| GOLEM:
a creature, made in an artificial way by virtue of a magic act,
through the use of holy names. The development of the idea of
the golem in Judaism is connected with the magical exegesis of
the Sefer Yezirah ("Book of Creation") and with the
ideas of the creative power of speech and of the letters. Legends
about the powers of such creatures were very popular among many
communities in Europe.
One
of the best-known forms of the legend was connected with Judah
Loew ben Bezalel of Prague during the second half of the 18th
century. According to these legends, R. Loew created the golem
so that he would serve him, but was forced to restore him to his
dust when the golem began to run amok and endanger people's lives.
This display reflects some literary and artistic treatments of
the Golem legend, from its inception in medieval times to today’s
science fiction and graphic novels.
Here's
the Gallery of local Golem creations.
Golem
in the HUC-JIR catalog. |