Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid

by Moshe Idel

Idel's thesis is that the role of the golem concept in Judaism was to confer an exceptional status to the Jewish elite by bestowing it with the capability of supernatural powers deriving from a profound knowledge of the Hebrew language and its magical and mystical values.

This book is the first comprehensive treatment of the whole range of material dealing with creation of the golem beginning with late antiquity and ending with the modern time. The author explores the relationship between these discussions and their historical and intellectual frameworks. Since there was in the medieval period a variety of traditions concerning the golem, it is plausible to assume that the techniques for creating this creature developed much earlier. This presentation focuses on the precise techniques for creating an artificial human, an issue previously neglected in the literature.

A complete survey of the conceptions of the golem in North European and Spanish literature in medieval time allows not only a better understanding of this phenomenon, but also of the history of Jewish magic and mysticism in the Middle Ages. The Jewish and Christian treatments of the golem in the renaissance are explored as part of the renaissance concern for human nature.

Moshe Idel was Centennial Scholar in Residence at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Currently, he is Professor of Kabbalah in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia; Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah; and Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics in Abraham Abulafia; all published by SUNY Press.

Genres: Jewish, Religion, Judaism, Research, Nonfiction

354 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a YMMV review: if you're not interested in kabbalistic beliefs about golems, this is not the book for you. I am and I still found it dry (4.5 stars). It's not a book of golem legend and folklore, but the views of Jewish scholars and mystics.
Idel looks at the first mentions of the golem in medieval tradition: how was it created? What did it signify? How was it destroyed? The idea of golem as protector of Jews doesn't come up until around the 19th century; neither does the longstanding legend that Judah ben Loew of Prague created one.
If you're into the serious scholastic study of golems, definitely worth it.

[Joshua Glucksman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Modern man, alienated as he is from the divine, is afraid of the inherent theological implications of his creative powers; the medieval masters, probably because of their sense of closeness to God, were able to strive toward and, according to their feeling, achieve aims that are beyond the modern frame of mind. Kafka's alienation, just as Schulz's spiritual paralysis inhibiting creativity, are symptoms of more general sentiments that avenues once open are no longer accessible to man.”

SMH just trying to make a golem to show that modern man is connected w god like we used to be

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an incredibly comprehensive book on golems. Near as I can tell, this book includes pretty much anything you could ever want to know about the history, the mythology, and the process.

But it should be noted that the writing is very dry and dense, and that the barrier to entry here is high. I think to truly get anything out of this, a reader needs to have a thorough grasp of kabbalah.

Unfortunately, I do not possess that understanding, and a rather large chunk of this book was wasted on me.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome.

[Bram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dense, comprehensive analysis of the religious/spiritual/mystical sources relating to the Golem in Jewish (and, to a lesser extent,Christian) texts. It completely casts aside the popular mythos to focus on the competing schools of thought on the subject. Obviously it makes for very heavy reading but if golems are your thing you won't find a better central repository of all the original works.