Difference between revisions of "Golem" - New World Encyclopedia

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In [[Jewish folklore]], a '''golem''' (גולם, sometimes, as in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], pronounced ''goilem''. From the Hebrew word גֶּלִם, material) is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter. In modern [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] the word ''golem'' literally means 'cocoon', but can also mean "fool," "silly," or even "stupid." The name appears to derive from the word ''gelem'' (גלם), which means "raw material."
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In [[Jewish folklore]], a '''golem''' (from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew "gelem" ((גלם), meaning "raw material") is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter, and given life through a mystical process involving the secret name of [[God]]. The origins of the golem are often traced back to the "Sefer HaYetzera" (the "book of formation"), a [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] text that deals with the process of the creation of the universe.<ref>Weinstein, Joyce Ellen. October 1999. [http://www.jewishmag.com/26mag/golem/golem.htm "The Golem"] The Jewish Magazine. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref> The most well-known golem in Jewish folklore was created by [[Rabbi Yehudah Leow]] of [[Prague]] in 1580 to protect the Jewish people from [[blood libel]], or allegations that Jews were killing [[Christian]] children and using their blood to make unleavened bread (matzah).
  
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==History==
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==History of the Term==
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===Origins of the word===
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The Hebrew word "golem" has been interpreted in multiple ways. The term is used in the [[Bible]] (Psalms 139:16), as well as in [[Talmud|Talmudic]] literature to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance.<ref>2007. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037287/golem "Golem"] Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref> Commentaries on the [[Mishnah]], specifically the [[Pirkei avot]], use the term to refer to a person whose behavior is unbalanced, or "uncultivated", in contrast to "learned" or "wise" men. The word was incorporated into [[Yiddish]] to refer to a person who is stupid, clumsy, or inconsiderate.<ref>Skorka, Abraham. 2006. [http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/agolemsb.htm "God, Man and Golem. Golem Aspects of Human Beings" Jewish Museum in Prague. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref>
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The word ''golem'' is used in the [[Bible]] to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance: [[Psalms|Psalm]] 139:16 uses the word "'''g'''a'''l'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>'''m'''i," meaning "my unshaped form" (in Hebrew, words are derived by adding vowels to [[triconsonantal root]]s, here, '''g-l-m'''). The [[Mishnah]] uses the term for an uncultivated person ("Ten characteristics are in a learned person, and ten in an uncultivated one," [[Pirkei Avoth]] 5:7). Similarly, golems are often used today in [[metaphor]] either as brainless lunks or as entities serving man under controlled conditions but hostile to him in others. Similarly, it is a [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] slang insult for someone who is clumsy or slow.
 
  
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===Earliest stories===
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References to golems occur as early as the scriptural describtion of creation; [[Adam and Eve|Adam]], the first man, is described as having been initially created as a golem. Formed from dust, Adam was a golem, or "shapeless mass", before becoming imbued with a soul.<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=334&letter=G "Golem"] Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref>
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The earliest stories of golems date to early Judaism.  [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] is described in the [[Talmud]] (Tractate [[Sanhedrin]] 38b) as initially created as a golem when his dust was "kneaded into a shapeless hunk." Like Adam (whose name literally means "earth,") all golems are created from [[mud]]. They were a creation of those who were very holy and close to [[God]]. A very holy person was one who strove to approach God, and in that pursuit would gain some of God's wisdom and power. One of these powers was the creation of life. No matter how holy a person became, however, a being created by that person would be but a shadow of one created by God.
 
  
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Early on, the notion developed that the main disability of the golem was its inability to speak. In [[Sanhedrin]] 65b, is the description of [[Raba (Talmud)|Raba]] creating a golem using the [[Sefer Yetzirah]]. He sent the golem to [[Rav Zeira]]; Rav Zeira spoke to the golem, but he did not answer. Said Rav Zeira, "I see that you were created by one of our colleagues; return to your dust."  It is said that if a golem were made able to speak, that would give it a soul, and—because a golem cannot be made perfectly—that ability could make it very dangerous.
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==Golem Legends==
  
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==Owning and activating golems==
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The first known instructions for the creation of a golem are found in commentaries on the [[Sefer Yetzirah]] during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The creation of a golem was first seen as a initiary mystical experience. It was not until later that the golem came to be seen chiefly as a servile entity.<ref>Sadek, Vladimir. [http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/agolemsb.htm "Rabbi Loew and the Tradition of the Golem"] Jewish Museum in Prague. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref>
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Having a golem servant was seen as the ultimate symbol of wisdom and holiness, and there are many tales of golems connected to prominent rabbis throughout the [[Middle Ages]].
 
  
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Other attributes of the golem were gradually added over time. In many tales the Golem is inscribed with magic or religious words that keep it animated. Writing one of the [[Names of God in Judaism|names of God]] on its forehead, a slip of paper attached to its forehead, or on a clay tablet under its tongue, or writing the word ''Emet'' (אמת, 'truth' in the [[Hebrew language]]) on its forehead are examples of such words. By erasing the first letter in ''Emet'' to form ''Met'' (מת, 'dead' in Hebrew) the golem could be deactivated.
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A sixteenth century [[rabbi]], Elijah of Chelm, is the first person credited with the creation of a golem using a [[shem]], or paper with the name of God written upon it. Similarly to the tale of [[Frankenstein]]'s monster, Elijah's golem grew to be a monster. Fearing the destruction of the world at the hands of his golem, the rabbi removed the shem from the golem's forehead, and the golem returned to dust.<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=334&letter=G "Golem"] Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref>
  
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==The classic narrative==
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The most famous of golem legends also takes place in the sixteenth century. [[Rabbi Loew]], also known as the Maharal, reportedly created a golem to defent the Prague [[ghetto]] from [[Anti-Semitism|anti-Semetic]] attacks.  
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The most famous golem narrative involves Rabbi [[Judah Loew ben Bezalel|Judah Loew the Maharal]] of [[Prague]], a [[16th century]] [[rabbi]]. He is reported to have created a golem to defend the Prague [[ghetto]] of [[Josefov (Prague)|Josefov]] from [[Anti-Semitism|Anti-Semitic]] attacks. The story of the Golem first appeared in print in 1847 in a collection of Jewish tales entitled ''Galerie der Sippurim'', published by Wolf Pascheles of Prague. About sixty years later, a fictional account was published by Yudl Rosenberg (1909).  
 
  
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According to the legend, the Emperor made an edict proclaiming that the Jews in Prague were to be either expelled or killed (depending on the version of the story).  A golem could be made of clay from the banks of the [[Vltava]] river in Prague. Following the prescribed rituals, the Rabbi built the Golem and made him come to life by reciting special incantations in Hebrew. The Rabbi's intention was to have the Golem protect the Jewish community from harm.  As Rabbi Loew's Golem grew bigger, he also became more violent and started killing the [[Gentiles]] (non-Jews) and spreading fear. Some versions also add that the Golem turns on his creator and attacks either his creator alone or the creator and the Jews as well. 
 
  
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In the face of the strength demonstrated and violence perpetrated by the Golem, the Emperor begs Rabbi Loew to destroy the Golem, and in return he would promise that the persecution of and violence towards the Jews would stop. The Rabbi accepted this offer.  To destroy the Golem, he rubbed out the first letter of the word "emet" or "aemaeth" (God's truth) from the golem's forehead to make the Hebrew word "met" or "maeth," meaning death. It was made clear to the Emperor that the Golem of Prague's remains would be stored in a coffin in the attic of the [[Old New Synagogue|Altneuschul]] in Prague, and it can be summoned again if needed.  By legend, that coffin with the unformed earth inside is still there today.
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==The classic narrative==
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The most famous golem narrative involves Rabbi [[Judah Loew ben Bezalel|Judah Loew the Maharal]] of [[Prague]], a [[16th century]] [[rabbi]]. He is reported to have created a golem to defend the Prague [[ghetto]] of [[Josefov (Prague)|Josefov]] from [[Anti-Semitism|Anti-Semitic]] attacks. The story of Loew's golem was written by Wolf Pascheles in 1847, appearing in a collection of Jewish tales entitled ''Galerie der Sippurim''. Other accounts later followed, including the 1909 publication of the legend by Yudl Rosenberg, who was the first to mention [[blood libel]], and claimed to be publishing an original letter of Loew's, along with a manuscript by Loew's son-in-law.<ref>Zucker, Robert. [http://emol.org/kabbalah/seferyetzirah/seferyetzirahtimeline.html "Sefer Yetsirah
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The existence of a golem is sometimes a mixed blessing.  Golems are not intelligent - if commanded to perform a task, they will take the instructions perfectly literally.
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and Jewish Mysiticsm Time Line"] Retrieved May 31, 2007.</ref> The tale appears in several variations.
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In some incarnations of the legend of the Maharal's golem, the golem has powers that can aid it in its tasks. These include invisibility, a heated touch, and the ability to use the Maharal's walking stick to summon spirits from the dead. This last power was often crucial, as the golem could summon dead witnesses, which the medieval Prague courts would allow to testify.
 
  
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==The hubris theme==
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According to legend, the Jews in Prague were being persecuted by the Christians, who often accused them of ritually murdering children to make matzah bread, known as "blood libel". Some even snuck into the Jewish [[ghetto]] to deposit the body of a child on Jewish streets, in an attempt to further incite people against the Jews. Rabbi Loew, always devoted to the welfare of his people, prayed for a vision to tell him how to stop these false accusations, and was told by [[Heaven]] to "make a human image of clay." The rabbi took his son-in-law and his favorite pupil down to the river, and formed the shape of a man from clay. They each walked around the figure seven times, reciting a [Kabbalah|Kabbalistic} formula, and the golem was brought to life. The golem appeared to be a man of thirty, and the Rabbi clothed him and named him Joseph. Through the use of an [[talisman]], the golem could appear invisible, and was sent out to stop anyone carrying a large parcel. When he found a person intending to deposit the body of a dead child in the Jewish streets, the golem would tie up the offender and the evidence, and carry both to the authorities. Once the blood libel was declared to be groundless and persecutions became forbidden, Rabbi Loew removed the breath of life from the golem Joseph by walking around the figure seven times, repeating the same words in reverse order.<ref>Ashliman, D.L. (Ed). 1999. [http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/golem.html "The Golem: A Jewish Legend"] Retrived May 31, 2007.</ref>
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In all Jewish kabbalistic descriptions of Golems, they are incapable of disobeying the one who created them, but in one version of the story, [[Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chelm|Rabbi Eliyahu of Chelm]] created a Golem that grew bigger and bigger until the rabbi was unable to kill it without trickery, whereupon it fell over its creator and crushed him. The [[hubris]] theme in this version is similar to that in the stories of the monster of ''[[Frankenstein]]'' and of the broomstick in ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]''. It remains a standard feature of golems in popular culture.
 
  
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==The golem in European culture==
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Other versions of the story involve destruction by the golem. In many versions, the golem becomes uncontrollable, wreaking havoc on the community or the entire city, attacking Jews, [[Gentiles]], and even Rabbi Loew. Many also claim that the golem was brought to life through the means of a shem, or piece of paper with a holy and magic word, placed in its mouth, which was subsequently removed to deactivate the golem. Other variations say that the word meaning "truth" was put on the golem's forehead to animate it; to return the golem to a lump of clay, the first letter was rubbed out, thus spelling "death". The golem has various powers, according to different legends: invisibility, a heated touch, and the ability to summon spirits of the dead to serve as witnesses for the crimes against the Jews. Many legends claim that remnants of the golem can still be found in the attic of the famous Prague synagogue [[Altneuschul]].
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In the late nineteenth century the golem was adopted by mainstream European society. Most notably [[Gustav Meyrink]]'s 1915 novel ''[[The Golem (Meyrink)|Der Golem]]'' based on the tales of the golem created by [[Judah Low ben Bezalel]]. This book inspired a classic set of [[Expressionism (film)|expressionistic]] [[silent movies]], [[Paul Wegener]]'s Golem series, of which especially ''[[The Golem: How He Came Into the World]]'' (also released as ''The Golem'', 1920, USA 1921) is famous. Another famous treatment from the same era is [[H. Leivick]]'s 1921 Yiddish-language "dramatic poem in eight sections" ''[[The Golem (Leivick)|The Golem]]''.  Also notable is [[Julien Duvivier]]'s "Le Golem" (1936), a sequel to the Wegener film. Nobel prize winner [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]] also wrote a version of the legend.
 
  
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These tales saw a dramatic change, and some would argue a Christianization {{Fact|date=February 2007}}, of the golem. The golem became a creation of overambitious and overreaching mystics, who would inevitably be punished for their blasphemy, as in [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''[[Frankenstein]]'' and the [[alchemy|alchemical]] [[homunculus]].  
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The legend of the Prague golem inspired [[Gustav Meyrink]]'s 1915 novel ''[[The Golem (Meyrink)|Der Golem]]'', which in turn inspired [[Paul Wegener]]'s classic set of [[Expressionism (film)|expressionistic]] [[silent movies]], of which ''[[The Golem: How He Came Into the World]]'' (also released as ''The Golem'', 1920, USA 1921) is particularly famous. Another famous treatment from the same era is [[H. Leivick]]'s 1921 Yiddish-language "dramatic poem in eight sections" ''[[The Golem (Leivick)|The Golem]]''.  Also notable is [[Julien Duvivier]]'s "Le Golem" (1936), a sequel to the Wegener film. Nobel prize winner [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]] also wrote a version of the legend.
  
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===The Golem in the Czech Republic===
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==Features of Golems==
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The Golem is a popular figure in the [[Czech Republic]]. There are several restaurants and other businesses named after him. [[Strongman (strength athlete)|Strongman]] René Richter goes by the nickname "Golem," and a Czech [[monster truck]] outfit calls itself the "Golem Team." {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
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The creation of a golem was often viewed as a symbol of holiness, as only the very righteous are successful at bringing the godly powers into inanimate clay. Persons attempting to create golems for improper or self-serving purposes would not be given the ability to do so.<ref>Weinstein, Joyce Ellen. October 1999. [http://www.jewishmag.com/26mag/golem/golem.htm "The Golem"] The Jewish Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2007.</ref> Golems were usually connected with Rabbis throughout the [[Middle Ages]].
  
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It is said that the body of Rabbi Loew's golem lies in the [[attic]] where the [[genizah]] of the [[Old New Synagogue, Prague|Old-New Synagogue]] in [[Prague]] is kept. A rabbi visited the attic in the late 20th century, and came down "white and shaking"{{Fact|date=May 2007}}. A legend is told of a Nazi agent during [[World War II]] ascending the attic and trying to stab the golem, but perishing instead. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} The attic is not open to the general public.
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As in many of the tales of the Prague Golem, the animation of a golem often involved the use of one of the secret [[Names of God in Judaism|names of God]], which could be found on a slip of paper attached to its forehead, arm, or on a clay tablet under the tongue, which were removed to deactivate it. The word ''Emet'' (אמת, 'truth' in the [[Hebrew language]]) on its forehead was also commonly used to give golems life. By erasing the first letter in ''Emet'' to form ''Met'' (מת, 'dead' in Hebrew) the golem could be deactivated. The golem is often said to continue to grow until it dwarfs all members of the household and must be deactivated.
  
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The Golem got a main role in the 1951 Czech movie [[Císařův pekař a pekařův císař]] (see link for details).
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In nearly all versions of golem legends, golems lack the power of speech, as well as the inability to make moral judgements. Since they are created by man, not God, they do not possess a soul, and therefore can do no more than what is asked of them by their creator. In almost all Jewish kabbalistic descriptions of Golems, they are incapable of disobeying the one who created them. The theme of [[hubris]] is common to most golem tales, as with the tale of Rabbi Elias, who created a Golem that grew so large that the rabbi was unable to reach its forehead to erase the letter to deactivate it. The rabbi then commanded the golem to remove his boots, thinking that he would then be able to erase the letter, which worked exactly as planned. Unfortunately, once the golem was deactivated, it returned to clay, which fell upon the poor rabbi, crushing him.<ref>Kieval, Hillel. 1997. [http://www.jstor.org/view/02761114/ap050049/05a00020/2?frame=noframe&userID=898c40cf@newpaltz.edu/01cce4406100507acf2&dpi=3&config=jstor "Pursuing the Golem of Prague: Jewish Culture and the Invention of a Tradition"] Modern Judaism. Retrieved May 31, 2007.</ref> This type of [[hubris]] theme is common in stories of golems, where the creation of the golem often leads eventually to destruction, similar to the moral found in stories of the monster of ''[[Frankenstein]]'' and of the broomstick in ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]''.
  
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==In popular culture==
 
==In popular culture==
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The golem concept has found its way into a wide variety of books, comic books, films, television shows, and games. This use covers a wide range, from "golem" used as an [[umbrella term]] to refer to [[automata]] and [[simulacra]] made of anything from steel to flesh, via clay monsters called golems, to full adoptions of the golem mythos.
 
The golem concept has found its way into a wide variety of books, comic books, films, television shows, and games. This use covers a wide range, from "golem" used as an [[umbrella term]] to refer to [[automata]] and [[simulacra]] made of anything from steel to flesh, via clay monsters called golems, to full adoptions of the golem mythos.
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==Similar myths of other cultures==
 
==Similar myths of other cultures==
  
 
In [[Norse mythology]], Mökkurkálfi (or Mistcalfa) was a clay giant, built to help the [[troll]] [[Hrungnir]] in a battle with [[Thor]].
 
In [[Norse mythology]], Mökkurkálfi (or Mistcalfa) was a clay giant, built to help the [[troll]] [[Hrungnir]] in a battle with [[Thor]].
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In [[Jewish folklore]], a '''[[golem]]''', is an animated being which is crafted entirely from inanimate material.
 
  
 
Probably as a result of the popularity of [[Gustav Meyrink]]'s work ''[[The Golem (Meyrink)|The Golem]]'', the golem concept has found its way into various elements of popular culture. Examples include:
 
Probably as a result of the popularity of [[Gustav Meyrink]]'s work ''[[The Golem (Meyrink)|The Golem]]'', the golem concept has found its way into various elements of popular culture. Examples include:
  
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==Books, Comic books==
  
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==Books, Comic books==
 
  
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* The Golem of Prague has appeared in stories across many media, including the novels ''[[The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay]]'', in which Josef Kavalier helps save the Golem of Prague from nazi invasion, ''[[A Calculus of Angels]]'', ''[[Foucault's Pendulum]]'', ''[[He, She and It]]'', [[Pete Hamill]]'s ''Snow in August'', the 1990s cartoons ''[[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'', ''[[The Golem's Eye]]'' the second book in the [[Bartimaeus Trilogy]] written by [[Jonathan Stroud]] and ''[[Gargoyles (TV series)|Gargoyles]]''. On [[The Simpsons]] [[Treehouse of Horror XVII]], one of the three plots involves the Golem of Prague.
 
  
 
* [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]] wrote a retelling of the legend of the Golem in 1969.
 
* [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]] wrote a retelling of the legend of the Golem in 1969.
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* In a 1970s issue of ''Marvel Comics''' ''The Hulk,'' the ancient legend is capsulized and the story then segues into The Hulk taking on the Golem's role to protect people living under a dictatorship
 
  
 
* Edward Einhorn's ''Golem Stories'' appearing in his book of plays entitled ''[http://www.untitledtheater.com/GMS.htm The Golem, Methuselah, and Shylock]'' includes a golem that has the soul of a young man who was the fiance of the Rabbi's daughter.
 
* Edward Einhorn's ''Golem Stories'' appearing in his book of plays entitled ''[http://www.untitledtheater.com/GMS.htm The Golem, Methuselah, and Shylock]'' includes a golem that has the soul of a young man who was the fiance of the Rabbi's daughter.
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* [[Karel Capek|Karel Čapek]]'s 1921 play ''[[R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)]]'' included robots which are not machines, but synthetic humans made from a claylike goo.
 
* [[Karel Capek|Karel Čapek]]'s 1921 play ''[[R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)]]'' included robots which are not machines, but synthetic humans made from a claylike goo.
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* Piers Anthony's popular Xanth novel series includes tiny Golems as characters. A golem named Grundy is the lead character in Golem in the Gears (The Magic of Xanth, Book 9 (1986)).
 
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* 1966 saw the U.S. theatrical release of the low-budget horror film, "It," aka "Anger of the Golem" aka "Curse of the Golem," starring Roddy MacDowal as a man who commands an indestructible golem."
 
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* In the [[Final Fantasy]] series, golems appear several times. One example is the Golem Esper in [[Final Fantasy VI]], which serves to protect the party, and mitigate damage taken from enemies.
 
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* The science-fiction novel ''[[Kiln People]]'' by [[David Brin]] features short-lived duplicates of people created from mud, and a character named Maharal.
 
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* The series [[Apprentice Adept]] by [[Piers Anthony]] features many characters as golems made by the Brown Adept. The main character in the world Phaze has a significant other who is a golem. Golems also make various appearances throughout Anthony's [[Xanth]] series.
 
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* [[Golem XIV]] is name of  a hyper-intelligent computer from a sci-fi novel written by [[Stanisław Lem]] in 1981.
 
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* [[Stel Pavlou]] uses multiple golems created from carbon based nanotechnology as the guardians of Atlantis in the novel ''[[Decipher (novel)|Decipher]]'' 2001.
 
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* [[Roger Zelazny]] uses the golem metaphorically as an android sparring partner, literally called a golem, in the novel ''[[This Immortal]]''.
 
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* Traditional Golems also exists in the ''[[Discworld]]'' series by [[Terry Pratchett]]. ''[[Feet of Clay]]'' satirizes many of the clichés of the golem genre. Another Discworld novel, ''[[Going Postal]]'' sees golems trained as postmen, and compares them to the robots of [[Isaac Asimov]]. The oldest of these golems carries clay tablets on his arm and in his head, alluding to Jewish mythology. See [[Golems (Discworld)]].
 
  
 
* The [[DC Comics]]'s ''[[Detective Comics]]'' # 631 features the beginning of a two-part [[Batman]] story: "The Golem of Gotham" by [[Peter Milligan]] and [[Jim Aparo]]. In it, Batman confronts a clay golem made by an elderly [[Holocaust]] survivor, in the context of modern race riots.
 
* The [[DC Comics]]'s ''[[Detective Comics]]'' # 631 features the beginning of a two-part [[Batman]] story: "The Golem of Gotham" by [[Peter Milligan]] and [[Jim Aparo]]. In it, Batman confronts a clay golem made by an elderly [[Holocaust]] survivor, in the context of modern race riots.
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* A golem is eventually destroyed by changing the word 'emet' on its forehead to 'met' in an early issue of the DC's ''[[Swamp Thing]]'' and [[Marvel Comics]]' ''[[The Invaders]]'' [[comic books]].
 
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This is possible because the Golem in many historical versions of the tale had been animated using the Hebrew  word "emet" written on its forehead. When one wipes off the aleph which is the first letter that spells "truth" (emet) in Hebrew, the word then becomes "met" (also pronounced "mayt" and "mays," depending upon one's accent) and "met," "mayt" and "mays" in Hebrew and Yiddish mean both "died" and "a dead one."
 
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Likewise, the Marvel superhero [[Moon Knight]], a Jewish-American hero infused with mystical powers while in Egypt, defeated a golem enacted by his father. In ''[[Manhattan Guardian]]'', this tactic simply makes the golem inactive.
 
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* [[Golem]], a novel by [[Greg Vilk]], tells the story of a U.S. Rangers commando fighting a malicious Golem-like entity brought to life in a remote Nazi base in Greenland. The book features an invented "ancient alphabet" used to control the Golem.
 
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* A story by writer [[Steve Gerber]] and artist [[Pablo Marcos]] in [[Marvel Comics]]' black-and-white horror-comics magazine ''Monsters Unleashed'' #4 depicts a rabbi revitalzing the congregation of an empty synagogue by creating golems out of corpses from a [[morgue]].
 
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* Golem is ''[[Monster in My Pocket]]'' #54.  In this comic book by [[Dwayne McDuffie]], he is allied with the good monsters.  He is able to speak, though his only line is, "Watch out!," spoken in the third issue.  His appearance is roughly similar to that of the [[Paul Wegener]] likeness, particularly in the first issue, illustrated by [[Ernie Colon]].  In subsequent issues, he appeared more like the toy in the artwork of [[Gil Kane]], with a much more streamlined head, looking more like it bears a hood than a wig.  His most important act in the comics is to help [[Vampire]] transport [[Cheerios]], which [[Frankenstein's Monster]] mistakes for [[bagel]]s until he tastes them.  In addition, several panels feature reaction shots from Golem that suggest a cynical personality.
 
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* In 2005, the story of the Golem was returned to its Jewish roots, as a new [[comic strip]] in [[Israel]]i newspaper [[Yedioth Ahronoth]] depicted the Golem as a government-funded [[superhero]] protecting Israel from its domestic and existential difficulties.
 
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* In the ''[[Dreamhunter Duet]]'' by [[Elizabeth Knox]] a young dreamhunter replaces her missing father with a golem.
 
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* In the novel ''[[Iron Council]]'' by [[China Miéville]] a [[Thaumaturge]] named Judah Low learns how to create powerful golems from almost any material. These are used to assist a group of rebels.
 
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*In ''[[Watch Your Mouth]]'', a novel by [[Daniel Handler]], one of the main characters creates a golem to get revenge on her family.
 
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*The author [[A.M. Homes]] collaborated with the music group [[One Ring Zero]] on a story about a golem, and called simply ''Golem'', featured on the album ''[[As Smart As We Are]]''.
 
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*The [[webcomic]] ''[[Dominic Deegan: Oracle For Hire]]'', features several golems, including Quilt, a necromantic golem built by Jacob Deegan to help him in finding "the secrets of undeath."
 
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* In her book ''[[The Puttermesser Papers]],'' Jewish-American writer [[Cynthia Ozick]] has a story entitled "Puttermesser and Xanthippe" in which an aging female lawyer unintentionally creates a golem.
 
  
 
* The Golem appears in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s novel ''[[American Gods]]'' with a host of other gods in the climax of the novel.
 
* The Golem appears in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s novel ''[[American Gods]]'' with a host of other gods in the climax of the novel.
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* A golem most commonly in the shape of a hobo is used by a psychic evil doer to intimidate and kill its victims in the novel ''Dragon Tears'' by [[Dean Koontz]].
 
* A golem most commonly in the shape of a hobo is used by a psychic evil doer to intimidate and kill its victims in the novel ''Dragon Tears'' by [[Dean Koontz]].
  
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* In the second of the Bartimaeus series of books, [[The Golem's Eye]], golems are controlled by a human magician behind a magical crystal. This crystal allows a first-person viewpoint through a crystalline "eye" in the centre of the golem's forehead. Its instructions are written in blood on a piece of parchment placed in its mouth and if the parchment is removed, the golem returns to its master, progressively losing more and more of its [[clay]] mass along the way.
 
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* [[Alexander Irvine (writer)|Alexander Irvine]]'s ''The Narrows'' is an [[alternate history]] [[science fiction]] novel in which the [[Ford Motor Company]] is put to use producing golem's for use in [[World War II]].
 
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* A golem sculpted from modelling clay is a recurring character in the online webcomic [[Beaver and Steve]].
 
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* In [[Tales of the TMNT]] #10 [[Donatello]] faces off against a golem charged with protecting a sick little boy.
 
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* Golem is used as a term referring to [[android]]s designed to look like humans in [[Neal Asher]]'s Polity universe of science fiction stories.
 
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* [[Harry Turtledove]]'s short story "In This Season," published in the 2002 anthology "Counting Up, Counting Down" describes a Jewish family's encounter with a golem that aids them in their escape from Nazi-occupied Poland.
 
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* [[Jonathan Stroud]]'s book, [[The Golem's Eye]], an enormous clay golem is controlled by the main antagonist of the book to destroy various landmarks around [[London]].
 
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*In [[Steve Niles]]' "Feat of Clay" one-shot comic, Cal McDonald investigates a masterless golem.
 
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Note: The only similarity between the character of [[Gollum]] in [[The Lord of the Rings]] and a golem is in the name.
 
  
 
==Films and TV==
 
==Films and TV==
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* The British film "[[It! (1966 film)|It!]]" showcases the Golem of Prague constructed by [[Judah Loew ben Bezalel|Rabbi Judah Loew]] in the mid [[16th century]]. It is evoked (brought to life) by a mad assistant museum curator, Arthur Pimm ([[Roddy McDowell]]), and proves to be indestructible. The American expert in the story discusses the reason for the golem's construction, i.e. to protect the Jewish community, but warns of the possibility that the Golem could run amuck as he states it did in the past.
 
* The British film "[[It! (1966 film)|It!]]" showcases the Golem of Prague constructed by [[Judah Loew ben Bezalel|Rabbi Judah Loew]] in the mid [[16th century]]. It is evoked (brought to life) by a mad assistant museum curator, Arthur Pimm ([[Roddy McDowell]]), and proves to be indestructible. The American expert in the story discusses the reason for the golem's construction, i.e. to protect the Jewish community, but warns of the possibility that the Golem could run amuck as he states it did in the past.
 
* The television program ''[[The X-Files]]'' aired an episode, "[[Kaddish (The X-Files episode)|Kaddish]]," in which a young [[Hasidic]] woman creates a Golem who avenges her husband's murder by [[neo-Nazi]]s.
 
* The television program ''[[The X-Files]]'' aired an episode, "[[Kaddish (The X-Files episode)|Kaddish]]," in which a young [[Hasidic]] woman creates a Golem who avenges her husband's murder by [[neo-Nazi]]s.
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* In the [[anime]] series ''[[RahXephon]]'', the main weapons are called "[[Dolem]]s." Like golems, they are made from clay and may be difficult to control. The name "Dolem" comes from a mixture of "[[solfege|Do-Re-Mi]]" and "golem."
 
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* The ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' episode "Golem" featured a robot call the Galvanic Lifting Machine, which is set upon a teenager's tormentors.
 
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[[Image:Golem_of_It!.jpg|thumb|100px| <center>The Golem in ''It!''</center>]]
 
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* In the anime series ''[[Slayers]]'', golems are summoned to do the spell caster's bidding. One of the main characters, [[Zelgadiss]], is a [[Slayers#Zelgadis Greywords .28.E3.82.BC.E3.83.AB.E3.82.AC.E3.83.87.E3.82.A3.E3.82.B9.E3.83.BB.E3.82.B0.E3.83.AC.E3.82.A4.E3.83.AF.E3.83.BC.E3.82.BA.2C Zerugadisu Gureiw.C4.81zu.3F.29|chimera]] made of a human, golem and demon/mazoku. In the third Slayers movie, ''[[Slayers Great]]'', golems are featured prominently.
 
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* In the anime series ''[[Monster Rancher]]'', one of the main characters is called Golem, and seems to be made of large stones and boulders which he can split apart to attack.
 
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* In the ''[[Superboy]]'' television-series episode "The Golem," a golem was created to attack [[anti-Semites]]. Whilst doing so it accidentally killed its own creator.
 
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* The [[Czech Republic|Czech]] filmmaker [[Jan Švankmajer]] depicts a golem in his film ''[[Faust (1994 film)|Faust]]''. The main character, while in an alchemist's studio, animates a clay infant by placing a shem in its mouth. The shem is a scroll or slip of paper containing the [[tetragrammaton]].
 
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* There are several instances of golems appearing in the [[Super Sentai]] franchise. For example, in ''[[Kyouryuu Sentai ZyuRanger]]'' enemy footsoldiers were Golem soldiers made from clay; their ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' counterparts are the Putties.
 
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* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' [[Treehouse of Horror XVII]], Krusty has the Golem of Prague in storage at the beginning of the second story, which has a very neurotic personality.
 
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* In the [[French-Canadian]] movie ''[[Le Golem de Montréal]]'', a young boy creates a golem with snow instead of mud, and sees him as a surrogate father.
 
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* In Comedy Central's [[Upright Citizens Brigade]], a golem is created in the episode on spirituality. Several times through the episode, he's seen doing minor chores, and is belittled by other for his lack of ferocity as a perceived monster, sending him into a rampage where he makes a small mess. However, he proves them right in their perception by guiltily cleaning up his mess.
 
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* In [[Stranger than Fiction (film)|Stranger than Fiction]], Harold Crick ([[Will Ferrell]]) consults literature Prof. Jules Hilbert ([[Dustin Hoffman]]) in order to change his fate which is being written and narrated by the author Karen Eiffel ([[Emma Thompson]]). Prof. Hilbert reads off a list of apparently incoherent questions to narrow down the book genre Harold might be a character of. After ruling out that Harold is not apart several genres, including Horror, Prof. Hilbert asks “Aren’t you relieved to know you’re not a golem?” To which Harold sarcastically replies, “Yes...I am relieved to know that I’m not a golem.”
 
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* In '''[[The Cotton Club (film)|The Cotton Club]]''', [[Fred Gwynne]]'s character, Frenchy Demange, is referred to as "The Golem."
 
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* In the [[Extreme Ghostbusters]] episode "The True Face of a Monster," a young man working in the synagogue sets a golem loose after the synagogue is repeatedly attacked by a group of vandals.
 
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==Golems in modern games==
 
==Golems in modern games==

Revision as of 17:51, 31 May 2007



In Jewish folklore, a golem (from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew "gelem" ((גלם), meaning "raw material") is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter, and given life through a mystical process involving the secret name of God. The origins of the golem are often traced back to the "Sefer HaYetzera" (the "book of formation"), a Kabbalistic text that deals with the process of the creation of the universe.[1] The most well-known golem in Jewish folklore was created by Rabbi Yehudah Leow of Prague in 1580 to protect the Jewish people from blood libel, or allegations that Jews were killing Christian children and using their blood to make unleavened bread (matzah).

History of the Term

The Hebrew word "golem" has been interpreted in multiple ways. The term is used in the Bible (Psalms 139:16), as well as in Talmudic literature to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance.[2] Commentaries on the Mishnah, specifically the Pirkei avot, use the term to refer to a person whose behavior is unbalanced, or "uncultivated", in contrast to "learned" or "wise" men. The word was incorporated into Yiddish to refer to a person who is stupid, clumsy, or inconsiderate.[3]

References to golems occur as early as the scriptural describtion of creation; Adam, the first man, is described as having been initially created as a golem. Formed from dust, Adam was a golem, or "shapeless mass", before becoming imbued with a soul.[4]

Golem Legends

The first known instructions for the creation of a golem are found in commentaries on the Sefer Yetzirah during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The creation of a golem was first seen as a initiary mystical experience. It was not until later that the golem came to be seen chiefly as a servile entity.[5]

A sixteenth century rabbi, Elijah of Chelm, is the first person credited with the creation of a golem using a shem, or paper with the name of God written upon it. Similarly to the tale of Frankenstein's monster, Elijah's golem grew to be a monster. Fearing the destruction of the world at the hands of his golem, the rabbi removed the shem from the golem's forehead, and the golem returned to dust.[6]

The most famous of golem legends also takes place in the sixteenth century. Rabbi Loew, also known as the Maharal, reportedly created a golem to defent the Prague ghetto from anti-Semetic attacks.


The classic narrative

The most famous golem narrative involves Rabbi Judah Loew the Maharal of Prague, a 16th century rabbi. He is reported to have created a golem to defend the Prague ghetto of Josefov from Anti-Semitic attacks. The story of Loew's golem was written by Wolf Pascheles in 1847, appearing in a collection of Jewish tales entitled Galerie der Sippurim. Other accounts later followed, including the 1909 publication of the legend by Yudl Rosenberg, who was the first to mention blood libel, and claimed to be publishing an original letter of Loew's, along with a manuscript by Loew's son-in-law.[7] The tale appears in several variations.

According to legend, the Jews in Prague were being persecuted by the Christians, who often accused them of ritually murdering children to make matzah bread, known as "blood libel". Some even snuck into the Jewish ghetto to deposit the body of a child on Jewish streets, in an attempt to further incite people against the Jews. Rabbi Loew, always devoted to the welfare of his people, prayed for a vision to tell him how to stop these false accusations, and was told by Heaven to "make a human image of clay." The rabbi took his son-in-law and his favorite pupil down to the river, and formed the shape of a man from clay. They each walked around the figure seven times, reciting a [Kabbalah|Kabbalistic} formula, and the golem was brought to life. The golem appeared to be a man of thirty, and the Rabbi clothed him and named him Joseph. Through the use of an talisman, the golem could appear invisible, and was sent out to stop anyone carrying a large parcel. When he found a person intending to deposit the body of a dead child in the Jewish streets, the golem would tie up the offender and the evidence, and carry both to the authorities. Once the blood libel was declared to be groundless and persecutions became forbidden, Rabbi Loew removed the breath of life from the golem Joseph by walking around the figure seven times, repeating the same words in reverse order.[8]

Other versions of the story involve destruction by the golem. In many versions, the golem becomes uncontrollable, wreaking havoc on the community or the entire city, attacking Jews, Gentiles, and even Rabbi Loew. Many also claim that the golem was brought to life through the means of a shem, or piece of paper with a holy and magic word, placed in its mouth, which was subsequently removed to deactivate the golem. Other variations say that the word meaning "truth" was put on the golem's forehead to animate it; to return the golem to a lump of clay, the first letter was rubbed out, thus spelling "death". The golem has various powers, according to different legends: invisibility, a heated touch, and the ability to summon spirits of the dead to serve as witnesses for the crimes against the Jews. Many legends claim that remnants of the golem can still be found in the attic of the famous Prague synagogue Altneuschul.

The legend of the Prague golem inspired Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel Der Golem, which in turn inspired Paul Wegener's classic set of expressionistic silent movies, of which The Golem: How He Came Into the World (also released as The Golem, 1920, USA 1921) is particularly famous. Another famous treatment from the same era is H. Leivick's 1921 Yiddish-language "dramatic poem in eight sections" The Golem. Also notable is Julien Duvivier's "Le Golem" (1936), a sequel to the Wegener film. Nobel prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer also wrote a version of the legend.

Features of Golems

The creation of a golem was often viewed as a symbol of holiness, as only the very righteous are successful at bringing the godly powers into inanimate clay. Persons attempting to create golems for improper or self-serving purposes would not be given the ability to do so.[9] Golems were usually connected with Rabbis throughout the Middle Ages.

As in many of the tales of the Prague Golem, the animation of a golem often involved the use of one of the secret names of God, which could be found on a slip of paper attached to its forehead, arm, or on a clay tablet under the tongue, which were removed to deactivate it. The word Emet (אמת, 'truth' in the Hebrew language) on its forehead was also commonly used to give golems life. By erasing the first letter in Emet to form Met (מת, 'dead' in Hebrew) the golem could be deactivated. The golem is often said to continue to grow until it dwarfs all members of the household and must be deactivated.

In nearly all versions of golem legends, golems lack the power of speech, as well as the inability to make moral judgements. Since they are created by man, not God, they do not possess a soul, and therefore can do no more than what is asked of them by their creator. In almost all Jewish kabbalistic descriptions of Golems, they are incapable of disobeying the one who created them. The theme of hubris is common to most golem tales, as with the tale of Rabbi Elias, who created a Golem that grew so large that the rabbi was unable to reach its forehead to erase the letter to deactivate it. The rabbi then commanded the golem to remove his boots, thinking that he would then be able to erase the letter, which worked exactly as planned. Unfortunately, once the golem was deactivated, it returned to clay, which fell upon the poor rabbi, crushing him.[10] This type of hubris theme is common in stories of golems, where the creation of the golem often leads eventually to destruction, similar to the moral found in stories of the monster of Frankenstein and of the broomstick in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

In popular culture

The golem concept has found its way into a wide variety of books, comic books, films, television shows, and games. This use covers a wide range, from "golem" used as an umbrella term to refer to automata and simulacra made of anything from steel to flesh, via clay monsters called golems, to full adoptions of the golem mythos.

Similar myths of other cultures

In Norse mythology, Mökkurkálfi (or Mistcalfa) was a clay giant, built to help the troll Hrungnir in a battle with Thor.

Probably as a result of the popularity of Gustav Meyrink's work The Golem, the golem concept has found its way into various elements of popular culture. Examples include:

Books, Comic books

  • Edward Einhorn's Golem Stories appearing in his book of plays entitled The Golem, Methuselah, and Shylock includes a golem that has the soul of a young man who was the fiance of the Rabbi's daughter.
  • Also inspired in part by the story of the Golem of Prague, Ted Chiang wrote a short story Seventy-Two Letters which explores the role of language in the creation of golems. The story won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2000. It can be found in the collection Stories of Your Life and Others.
  • Karel Čapek's 1921 play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) included robots which are not machines, but synthetic humans made from a claylike goo.
  • The DC Comics's Detective Comics # 631 features the beginning of a two-part Batman story: "The Golem of Gotham" by Peter Milligan and Jim Aparo. In it, Batman confronts a clay golem made by an elderly Holocaust survivor, in the context of modern race riots.
  • The Golem appears in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods with a host of other gods in the climax of the novel.
  • A golem most commonly in the shape of a hobo is used by a psychic evil doer to intimidate and kill its victims in the novel Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz.


Films and TV

  • The first trilogy of movies about Rabbi Judah Loew and his golem were Der Golem (1915), the Golem and the Dancing Girl (1917), and The Golem: How He Came Into the World - Der Golem, wie er in die welt kam (1920) Directed by Paul Wegener. Only the last film, which is a prequel, has survived, though stills exist of the earlier films.
  • The British film "It!" showcases the Golem of Prague constructed by Rabbi Judah Loew in the mid 16th century. It is evoked (brought to life) by a mad assistant museum curator, Arthur Pimm (Roddy McDowell), and proves to be indestructible. The American expert in the story discusses the reason for the golem's construction, i.e. to protect the Jewish community, but warns of the possibility that the Golem could run amuck as he states it did in the past.
  • The television program The X-Files aired an episode, "Kaddish," in which a young Hasidic woman creates a Golem who avenges her husband's murder by neo-Nazis.

Golems in modern games

Golems also appear as a popular feature of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games and are almost ubiquitous in the many fantasy computer and card games inspired by it, such as NetHack, Jade Empire, the Dragon Quest, Warcraft, Diablo series, Ragnarok Online, and Magic: The Gathering. In these games the word is generally used as an umbrella term to refer to automata and simulacra from many mythologies. The convention is that they are named after the material of construction. Examples include clay golems (most like the original Jewish golem), flesh golems (reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster), iron golems (animated metal statues), and a host of others including (but not limited to) gold, stone, blood, and even paper golems. The Pokémon Regirock, Regice, Registeel and Regigigas are loosely based on Golems, Another one, Golem was named after said creature.

In the Tecmo's Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 JRPG Enchanted Arms artifact creatures are called "Golem." Some very powerful golem generated an ancient struggle called The Golem War, which caused entire civilizations to crumble.

There is a long list of other games which have creatures called "golems," made of clay, or are animated by writing on them, since the golem has become part of the generic stable of game characters.


Other media

In America, the opera 'The Golem' by Abraham Ellstein retells in 20th-century harmonic language the centuries-old tale of a creature fashioned from clay and brought to life by kabbalistic spells who ultimately threatens the very people he was intended to serve. Selections are available on disc from the Milken Archive of American Jewish music. Another opera with the same title has been written by British composer John Casken.


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Moshe Idel. Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid. State University of New York Press, 1990.
  • Gershon Winkler. The Golem of Prague: A New Adaptation of the Documented Stories of the Golem of Prague. Judaica Press, 1980.
  • Geoffrey Dennis, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2007.
  • Emily D. Bilski (Ed.) Golem! Danger, Deliverance and Art. The Jewish Museum, 1988.
  • Arnold L. Goldsmith. The Golem Remembered 1909-1980: Variations of a Jewish Legend. Wayne State University Press, 1981.
  • Maureen T. Krause. "Introduction: Bereshit bara Elohim, A Survey of the Genesis and Evolution of the Golem." Journal of the Fantastic, 7.2/3, pages 113-36.
  • Jonathan Stroud. "The Golem's Eye." Corgi, 2004.
  • Marge Piercy. "Body of Glass." Penguin, 1993.
  • Jorge Luis Borges. The Golem. "Selected Poems." Penguin, 1999.
  • Frances Sherwood. The Book of Splendor. W. W. Norton, 2002.
  • Joachim Neugroschel. The Golem: A New Translation of the Classic Play and Selected Short Stories. W. W. Norton, 2006.

External links


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  1. ↑ Weinstein, Joyce Ellen. October 1999. "The Golem" The Jewish Magazine. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  2. ↑ 2007. "Golem" Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  3. ↑ Skorka, Abraham. 2006. [http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/agolemsb.htm "God, Man and Golem. Golem Aspects of Human Beings" Jewish Museum in Prague. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Golem" Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  5. ↑ Sadek, Vladimir. "Rabbi Loew and the Tradition of the Golem" Jewish Museum in Prague. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Golem" Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  7. ↑ Zucker, Robert. [http://emol.org/kabbalah/seferyetzirah/seferyetzirahtimeline.html "Sefer Yetsirah and Jewish Mysiticsm Time Line"] Retrieved May 31, 2007.
  8. ↑ Ashliman, D.L. (Ed). 1999. "The Golem: A Jewish Legend" Retrived May 31, 2007.
  9. ↑ Weinstein, Joyce Ellen. October 1999. "The Golem" The Jewish Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
  10. ↑ Kieval, Hillel. 1997. "Pursuing the Golem of Prague: Jewish Culture and the Invention of a Tradition" Modern Judaism. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
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