Golem#Similar myths of other cultures

{{For multi|the character in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings|Gollum||Golem (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox mythical creature

| name = Golem

| image = Mikoláš Aleš - The Maharal of Prague and the Golem.jpg

| image_upright = 1.2

| caption = The Maharal of Prague and the Golem by Mikoláš Aleš, 1899.

| Grouping = Monster

| Similar_entities = Frankenstein's monster, Robot, Automaton

| Folklore = Jewish folklore

| First_Attested = Talmud

| AKA = Gōlem ({{Script/Hebrew|גּוֹלֶם}})

| Country = Czechia

| Region = Prague

| Habitat = Typically resides in attics or temples

| Details = Protector of the Jewish community, created from clay or mud, animated through mystical rituals.

}}

A golem ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|l|ə|m}} {{respell|GOH|ləm}}; {{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|גּוֹלֶם}}|gōlem}}) 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."Cooper, Marilyn. [http://www.momentmag.com/jewish-word-golem/ Jewish Word | Golem"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825062411/http://www.momentmag.com/jewish-word-golem/ |date=25 August 2017 }} Moment. 17 July 2017. 24 August 2017.

In modern popular culture, the word has become generalized, and any crude anthropomorphic creature devised by a sorcerer may be termed a "golem".{{cn|date=October 2024}} There may be metal golems, such as Talos, or stone golems, e.g., in Dungeons and Dragons.

Etymology

The word golem occurs once in the Bible, in Psalm 139:16,Bible: {{bibleverse|Psalm||139:16|JPS}} which uses the word {{lang|he|גלמי}} ({{transliteration|he|golmi}}; 'my golem', 'my light form', 'raw material'{{Cite encyclopedia|title=golem|encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary|editor=J. Simpson |editor2=E. Weiner|year=1989|edition=2nd| location=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=0-19-861186-2}}) to connote the unfinished human being before God's eyes. 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" ({{lang|he|שבעה דברים בגולם}}).Avot 5:9 in the Hebrew text; English translations vary.

In Modern Hebrew, {{transliteration|he|golem}} 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. Golem passed into Yiddish as {{transliteration|yi|goylem}}, meaning someone who is lethargic or in a stupor.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eqhur2UnvyIC&q=goylem+definition&pg=PA32|title=Anglish/Yinglish: Yiddish in American Life and Literature|last=Bluestein|first=Gene|date=1998|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|isbn=0803219148|access-date=17 October 2020|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203231028/https://books.google.com/books?id=eqhur2UnvyIC&q=goylem+definition&pg=PA32|url-status=live}}

History

=Earliest stories=

The oldest stories of golems date to early Judaism. In the Talmud (Tractate Sanhedrin 38b), Adam is initially created as a golem ({{lang|he|גולם}}) when his dust is "kneaded into a shapeless husk".{{cite web | title=Sanhedrin 38b | website=sefaria.org | url=https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.38b?lang=bi | ref={{sfnref|sefaria.org}} | access-date=2024-11-15}} 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 ({{transliteration|he|gavra}}), 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".{{efn|Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: {{right|מן חבריא את הדר לעפריך}}}}{{cite web | title=Sanhedrin 65b | website=Sefaria | url=https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.65b?lang=bi | ref={{sfnref|Sefaria}} | access-date=2024-11-15}}

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.{{Cite news |last=Kressel |first=Matthew |date=1 October 2015 |title=36 Days of Judaic Myth: Day 24, The Golem of Prague |language=en-US |work=Matthew Kressel |url=https://www.matthewkressel.net/2015/10/01/36-days-of-judaic-myth-day-24-the-golem-of-prague/ |url-status=live |access-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802223529/https://www.matthewkressel.net/2015/10/01/36-days-of-judaic-myth-day-24-the-golem-of-prague/ |archive-date=2 August 2018}}

It was believed that golems could be activated by an ecstatic experience induced by the ritual use of various letters of the Hebrew alphabet{{cite book |last=Idel |first=Moshe |title=Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-7914-0160-X |location=Albany, New York}} page 296 forming a {{transliteration|he|shem}} (any one of the names of God), wherein the {{transliteration|he|shem}} was written on a piece of paper and inserted in the mouth or into the forehead of the golem. In some tales (including certain stories of the Chełm and Prague golems), a word such as {{wikt-lang|he|אמת}} ({{transliteration|he|emét}}, 'truth') is inscribed on the golem, sometimes on its forehead. In this example, the golem could then be deactivated by removing the aleph (א),Kerstein, Benjamin. Jewish Ideas Daily. 14 September 2010. 24 August 2017. thus changing the inscription from "truth" to "death" ({{wikt-lang|he|מת}}, {{transliteration|he|mét}}, 'dead').

One source credits Solomon ibn Gabirol, who lived in the 11th century, with creating a golem,Bokser, Ben Zion (2006). From the World of the Cabbalah. Kessinger. p. 57. possibly female, for household chores.{{cite Jewish Encyclopedia | title=Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6448-gabirol-solomon-ibn | noicon=1 }} A legend also existed claiming that Samuel of Speyer created a golem in the 12th century.

In 1625, Joseph Delmedigo wrote that "many legends of this sort are current, particularly in Germany."

=The Golem of Chełm=

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).[http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472117598-intro.pdf Introduction to "The Golem Returns"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012061347/http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472117598-intro.pdf |date=12 October 2012 }}. Retrieved 23 September 2011.{{cite book|last=Trachtenberg|first=Joshua|title=Jewish Magic and Superstition|location=Philadelphia|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=2004|orig-year=Originally published 1939|isbn=9780812218626|page=85}}Gelbin, C . S., [https://books.google.com/books?id=5HkzGcG9YeAC&q=Maharal The Golem Returns – From German Romantic Literature to Global Jewish Culture, 1808–2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614171217/https://books.google.com/books?id=5HkzGcG9YeAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=Maharal&f=false |date=14 June 2016 }}, University of Michigan, 2011

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." A similar account was reported by a Christian author, Christoph Arnold, in 1674.

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."שו"ת שאילת יעב"ץ, ח"ב, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1408&pgnum=225 סי' פ"ב] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509025816/https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1408&pgnum=225 |date=2013-05-09 }}. Cf. his בירת מגדל עוז, Altona, 1748, p. 259a; מטפחת ספרים, Altona, 1768, [http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21115&st=&pgnum=90&hilite= p. 45a] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509032718/http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21115&st=&pgnum=90&hilite= |date=2013-05-09 }}; and מגילת ספר, ed. Kahana, Warsaw, 1896, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=37017&st=&pgnum=12&hilite= p. 4] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509043404/https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=37017&st=&pgnum=12&hilite= |date=2013-05-09 }}. See also שו"ת חכם צבי, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=19566&st=&pgnum=163 סי' צ"ג] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509043324/https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=19566&st=&pgnum=163 |date=2013-05-09 }}, 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., [http://seforim.blogspot.com/2007/02/shnayer-z-leiman-did-disciple-of.html "Did a Disciple of the Maharal Create a Golem?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111210431/http://seforim.blogspot.com/2007/02/shnayer-z-leiman-did-disciple-of.html |date=2012-01-11 }}

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."The tradition is also recorded in ה לחורבנה /תל-אביב: ארגון יוצאי חלם בישראל ובארה"ב, תשמ"א

=The classic narrative: The Golem of Prague=

File:Rabbi Löw Saloun.JPG statue at the New City Hall of Prague]]

File:Old_New_Synagogue-back.jpg 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 with a statue of a Golem in Úštěk]]

File:Golem by Philippe Semeria.jpg

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".Green, Kayla. [http://www.momentmag.com/the-golem-in-the-attic/ "The Golem in the Attic"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825231615/http://www.momentmag.com/the-golem-in-the-attic/ |date=25 August 2017 }} Moment. 1 February 2011. 25 August 2017.{{cite news|first=Dan|last=Bilefsky|author-link=Dan Bilefsky|title=Hard Times Give New Life to Prague's Golem|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|work=The New York Times|date=10 May 2009|access-date=19 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509123841/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|archive-date=9 May 2013}} 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. Rabbi Loew deactivated the Golem on Friday evenings by removing the shem before the Sabbath (Saturday) began, so as to let it rest on Sabbath.

One Friday evening, Rabbi Loew forgot to remove the shem, and feared that the Golem would desecrate the Sabbath. 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. The rabbi then managed to pull the shem from his mouth and immobilize him in front of the synagogue, whereupon the golem fell in pieces. The Golem's body was stored in the attic genizah of the Old New Synagogue, where it would be restored to life again if needed.{{cite web|url=http://www.applet-magic.com/golem.htm|title=The Golem Legend|work=applet-magic.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102224246/http://www.applet-magic.com/golem.htm|archive-date=2 January 2013}}

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.{{cite book |last=Winkler |first=Gershon |author-link=Gershon Winkler |date=1980 |title=The Golem of Prague |location=New York |publisher=Judaica Press |pages=60–63 |isbn=0-910818-24-X}}

According to legend, the body of Rabbi Loew's Golem still lies in the synagogue's attic. When the attic was renovated in 1883, no evidence of the Golem was found.{{cite book |publisher=Time-Life |title=Mysteries of the Unknown: Inside the World of the Strange and Unexplained |date=16 September 2014 |isbn=978-1618933522}} 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.{{cite web|last=Lee-Parritz |first=Oren |title=The Golem Lives On |url=http://www.jewishpost.com/news/The-golem-Lives-On.html |publisher=jewishpost.com |access-date=12 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901092722/http://www.jewishpost.com/news/The-Golem-Lives-On.html |archive-date=1 September 2010 }} The attic is not open to the general public.[http://atlasobscura.com/place/old-new-synagogue Old New Synagogue located in Praha, Czech Republic|Atlas Obscura|Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110829001745/http://atlasobscura.com/place/old-new-synagogue |date=29 August 2011 }}. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved on 23 September 2011.

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.Leiman, S. Z., [http://seforim.blogspot.com/2010/05/golem-of-prague-in-recent-rabbinic.html The Golem of Prague in Recent Rabbinic Literature] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924212735/http://seforim.blogspot.com/2010/05/golem-of-prague-in-recent-rabbinic.html |date=24 September 2011 }}

=Sources of the Prague narrative=

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

A few slightly earlier examples are known, in 1834{{cite book |last1=Glasenapp |first1=Gabriele von |editor1-last=Haug |editor1-first=Christine |editor2-last=Mayer |editor2-first=Franziska |editor3-last=Podewski |editor3-first=Madleen |title=Populäres Judentum: Medien, Debatten, Lesestoffe |date=2 June 2009 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9783484971042 |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qPzRvJgrMkEC&pg=PA31 |language=de |access-date=16 September 2018 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203234723/https://books.google.com/books?id=qPzRvJgrMkEC&pg=PA31 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Der jüdische Gil Blas |url=http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/-502/6 |language=de |quote=der Golam... des Rabbi Liwa, vom Volke der hohe Rabbi Löw genannt |access-date=16 September 2018 |archive-date=27 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927064901/http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/-502/6 |url-status=live }} and 1836.{{cite book |last1=Frankl |first1=L. A. |author-link1=Ludwig August von Frankl |editor1-last=Kaltenbaeck |editor1-first=Johann Paul |title=Oesterreichische Zeitschrift für Geschichts- und Staatskunde |date=1836 |publisher=Beck |page=368 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7ZeAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA368 |language=de |access-date=16 September 2018 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916120809/https://books.google.com/books?id=W7ZeAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA368 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Frankl |first1=L. A. |editor1-last=Bahrgang |editor1-first=Bweiter |title=Defterreichilche Beitfchrift |date=1836 |publisher=Oxford University |page=368 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzwTAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA368 |language=de |access-date=16 September 2018 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203231832/https://books.google.com/books?id=FzwTAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA368 |url-status=live }}

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.

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)Kieval, Hillel J. [http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Golem_Legend "Golem Legend"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825022936/http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Golem_Legend |date=25 August 2017 }} The YIVO Encyclopedia. 24 August 2017. 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), 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".[http://traditionarchive.org/news/originals/Volume%2036/No.%201/The%20Adventure%20of%20the.pdf Leiman, S.Z., " The Adventure of the Maharal of Prague in London: R. Yudl Rosenberg and The Golem of Prague"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917075811/http://traditionarchive.org/news/originals/Volume%2036/No.%201/The%20Adventure%20of%20the.pdf |date=17 September 2017 }} Tradition, 36:1, 2002Sherwin, Byron L. (1985) The Golem Legend: Origins and Implications. New York: University Press of America Gershom Sholem observed that the manuscript "contains not ancient legends, but modern fiction".Sholem, G., Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, Schocken, 1961 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.[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=334&letter=G&search=golem#1137 GOLEM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125023845/https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6777-golem#1137 |date=25 January 2022 }}. Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 23 September 2011.[http://www.epa.hu/01400/01462/00004/pdf/1986_2_296-298.pdf HUNGARIAN STUDIES 2. No. 2. Nemzetközi Magyar Filológiai Társaság. Akadémiai Kiadó Budapest [1986]] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510130210/http://www.epa.hu/01400/01462/00004/pdf/1986_2_296-298.pdf |date=10 May 2013}}. (PDF). Retrieved on 23 September 2011. 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."Gans, D., Zemach David, ed. M.Breuer, Jerusalem, 1983, p.145, cited [http://www.rabbiyehudahyudelrosenberg.com/ Rabbi Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg and the Maharal's Golem] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923154135/http://www.rabbiyehudahyudelrosenberg.com/ |date=23 September 2009 }}{{better source needed|date=August 2017}}

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."Neubauer, J., [https://books.google.com/books?id=YINYl4iv4ecC&q=golem&pg=PA303 "How did the Golem get to Prague?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614161741/https://books.google.com/books?id=YINYl4iv4ecC&pg=PA303&lpg=PA303&dq=gustav+philippson+the+Golem&source=bl&ots=euPUiGZv7x&sig=pxjaHEMbgMEPZsW6wk9knCLhrTw&hl=en&ei=Ls9tTpXgD8i3hAf85JiDDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=golem&f=false|date=14 June 2016}}, 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 [https://jqr.pennpress.org/media/23891/JQRnewArticle.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809114258/http://jqr.pennpress.org/media/23891/JQRnewArticle.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602100921/http://jqr.pennpress.org/media/23891/JQRnewArticle.pdf|archive-date=2014-06-02|url-status=live|date=9 August 2017}} Furthermore, the Maharal himself did not refer to the Golem in his writings. 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{{cite book|author=Meir Perels|title=Megilas Yuchsin|year=1718|location=Prague|oclc=122864700}} published in 1718 does not mention a golem.

The Golem of Vilna

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.Chaim of Volozhin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UXtWbo-QGoAC&dq=golem+Volozhin&pg=PT197 "Sifra de Tzeniuta, Introduction"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204022205/https://books.google.com/books?id=UXtWbo-QGoAC&pg=PT197&lpg=PT197&dq=golem+Volozhin&source=bl&ots=QN3UmnwneO&sig=dgIOspJMP-FDHhtKj0YCaQ20quk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFn4nQ2vDVAhUpsVQKHXb0BBkQ6AEITzAL#v=onepage&q=golem%20Volozhin&f=false |date=4 February 2021 }} The Kabbalistic Tradition: An Anthology of Jewish Mysticism, edited by Alan Unterman. Google Books. 24 August 2017. The Gaon immediately identified one version as the accurate rendition of the passage.

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.

Theme of hubris

File:Clay-golem.jpg]]

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.

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.Koreis, Voyen. Introduction. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UP-Ui34-M7UC&dq=Karel+%C4%8Capek+golem&pg=PA9 "Two Plays by Karel Capek: R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) & The Robber"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204063423/https://books.google.com/books?id=UP-Ui34-M7UC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=Karel+%C4%8Capek+golem&source=bl&ots=2WLnFDNDEA&sig=xgQvJZYlT9nWVC5sqMWcjfPhhUU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjC-bb4-vLVAhXosFQKHbVyDngQ6AEIQjAE#v=onepage&q=Karel%20%C4%8Capek%20golem&f=false |date=4 February 2021 }} Google Books. 25 August 2017.

Culture of the Czech Republic

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", and a Czech monster truck outfit calls itself the "Golem Team".{{Cite web|title=VIDEO: René Richter, the Czech Man With the Strongest Jaws in the World|url=https://www.praguemorning.cz/rene-richter-czech-record-cans/|last=B|first=Veronika|date=25 January 2020|website=Prague Morning|language=en-US|access-date=29 May 2020|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126014817/https://www.praguemorning.cz/rene-richter-czech-record-cans/|url-status=live}}

Abraham Akkerman preceded his article on human automatism in the contemporary city with a short satirical poem on a pair of golems turning human.{{Cite magazine |title=Philosophical Urbanism and Deconstruction in City-Form: An Environmental Ethos for the Twenty-First Century |url=https://www.usask.ca/structurist/|first=Abraham |last=Akkerman|magazine=The Structurist|number=43/44 |pages=48–61|date=2003–2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904074945/https://www.usask.ca/structurist/|archive-date=4 September 2017|access-date=18 August 2017}} Published also as Paper CTS-04-06 by the Center for Theoretical Study, Prague.

Clay Boy variation

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.{{cite magazine |last=Cronan|first=Mary W. |title=Lutoschenka|magazine=The Story Teller's Magazine |year=1917|volume=5|issue=1|pages=7–9}}

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 ({{langx|ru|Гли́няный па́рень}}, {{transliteration|ru|Glínyanyĭ párenʹ}}) 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.{{cite book|last=Ginsburg|first=Mirra|author-link=Mirra Ginsburg |title=Clay Boy|year=1997|publisher=Greenwillow |location=New York|isbn=9780688144098 |url=https://archive.org/details/clayboy00gins}}

Golem in popular culture

File:Mdm. Tussauds Prag 8.jpg in Prague]]

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".{{cite book |last=Sherman |first=Fraser |editor-last=Frankel |editor-first=Valerie Estelle |date=2022 |title=Jews in Popular Science Fiction: Marginalized in the Mainstream |publisher=Lexington Books |page=23 |chapter=Destroyer, Defender, AI, Lover: The Golem in Speculative Fiction Prose and Comics |isbn=9781666901450}}

= Film and television =

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

The Golem ({{langx|de|Der Golem}}, shown in the United States as The Monster of Fate), a 1915 German silent horror film, written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen.{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004026/|title = Der Golem (1915)| website = IMDb|date = 8 April 1915|access-date = 10 August 2021|archive-date = 11 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210811023309/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004026/|url-status = live}}{{unreliable source |date=October 2024}}{{better source needed|date=October 2024}}
The Golem and the Dancing Girl ({{langx|de|Der Golem und die Tänzerin}}), a 1917 German silent comedy-horror film, directed by Paul Wegener and Rochus Gliese.{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176776/|title = Der Golem und die Tänzerin (1917) |website = IMDb|date = 9 April 1917|access-date = 10 August 2021|archive-date = 11 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210811023312/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176776/|url-status = live}}{{unreliable source |date=October 2024}}{{better source needed|date=October 2024}}
The Golem: How He Came into the World ({{langx|de|Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam}}, also referred to as Der Golem), a 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Paul Wegener and Carl Boese.{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011237/|title = Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920)|website = IMDb|date = 19 June 1921|access-date = 10 August 2021|archive-date = 25 January 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220125023843/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011237/|url-status = live}}{{unreliable source |date=October 2024}}{{better source needed|date=October 2024}}
Le Golem ({{langx|cs|Golem}}), a 1936 Czechoslovak monster movie directed by Julien Duvivier in French.{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027688/|title = Le Golem (1936) |website = IMDb|date = 21 March 1937|access-date = 10 August 2021|archive-date = 11 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210811093139/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027688/|url-status = live}}{{unreliable source |date=October 2024}}{{better source needed|date=October 2024}}
The Limehouse Golem, a 2016 film about a fictional series of Jack the Ripper-esque murders in Victorian London.

Other references to golems in popular culture include:

The Golem ({{langx|de|Der Golem}}), the first novel by Gustav Meyrink and adapted for television in 1967, for film in 1980, and for the stage in 2013.
Daimajin, a 1966 Japanese kaiju film directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.Ishii et al., 1997, 日本特撮・幻想映画全集, p.170, Keibunsha, {{ISBN|4766927060}}
It!, a 1967 British horror film directed by Herbert J. Leder.{{Cite web|title=It! (1967): The Golem Movie That Time Forgot – Ryan Harvey|date=10 October 2020 |url=https://ryanharveyauthor.com/2020/10/10/it-1967-golem-movie/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105211514/https://ryanharveyauthor.com/2020/10/10/it-1967-golem-movie/|archive-date=5 January 2022|access-date=5 January 2022}}
"Kaddish", a 1997 episode of The X-Files.{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751149/|title = Kaddish (The X-Files) |website = IMDb|date = 16 February 1997|access-date = 13 April 2022|archive-date = 13 April 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220413132810/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751149/|url-status = live}}{{unreliable source |date=October 2024}}{{better source needed|date=October 2024}}
The 1995 Gargoyles episode "Golem" featured a golem made in the image of a stone statue that was created by Rabbi Loew (voiced by Victor Brandt) to defend the Jewish inhabitants of Prague from raiders and had been passed down to his descendant Max Loew (voiced by Scott Weil).
The 1997 Extreme Ghostbusters series depicts a Rabbi's son bringing a golem to life to protect a local New York synagogue from antisemitic vandalism in the episode "The True Face of a Monster".
"You Gotta Know When to Golem" is a short story during "Treehouse of Horror XVII", part of the long-running series of The Simpsons Halloween specials. The Golem, voiced by Richard Lewis, is controlled via paper notes by Bart and used to wreak havoc on the citizens of Springfield.
Inglourious Basterds, a 2009 film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, includes a fictional version of Adolf Hitler repeating fearful speculation that "The Bear Jew," who kills German soldiers with a bat, is a golem.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duz90_F6TPw | title=Inglourious Basterds (2009) - the Bear Jew | website=YouTube | date=26 November 2019 }}Chrystall, Andrew. "Inglourious Basterds: Satirizing the spectator and revealing the 'Nazi' within." New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film 13.2 (2015): 153-168.{{cite book |editor-last=von Dassanowsky |editor-first=Robert |date=2012 |title=Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds: A Manipulation of Metacinema |publisher=Bloomsbury |pages=7, 160 |isbn=978-1-4411-3821-7}}
In the fourth episode of season 4 of Grimm ("Dyin' on a Prayer"), a golem plays an important role.
The 2013 Supernatural episode "Everybody Hates Hitler" features a golem (portrayed by John DeSantis) who had been used to fight the Nazis in Belarus during World War II. In the present, the golem has been passed down from Rabbi Bass (portrayed by Hal Linden) to his grandson Aaron Bass (portrayed by Adam Rose). While Aaron had a hard time controlling the golem at first, they did help Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester fight against a group of Nazi necromancers led by Commandant Eckhart (portrayed by Bernhard Forcher).
In the SyFy series The Magicians, there is a golem made of a main character. It appears in the episodes "Homecoming" and "Be The Penny".
The 2019 Netflix series The Order features a recurring character (portrayed by Dylan Playfair) who is revealed to be a golem in season 1.
The majority of the CW series Legacies (a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries) centers around defeating a golem.
The Golem, a 2018 Israeli horror film features a golem in the form of a dead child.

File:Golem 1920 Poster.jpg|Movie poster for Der Golem (1920)

=Literature=

"El Golem" is a poem by Jorge Luis Borges, published in 1959, and later published as part of the 1964 book El otro, el mismo (The other, the self). The poem tells the story of Judah Loew and his creation of the Golem. In the poem, Borges quotes the works of German Jewish philosopher Gershom Scholem and Cratylus by Plato.
Marge Piercy's 1991 science fiction novel, He, She, and It, features intertwined narratives, one of which is a retelling of the story of Rabbi Loew and his creation of a golem in medieval Prague.
Terry Pratchett's 1996 Discworld novel Feet of Clay feature a number of golems who reside in the city of Ankh-Morpork. Golems also appear in Going Postal and Making Money and make cameos throughout the remainder of the series. They fulfil the same role as robots.
Ted Chiang's 2000 novella “Seventy-Two Letters” focuses on an alternate history of the world where science and technology are based on the use of golems and, accordingly, the Kabbalistic names embedded in them.
Michael Chabon's 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay features a story of a Golem like creature that is shipped to the United States.
The 2004 book The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud features a magically rendered golem as the main threat.
David Brin's 2002 science fiction book, Kiln People, is based on the premise that people can make short-lived clay-based copies of themselves. The golems have the same motives and memories as the humans that made them.
Brandon Mull's 2006 book series Fablehaven prominently contains a golem character, one which is more faithful to traditional portrayals through its depiction as a protector of the community.
Catherynne M. Valente’s novel The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland and later books in the series feature a golem made of soap, Lye, as a recurring character.
The Marvel Comics superhero, Captain America, as the character's creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, originally conceived of him, has been described as a variant of the Golem concept: a protector of the Jewish community created by one of its elders (Dr. Abraham Erskine).{{cite web |last1=Isaak |first1=Joshua |title=Captain America Is A Jewish Golem - Theory Explained |url=https://screenrant.com/captain-america-jewish-golem-jack-kirby-joe-simon/ |website=Screenrant |date=3 December 2021 |access-date=17 September 2022}}
The Golem and the Jinni is a debut novel written by Helene Wecker, published by Harper in April 2013. It combines the genre of historical fiction with elements of fantasy, telling the story of two displaced magical creatures in 19th century New York City, reflecting the fate of contemporary immigrants to the USA.{{cite web |url=http://books.usatoday.com/book/%E2%80%98golem-and-the-jinni-supernatural-story-of-assimilation/r851243 |title='The Golem and the Jinni': Supernatural story of assimilation |work=USA Today |author=Ciuraru, Carmela|date=27 April 2013 |access-date=10 February 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/books/review/the-golem-and-the-jinni-by-helene-wecker.html?_r=0 |title=Breaking the Mold: 'The Golem and the Jinni', by Helene Wecker |work=The New York Times |author=Cokal, Susann|date=16 March 2013 |access-date=10 February 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/helene-wecker/golem-and-jinni/ |title=The Golem and the Jinni |work=Kirkus Reviews |author= |date=31 March 2013 |access-date=10 February 2014}}
The Golem of Hollywood, a supernatural mystery by writers Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman, weaves the legend of the Golem into a Los Angeles murder mystery. This golem is described as female.{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=The Golem of Hollywood {{!}} Jewish Book Council |url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/the-golem-of-hollywood |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=www.jewishbookcouncil.org |language=en}}

=Tabletop and video games=

Golems appear in the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (first published in 1974), and the influence of Dungeons & Dragons has led to the inclusion of golems in other tabletop role-playing games, as well as in video games.{{cite web |title=How Dungeon & Dragons shaped the modern videogame |work=PC Gamer |date=February 8, 2007 |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=157343&site=pcg |accessdate=April 3, 2007}} There are many varieties of golems in the game,{{cite book |editor=Doug Stewart |title=Monstrous Manual |date=June 1993|publisher=TSR, Inc. |isbn=1-5607-6619-0}} and Backstab reviewer Philippe Tessier called the creature a "classic of D&D".{{cite magazine|last=Tessier|first=Philippe|date=November 2000|title=Baldur's Gate II|department=Review|language=fr|magazine=Backstab|number=24|pages=90–91}} The clay golem is based on the golem of Medieval Jewish folklore, though changed from "a cherished defender to an unthinking hulk".{{Cite web |last=Silver |first=Eric |date=2021-01-28 |title=Dungeons & Dragons Has an Antisemitism Problem |url=https://www.heyalma.com/dungeons-dragons-has-an-antisemitism-problem/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=Alma}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hahnlibrary.net/rpgs/sources.html |title=Literary Sources of D&D |access-date=December 12, 2019 |last=DeVarque |first=Aardy}} The flesh golem is related to Frankenstein's monster as Universal's 1931 film, seen in e.g. being empowered by electricity,{{cite book |author-first=Richard W. |author-last=Forest |editor-first=Jeffrey |editor-last=Weinstock |date=2014 |title=The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |chapter=Dungeons & Dragons, Monsters in}} though again with the difference of being essentially an unthinking machine in the game.{{cite book |last1=Slavicsek |first1=Bill |author-link=Bill Slavicsek |first2=Rich |last2=Baker |author-link2=Richard Baker (game designer) |first3=Jeff |last3=Grubb |author-link3=Jeff Grubb |title=Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies|publisher=For Dummies |year=2006 |page=373 |isbn=978-0-7645-8459-6}} D&D's golems are also rooted in Gothic fiction more generally, and are typical denizens of the Ravenloft setting.{{cite book |last=Rangel Jiménez |first=Mauricio |date=2021 |title=Lanzando los dados: aproximaciones académicas a los juegos de rol |language=Spanish |publisher=Universidad Iberoamericana |isbn=978-607-417-763-3}} The flesh golem was ranked ninth among the ten best mid-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies for both 3rd and 4th edition.{{cite book |title=Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies |chapter=31: The Ten Best Mid-Level Monsters |first1=Bill |last1=Slavicsek |author1-link=Bill Slavicsek |first2=Rich |last2=Baker |author-link2=Richard Baker (game designer) |first3=Mike |last3=Mearls |author3-link=Mike Mearls |date=January 2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons}}
There is a golem stone enemy in the video game Dragon Warrior for the Nintendo Entertainment System.{{cite web |title=Dragon Warrior game review|website=Honest Gamers |url=https://www.honestgamers.com/3332/nes/dragon-warrior/game.html}}
There is a golem character in Little Samson, a game released on the Nintendo Entertainment System.{{cite web |title=Little Sampson game review|website=Honest Gamers |url=https://www.honestgamers.com/10433/nes/little-samson/review.html}}{{cite web|title=Little Sampson game review |website=Cousin Gaming |date=23 August 2016 |url=https://www.cousingaming.com/2016/08/23/little-samson-1992-nes/}}
Golems are a recurring character in the Final Fantasy series of video games.{{cite web |url=https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-series-most-recurring-monsters-ranked/#golem|title=Recurring monsters in Final Fantasy|date=11 December 2020 }}{{cite web |title=Specific instance of a Golem in Final Fantasy |website=gamerant.com |date=3 January 2021 |url=https://www.gamerant.com/final-fantasy-rare-enemies-never-encounter/#iron-golem-final-fantasy}}
Games in the Minecraft franchise contain many different types of golems. In the main game, there are iron and snow golems.{{cite web |last1=Stone |first1=Tom |title=Meet the Iron Golem |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/meet-iron-golem |access-date=28 April 2023 |date=2017-02-27}}{{cite web |last1=Lele |first1=Nutan |title=How to Make a Snow Golem in Minecraft |url=https://afkgaming.com/esports/guide/how-to-make-a-snow-golem-in-minecraft |website=AFKGaming |access-date=28 April 2023 |date=21 March 2023}} In Minecraft Dungeons, there is the Redstone Golem. In Minecraft Legends, there are Cobblestone Golems, Plank Golems, Mossy Golems, and Grindstone Golems.{{cite web |last1=Anderca |first1=Cristina |title=New Friends: The Golems of Minecraft Legends |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/new-friends--the-golems-minecraft-legends |access-date=28 April 2023 |date=2022-10-12}}
Golem is the name of a Pokémon whose body is made of rocks. Golett and Golurk are two Pokémon inspired by the Golem of Prague.{{cite web|author=Lucas Sullivan|date=February 8, 2014|title=17 Pokemon based on real-world mythology|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/15-pokemon-based-real-world-mythology/|access-date=January 27, 2016|work=GamesRadar}}
A golem features prominently in The Ghost and the Golem, a 2024 Jewish historical fantasy interactive fiction game by Benjamin Rosenbaum, on the Choice of Games platform.{{cite web |title=The Ghost and the Golem|url=https://www.choiceofgames.com/ghost-and-the-golem/ |access-date=29 August 2024|website=Choice of Games}}

=Music=

A number of scores have been written to accompany or based on the 1920 film, including by Daniel Hoffman and performed by the San Francisco-based ensemble Davka{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Golem-Davka/dp/B0000DG02D/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Golem&qid=1583245505&rnid=301668&s=music&sr=1-1|website=Amazon|title=Davka - the Golem - Amazon.com Music|access-date=3 March 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308162614/https://www.amazon.com/Golem-Davka/dp/B0000DG02D/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Golem&qid=1583245505&rnid=301668&s=music&sr=1-1|url-status=live}} and by Karl-Errnst Sasse.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Golem-Karl-Ernst-Sasse/dp/B000001WQI/ref=sr_1_33?keywords=The+Golem&qid=1583245976&s=music&sr=1-33|website=Amazon|title=Der Golem|access-date=3 March 2020|archive-date=13 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313011635/https://www.amazon.com/Golem-Karl-Ernst-Sasse/dp/B000001WQI/ref=sr_1_33?keywords=The+Golem&qid=1583245976&s=music&sr=1-33|url-status=live}}
In 1962, Abraham Ellstein's opera The Golem, commissioned by the New York City Opera, premiered at City Opera, New York.{{cite web|url=https://www.milkenarchive.org/music/volumes/view/heroes-and-heroines/work/the-golem-excerpt|title=Abraham Ellstein's the Golem}}
In 1994, composer Richard Teitelbaum composed "Golem", based on the Prague legend and combining music with electronics.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Golem-Shelley-Hirsch/dp/B000003YTH/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=The+Golem&qid=1583245145&s=music&sr=1-9|website=Amazon|title=Teitelbaum: Golem|year=1995 |access-date=3 March 2020|archive-date=12 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312170606/https://www.amazon.com/Golem-Shelley-Hirsch/dp/B000003YTH/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=The+Golem&qid=1583245145&s=music&sr=1-9|url-status=live}}

= Other =

Golem was the name given to 3 bespoke computers that were built in the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel during the 1960s.{{Cite web |last=אורני |first=אמיר |date=2020-06-02 |title=WEIZAC and GOLEM: The Start-Up Nation's Earliest Computers |url=https://blog.nli.org.il/en/hoi_weizac/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=The Librarians |language=en-US}}

Notes

References

External links

[http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/736269/Dr._Shnayer_Leiman/golem_of_Prague,_Fact_or_Fiction "Golem of Prague, Fact or Ficton?" on Yutorah.org]

Category:Jewish legendary creatures

Category:Jewish mythology

Category:Kabbalistic words and phrases

Category:Medieval legends

Category:Practical Kabbalah

Category:History of Prague

Category:Supernatural legends

Category:Jewish folklore

Category:Jewish mysticism