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== The golem of Rabbi Loew == | == The golem of Rabbi Loew == | ||
The most famous golem legend, which has several different variations and has inspired novelists and playwrights, is that of Rabbi Judah Loew (or Löw) of Prague (c. | The most famous golem legend, which has several different variations and has inspired novelists and playwrights, is that of Rabbi Judah Loew (or Löw) of Prague (c. 1520–1609), a historical figure who was a practitioner of the Kabbalah and a Talmudic scholar. He is said to have created a clay man and endowed him with life in order to defend the Jews of Prague from superstitious Christians who accused them of using the blood of Christian babies to bake their matzohs (unleavened bread). | ||
The golem served as the rabbi’s agent and successfully apprehended those who were spreading the false rumor. He would perform tasks for Rabbi Loew during the week, and every Friday evening the rabbi would turn him back into a heap of clay by removing the inscription from his forehead, because all creatures are supposed to rest on the Sabbath (or, as another version of the legend goes, because the rabbi feared that the golem would profane the Sabbath). | The golem served as the rabbi’s agent and successfully apprehended those who were spreading the false rumor. He would perform tasks for Rabbi Loew during the week, and every Friday evening the rabbi would turn him back into a heap of clay by removing the inscription from his forehead, because all creatures are supposed to rest on the Sabbath (or, as another version of the legend goes, because the rabbi feared that the golem would profane the Sabbath). | ||
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{{LTH}}, pp. 296–98. | {{LTH}}, pp. 296–98. | ||
Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The Golem Is a Myth for Our Time,” ''New York Times'', 12 August 1984 | Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The Golem Is a Myth for Our Time,” ''New York Times'', 12 August 1984. | ||
Arnold L. Goldsmith, ''The Golem Remembered, 1909–1980: Variations of a Jewish Legend'' (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981), pp. 15–20. | Arnold L. Goldsmith, ''The Golem Remembered, 1909–1980: Variations of a Jewish Legend'' (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981), pp. 15–20. | ||