The stairs were removed and
entrance was forbidden for centuries. However, when the attic was explored but
no golem was found.
Are there any tales of created life
or golems that are your favorites?
Do you like stories about angels, demons, and the supernatural? Pick up a copy of "A Prescription for Delirium" available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.
