Golem, in Jewish folklore, is an artificial human formed from clay and made active by magic. In many folk tales, golems are enormously strong and follow commands exactly. They are usually created to protect Jews from persecution. The word golem appears once in the Bible, where it means shapeless mass. The word appears more frequently in the Talmud, a collection of Jewish religious and civil laws (see Talmud).
In most accounts, the golem is fashioned from clay. A rabbi chants the secret name of God or chants the Hebrew alphabet to bring the golem to life. In some stories, a rabbi activates the golem by inserting into its mouth a scroll bearing the name of God. Once the golem is animated, the rabbi marks its forehead with the Hebrew word emet, meaning truth.
Folk tales connect several historical figures to the creation of golems. The earliest accounts concern Rabbi Eliyahu (1550-1583) of Chelm, in what is now Poland. He is said to have created a golem to perform work for him. The most famous golem was said to have been created by Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1525-1609) to protect Jews in Prague, now part of the Czech Republic, from persecution. According to this story, the Prague golem followed orders too literally—causing trouble—and eventually threatened innocent people. Rabbi Loew then erased the first letter of the word emet from the creature’s forehead. This left behind the Hebrew word met, meaning death. The golem immediately reverted to lifeless clay. According to tradition, the Prague golem still exists in the attic of the Old New Synagogue. There, it waits to be activated again in time of need.
