Have you ever heard of the Golem of Prague? Especially if you have decided to visit the city’s old Jewish quarter, also known as Josefov, you will find small reproductions of this creature in souvenir stores.
In this article we discover together what the mysterious Golem of Prague is, the tale of the Golem and its legend.
Are you ready? Let’s get started!
Before we begin, a brief introduction: if you are planning a visit to the capital of the Czech Republic and want to discover the story of the mysterious Golem, you can book the Prague Golem Tour. This tour allows you to discover the historic center and Jewish quarter of Prague, home of the Golem legend. To book the tour, click on the button below.
Prague: Jewish Quarter tour and account of the Golem legend
Explore Prague’s historic Jewish Quarter and its synagogues, and visit the Old Town on a guided walking tour. Find out where the famous Jewish cemetery is located, learn about Prague’s Jewish history, and more.
You can cancel your reservation up to 24 hours before your visit.
What is the Jewish Golem of Prague?
The Golem was a clay giant of Jewish tradition with anthropomorphic features.
His figure was often found in ancient Jewish tales and, more generally, in medieval oral and written tradition.
Several Golems would have existed, and traces of their presence in the world remain through folk tales and legends.
The Golem of Prague: full story
Photo by smokeghost via Flickr
During the reign of Rudolph II, Prague’s Jewish community did not have an easy life.
Although the king was committed to protecting his people, including minorities, there were always those ready to use violence on the original citizens.
Tired of harassment and abuse, Loew, the community’s rabbi, created a Golem with his own hands.
Hewas guided by God himself: in fact, in a dream the Most High gave him all the necessary directions.
This creature would obey only his commands and defend the Jewish community.
The Golem came to life in the attic of the Staronova, that is, the Synagogue. They were composed of Vltava mud mixed with fire, air, water and earth.
When the Golem became too big, the rabbi would dispose of them and create a new one. While to wake them up after shaping them the rabbi would write on their foreheads the word“Emet,” meaning“Truth,” when he no longer wanted to use them he would write the word“Met,” meaning“Dead.”
This done, he took to getting rid of all his creatures who had ceased to live. They were wrapped in a large white sheet and then abandoned in a corner of the attic of the Synagogue.
The Golems, however, could not speak. The only way the rabbi had to communicate with them, and thus to keep them quiet, was to stuff wooden boards into their mouths on which Bible verses were engraved.
Loew one day forgot to perform this ritual. He put the usual tablets in the mouths of his creatures, but one of them went without.
The Golem in question no longer had the comfort of God’s word. Perhaps because of this he abandoned his attic and began to destroy everything within his reach within the Jewish neighborhood he was supposed to be protecting instead.
The rabbi meanwhile, oblivious to everything, prayed in the synagogue reciting verses from Psalm 92. Realizing what had happened, however, he had to somehow remedy his forgetfulness and extinguished the life of the last Golem.
Apparently, Loew eliminated them right where they were created, namely in the attic. Then, he dismantled the stairs leading there so that under no circumstances could anyone find the Golems.
However, it does appear that someone did succeed in the feat of bringing the strange creatures back to life. Loew’s son brought back to life a Golem that, even today centuries later, watches over the ancient Jewish quarter of Josefov.
Let us now omit this detail and conclude the narrative of the original legend. When the rabbi killed his now ungovernable creature and disabled the others similar to him, he returned to the temple and resumed reciting Psalm 92.
From then on, it has been customary in the Prague Synagogue to always repeat this ancient psalm twice.
Prague: Jewish quarter tour and account of the legend of the Golem
Explore Prague’s historic Jewish Quarter and its synagogues, and visit the Old Town on a guided walking tour. Find out where the famous Jewish cemetery is located, learn about Prague’s Jewish history, and more.
You can cancel your reservation up to 24 hours before your visit.
A few interesting facts
It seems that Loew actually existed. He would really have been a rabbi, but there is no evidence that he was interested in esotericism or mysticism. The earliest sources that dealt with him date back to themid-1800s.
His creatures took the name Golem because in Hebrew this word means“inanimate earth.” They were in fact nothing more than an agglomeration of clay that, as we have seen, came to life thanks to God and the rabbi.
On closer inspection, finally, the words“Emet” and“Met,”“Truth” and“Death,” in the Hebrew language are quite similar. Some even argue that Loew did not engrave the second lemma ex novo on the body of the mad Golems. The rabbi in those cases would have simply erased the “E” of Emet.
In short: he acted almost as if in the fate of these beings, once deprived of God’s word and thus of the truth, there could be nothing but the end and death.
The legend of the Golem: frequently asked questions
The Golem is a man created from clay who protects Prague’s ghettos from the pogroms that threatened the Jewish community. However, contemporary representations of the Golem imagine the clay creation more as a monster than a man, and as a destroyer rather than a protector.
A golem is a creature formed from a lifeless substance such as dust or earth that is brought to life by ritual spells and sequences of Hebrew letters. The Golem, created by a human creator, initially becomes a helper, companion or savior of a Jewish community in distress. After that, it takes on the meaning of destroyer.
Initially Golems were regarded as protectors (thus good); however, contemporary representations of the Golem imagine the clay creation more as a monster than a man, and as a destroyer rather than a protector.
The Golem was destroyed because it became undisciplined, interpreting all commands too literally and destroying what it was supposed to protect in the Jewish neighborhood instead. Because of this, the rabbi was forced to suppress his beloved creation.
The Golem symbolizes any human creation that has a positive purpose but has the potential to escape our control.
Prague: Jewish quarter tour and retelling of the Golem legend
Explore Prague’s historic Jewish Quarter and its synagogues, and visit the Old Town on a guided walking tour. Find out where the famous Jewish cemetery is located, learn about Prague’s Jewish history, and more.
You can cancel your reservation up to 24 hours before your visit.
