The Legendary Golem
What is a Golem?
A Golem is a man made of clay, an artificial being; it is a key figure in Prague's legends. The Hebrew word Gòjlem refers to a sprout or an embryo, implying something incomplete.
How is a Golem created?
One must first purify themselves. A figure is shaped using virgin soil, and then one circles around it several times, reciting in various permutations the letters of the Tetragrammaton (the ineffable name of God). One must circle 462 times clockwise, and to bring it to life, the word EMET (truth) is inscribed on its forehead, or a Shem (a slip of paper with the unpronounceable name of God) is placed in its mouth.
How is a Golem destroyed?
The process is reversed: one circles counterclockwise, reciting the Tetragrammaton backward. The first letter of the word EMET is erased so that it reads MET (death), or the Shem is removed from its mouth.
How did the legend of the Golem originate?
The Golem legend arose as a means of defending the Jewish people from the frequent persecution they suffered during pogroms instigated by Christians. The legend is tied to Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, who lived in Prague during the 16th century.
One night in 1580, after performing a ritual bath in the Mikveh, reciting the complex Psalm 119, and studying passages from the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation), Rabbi Loew (symbolizing air), his son-in-law Jizchak ben Simson (fire), and his Levite disciple Jakob ben Chaim Sasson (water), dressed in white garments, set out with torches to the banks of the Vltava River (Moldau). There, in pits of saltpeter and mud, they molded the Golem (symbolizing earth).
Jizchak stood to the right and Jakob to the left, combining the letters and infusing the clay figure with fire and water. Rabbi Loew placed the Shem in the Golem’s mouth and commanded it to rise to its feet and serve as a loyal servant.
The Golem was exceptionally tall, clumsy, yet endowed with extraordinary strength. Every Friday, the Rabbi would remove the Shem from the Golem’s mouth to render it harmless. However, one Friday, he forgot and went to attend the Sabbath ceremony in the synagogue.
The Golem began to go berserk, destroying everything in the house, and then went outside to kill the courtyard animals. People rushed to inform the Rabbi, who left the synagogue and stealthily approached the Golem to remove the Shem from its mouth. The Golem collapsed upon itself. Had the Sabbath passed, the Rabbi would not have been able to act, and the Golem would have destroyed everything.
The Rabbi, assisted by two servants, performed the reverse incantation on the Golem, turning it back into mere clay. The clay was hidden in a room of the synagogue, where, according to legend, it remains to this day.
