By Jessi Tabalba

The legend of the Golem - a creature made from the mud of the river Vltava and animated by cabbalist magic - has long abided in Prague's popular consciousness. The name "Golem" is thought to be derived from the Hebrew word "gelem," meaning "raw material"; in the Jewish mystic tradition of cabbala, a golem is formed from mud like Adam: a re-enactment of the creation, by God, of the original man. A golem is brought to life by writing holy words (the name of God or the Hebrew character aleph, for example) on its forehead, or by inserting a sacred text into its mouth. 

The story of the Prague Golem, as varied as it is enduring, takes place in 16th-century Josefov. Rabbi Judah Loew, fabled as a mystic and leader, created the Golem to defend the Jewish people from the anti-Semitism sweeping Central Europe at the time. The Golem diligently worked as a strongman in the Ghetto, catching would-be gentile saboteurs and doing heavy lifting in the neighborhood, until Rabbi Loew withdrew its life force, either because it went on a rampage after being left alone on the Sabbath, or simply because it became too powerful. The remains of Loew's Golem are, according to legend, encased in a coffin resting in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue, and a rumor circulated after WWII that a Nazi officer died trying to destroy them. In Gustav Meyrink's 1914 novel The Golem (Der Golem), the Golem is resurrected every 33 years to haunt Josefov. But if you're alone at night in the Jewish Quarter, don't panic  - the chronology in Meyrink’s story suggests we’re not due another visit for about 15 years. 

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