Golem; life from inanimate clay

Golem; life from inanimate clay

In 18th century Prague, anti Semitic movements spearheaded by local authorities spread fear through the Jewish communities. After the death and disappearance of a number of locals, Rabbis were called forth to offer solutions to these dire times. Many spoke of sending representatives to the powers that be, to quell this civil unrest, but all attempts were ignored or counteracted with violence.

In the Jewish quarter of the city, a young pupil of the esteemed Rabbi Zedek had taken much interest in a series of scrolls that his tutor had hidden in a chest at the back of the synagogue. He pleaded with Zedek to let him see these documents. His interest was merely curiosity, but one evening the rabbi spoke of what was enclosed within; and in desperation considered using its contents to fight this apartheid within Prague.
This peaked the pupils interest and he pursued the matter relentlessly, until the rabbi gave in and explained what lay hidden.
He referred to the chest as his “work of forbidden art” – as he opened the case, the smell of warm earth engulfed them both.
In the lid, housed behind a crude piece of glass were a number of objects – a tiny unraveled scroll, a series of wooden implements and a yad – a wand for reading jewish text. A ragged piece of muslin hid what lay within the box, and the rabbi, with a grave look about his face, removed it gently.
Underneath was a small crude human form made of clay. Upon its forehead were two letters – “מת” which was the Hebrew word for dead. The Rabbi took the two wooden tools and gently pushed the wet clay into shape, giving it more form in its hands and face.
The pupil knew exactly what this was, yet he had never believed it to be anything more than myth. The tiny grey-brown entity was a golem, an ancient form given life by the most holy of Rabbi.
Written upon the scroll were the 72 names of the Jewish God. By marking the golem’s forehead with the word for truth in hebrew – “אמת” - and speaking aloud in succinct and perfect form the words from the scroll, the golem would be brought to life.

The pupil could tell that the golem had been used before. by removing the first letter of the word upon its forehead, it had ceased living. Upon its chest a piece of parchment – a binding spell to keep it forever dormant. The parchment could be corrected and orders written down, and once placed in the golems mouth, carry out his every whim.

The Rabbi quickly closed the box and locked it, pushing it once more into the darkened space from whence it came. In frustration the pupil raised his voice to the Rabbi and spoke of using the golem as a weapon against the tyrannical authority of Prague. The Rabbi tried to calm the boy, telling him that the golem would gain immense size once released, and was known to cause much chaos and destruction if left unchecked. The boy pleaded with the Rabbi to at least consider releasing it to protect the jewish people.

Later that night the boy stole the chest from the Rabbi Zedeks house. He took it into the street and completed the missing letter upon its head. It rose from the chest and stood before him, drawing mud and silt and earth from the ground. It leaned towards him and opened its cavernous mouth – awaiting its order. He took the parchment from its chest and corrected the order – to destroy the authority in the town. Once placed in its mouth, the golem turned to face the town hall. It then stopped, and hardened to stone.
The pupil, in his rage, kicked and stomped and shouted at it to attack. He cried out in floods of tears to seek revenge upon those who had been murdered. But the golem was still.

The rabbi had followed the pupil and now stepped out of the shadows. He had known that the boy would take the golem, and had placed his own orders in its mouth if awoken. “cease in event of antagonism” The golem was reduced to its foetal form and placed again in the box.
“We will find another way to defeat our adversaries – by using our minds, not aggressive tools.”

It is not known what became of the Rabbi, or the pupil, yet the jewish population of Prague continued to grow and prosper after this event.