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Golem - Index

• Golem

• Definition

• History

• Origins of the word

• Earliest stories

• Owning and activating golems

• The Classic Narrative

• Jews in Prague

• Golem of Prague

• Maharal's golem

• The hubris theme

• The golem in European culture

• Alchemical homunculus

• The Golem in the Czech Republic

• In modern culture

• Golem - In modern culture

• Golem and the Dancing Girl

• Feet of Clay

• Snow in August

• Kaddish

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Película del horror - Índice General

The Tale of Terror
A Study of the Gothic Romance
 by Edith Birkhead

Masters of the English Novel
A Study of Principles and Personalities
by Richard Burton
 

Valentina (Darna)

Myth

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Earliest stories

The earliest stories of golems date to early Judaism. Adam is described in the Talmud (Tractate Sanhedrin 38b) as initially created as a golem when his dust was "kneaded into a shapeless hunk".

Like Adam, all golems are created from clay. They were a creation of those who were very holy and close to God. A very holy person was one who strove to approach God, and in that pursuit would gain some of God's wisdom and power. One of these powers was the creation of life.

No matter how holy a person became, however, a being created by that person would be but a shadow of one created by God.

Early on, the notion developed that the main disability of the golem was its inability to speak. In Sanhedrin 65b, is the description of Raba creating a golem using the Sefer Yetzirah. He sent the golem to Rav Zeira; Rav Zeira spoke to the golem, but he did not answer. Said Rav Zeira, "I see that you were created by one of our colleagues; return to your dust." It is said that if a golem were made able to speak, that would give it a soul, and — because a golem cannot be made perfectly — that ability could make it very dangerous.

Golem - Owning and activating golems