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The Golem: The Story of a Legend
For Centuries, Jews have remembered the Golem, a creature of clay said to have been given life by the mystical incantations of the mysterious Maharal, Rabbi Yehuda Loew, leader of the Jewish community of 16-century Prague... In this beautiful book, Elie Wiesel has collected many of the legends associated with this enigmatic and eluisive figure and retold them as seen throughn the eyes of a wizened gravedigger who claims to have witnessed as a child the numerous miracles that legend attributes to the Golem...
109 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
761 people want to read
About the author
Elie Wiesel
274 books4,548 followersEliezer "Elie" Wiesel was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 26, 2022
This short book tells the legend of the Golem from Jewish Folklore (unlike, for example, The Golem by Gustav Meyrink, which I simply cannot get out of my mind—see my review). It is simply and beautifully told, as one would expect from Wiesel.
The great Rabbi Loew, also known as Maharal, animated a mound of dirt to create the Prague Golem, in order to save the Jewish community in Prague. He does this because of a plot to plant a dead Christian infant in the Jewish quarter as a pretext to invading and clearing the ghetto. The canard that Jews use Christian infant blood to make matzo for Passover is an ancient one—one of many despicable conspiracy theories that are still with us. Maharal tasks the Golem with exposing the plot, which he (it?) does. Then the Golem remains for ten years, protecting the community from repeated attempts to convert Jews or frame them for atrocities.
In this telling, the Golem has a name: Yosel the Mute. I haven’t heard that before. Naming the creature, and adding little details like how he huddles in the corner of the attic, humanizes the utterly inhuman creature. It is just animated clay. But then, aren’t we all.
Yosel, though utterly non-human, is more human than most of the other characters in the story (as other Goodreads reviewers have rightly observed). He appears when needed, helping the Jewish people survive their persecutions in Prague. Then he fades into shadows.
The villain of the story, Thadeusz, by contrast, is utterly in-human. It was he who set the child corpse event in motion. He did it more than once in this story. He was also ruthless in his efforts to convert Jews to Christianity, using whatever dirty tricks would work.
After 10 years the good Rabbi dismisses the Golem. Or does he? When I visited Prague, locals would point to a building where they say the Golem sleeps in the attic, waiting until he is needed again. Given the history of the Jews in Prague and elsewhere in Europe, one wonders what he is waiting for.
This edition has illustrations by Mark Podwal. The simple black ink sketches are evocative, even unsettling. They remind me of Edward Gorey. It is worthwhile to stop and spend time with each on of them before hurrying on with the text.
As with all good folk tales, when told well, there are dark echos of reality. If you have spent any time in the Jewish Quarter of Prague, you will recognize the settings. I remember seeing prayers rolled up and shoved in the cracks of Rabbi Loew’s tomb, exactly as Wiesel describes. The synagogue and other buildings are exactly as he portrays them. In the context of the story, these very real places feel mythical. But they are not. In the same way, the need for a Golem to protect the Jewish people feels like a fairy tale. But the persecution was real, and has not gone away. The only fictional part of the story, in fact, is the Golem himself. Alas, he is the one thing the reader wishes were real.
The great Rabbi Loew, also known as Maharal, animated a mound of dirt to create the Prague Golem, in order to save the Jewish community in Prague. He does this because of a plot to plant a dead Christian infant in the Jewish quarter as a pretext to invading and clearing the ghetto. The canard that Jews use Christian infant blood to make matzo for Passover is an ancient one—one of many despicable conspiracy theories that are still with us. Maharal tasks the Golem with exposing the plot, which he (it?) does. Then the Golem remains for ten years, protecting the community from repeated attempts to convert Jews or frame them for atrocities.
In this telling, the Golem has a name: Yosel the Mute. I haven’t heard that before. Naming the creature, and adding little details like how he huddles in the corner of the attic, humanizes the utterly inhuman creature. It is just animated clay. But then, aren’t we all.
Yosel, though utterly non-human, is more human than most of the other characters in the story (as other Goodreads reviewers have rightly observed). He appears when needed, helping the Jewish people survive their persecutions in Prague. Then he fades into shadows.
The villain of the story, Thadeusz, by contrast, is utterly in-human. It was he who set the child corpse event in motion. He did it more than once in this story. He was also ruthless in his efforts to convert Jews to Christianity, using whatever dirty tricks would work.
After 10 years the good Rabbi dismisses the Golem. Or does he? When I visited Prague, locals would point to a building where they say the Golem sleeps in the attic, waiting until he is needed again. Given the history of the Jews in Prague and elsewhere in Europe, one wonders what he is waiting for.
This edition has illustrations by Mark Podwal. The simple black ink sketches are evocative, even unsettling. They remind me of Edward Gorey. It is worthwhile to stop and spend time with each on of them before hurrying on with the text.
As with all good folk tales, when told well, there are dark echos of reality. If you have spent any time in the Jewish Quarter of Prague, you will recognize the settings. I remember seeing prayers rolled up and shoved in the cracks of Rabbi Loew’s tomb, exactly as Wiesel describes. The synagogue and other buildings are exactly as he portrays them. In the context of the story, these very real places feel mythical. But they are not. In the same way, the need for a Golem to protect the Jewish people feels like a fairy tale. But the persecution was real, and has not gone away. The only fictional part of the story, in fact, is the Golem himself. Alas, he is the one thing the reader wishes were real.
April 9, 2012
Elie Wiesel's beautiful story of the creature made by a rabbi to save the Jews from repeated attacks by Christians. The mute Yossel, created by and beloved of the Maharal ferrets out the perpetrators of crimes, who in this 16th century story always confess when confronted with evidence - would that were still the truth. Though Thadeusz, a convert from Judaism - bishop of Prague and hater of his former brethren, is discovered time and again to be the culprit in trying to frame Jews of the blood libel, he maintains his position of authority in the church and in the town. At last all the bad men are vanquished and the Maharal puts the golem to sleep where he may remain today. If only someone could wake him. The illustrations by Mark Podwal that accompany the book show the power of language with Hebrew letters immersed in and surrounding many pictures.
July 19, 2024
Beautiful little novela. This reminds me of hearing stories from my grandfather. One aspect that is dual for me is that I kept looking for the nuggets of wisdom...and it isn't that the tale wasn't wise...but its point was illustration not teaching. Its beauty lay in the story and not the lesson. It was a completely compelling tale that I could not turn away from...
dnf
March 18, 20253/18/2025 - I hate to DNF this but there it is. I came across a reference to this story somewhere (the one written by Elie Wiesel) and found the Wiesel version and also one by Isaac Bashevis Singer in BARD. Since they're both so short I thought it would be interesting to listen to them back-to-back for comparison. Partly b/c I was curious abt the story (having never heard it before), partly b/c Singer was in the "Authors" card game we played as kids so altho his name is drilled into my brain I've never read any of his work, and partly b/c I respect Elie Wiesel so much. I listened to the Singer version and started this (rationale = save the best for last), but something must have distracted / sidetracked me b/c I only made it abt 25 min. in (total story is 1h14). That was so many months ago! I'd have to start over at the beginning - listen to the Singer version again in its entirety, then start this one over - and I'm not invested enuf to put in that work.
October 3, 2017
I really enjoyed this story. Wiesel's imagery is just so beautiful and the way the story is written is really enchanting. It feels like someone is telling you a tale by a fire on a winter evening. The story has the somewhat disconnectedness of an orally told story and yet flows together like every good tale.
The cultural, religious, and spiritual aspects of this story made it really beautiful. There's so much culture wrapped up in this legend, and having that culture included as much as it was really makes the story that much more incredible.
Unlike many stories of the Golem, there didn't seem to be a moral or a lesson, which was unexpected. That didn't take away from my enjoyment, but it kind of felt like an element was missing.
The cultural, religious, and spiritual aspects of this story made it really beautiful. There's so much culture wrapped up in this legend, and having that culture included as much as it was really makes the story that much more incredible.
Unlike many stories of the Golem, there didn't seem to be a moral or a lesson, which was unexpected. That didn't take away from my enjoyment, but it kind of felt like an element was missing.
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October 7, 2024I cannot rate this book because I very much recall reading a set of stories about golems, and also a novel about a lady golem who crosses an ocean to marry a man, but I did not think that any of those stories were by Elie Wiesel. I was pretty sure that the first set of golem stories I read, back in 1990, and 1991, were part of the Tales of the Tzaddikim collection, but I could certainly be wrong about that, since it has now been many years and a continent ago. I'll have to find a copy of this book and read it, when time and energy permit.
L'Shalom For All
L'Shalom For All
December 29, 2023
A retelling of the legend of the Golem, set in the Orthodox Jewish community in Prague, where the Golem serves the Rabbi's efforts to protect the Jewish people. Stark reminders of a brutal history. Beautiful ink illustrations by Mark Podwal.
Thank you, James Foster.
Thank you, James Foster.
June 21, 2024
Truly the most beautiful rendering of all the folkloric variations combined into one. An hour long read for anyone who wants to broach the topic for the first time, free online :) and such helpful post-holocaust theology
July 28, 2018
This is a great little beautiful book recounting the legend of the Golem in Prague. Doesn't go into deep detail but rather a general introduction to the story of the Golem and a great ending.
August 26, 2018
A grown-up children story for sure. It’s Eli Wiesel there’s no doubt about that.
March 13, 2022
Interesting. Mostly sort of children's tales.
September 10, 2022
We cannot say often enough how much we owe them. ~ Elie Wiesel
September 26, 2022
Pretty cute, but somewhat empty. Perhaps like the golem itself.
July 4, 2025
Fascinating. Stellar illustrations- as enriching as the story
July 29, 2021
Ik heb net de Golem uitgelezen. Fraai boek hoor. Mooie uitgave, die illustraties en die rode paginanummering. De aanleiding om het boek te pakken was dat ik De procedure van Mulisch had gelezen. Klas 6v moet na de voorjaarsvakantie een essay schrijven over een boek dat ze mogen kiezen uit een selectie van zeven, en één daarvan was De procedure, die ik nooit eerder had gelezen. Hoe dan ook, in De procedure pakt Mulisch als vanouds uit met wetenswaardigheden en interessante kennis over de wereld. En ook het verhaal van rabbi Jehuda Löw. Mooi moment om was aanvullende literatuur te lezen en was dus blij dat ik De golem erbij kon pakken.
Het valt me op dat de versie van Mulisch heel anders is. Mulisch voert de golem op als een soort oncontroleerbaar monster van Frankenstein, die direct na zijn schepping de assistent van Jehuda vermoordt. De rabbi helpt zijn creatie daarom de volgende dag om zeep.
In de vertelling van Elie Wiesel is de golem juist zeer gehoorzaam en vormt een tandem met Jehuda, zijn schepper en meester. De Roomse kerk wordt niet bepaald gunstig afgeschilderd. Met name bisschop Thaddaus wordt opgevoerd als een notoire en doortrapte antisemiet. Door kracht van de golem en de slimheid van Jehuda, die de criminele listen keer op keer te doorziet, worden vele joodse levens gered.
Wonderlijk om te zien hoe deze verhalen zo verschillend zijn. Volgens mij zijn er vele versies van zo'n oud volksverhaal. Maar het blijft gissen waarom Mulisch nou juist voor een zwartgallige variant heeft gekozen. Wellicht om bewijs op te voeren dat het klonen of scheppen van menselijke wezens verwerpelijk of gevaarlijk is.
Het valt me op dat de versie van Mulisch heel anders is. Mulisch voert de golem op als een soort oncontroleerbaar monster van Frankenstein, die direct na zijn schepping de assistent van Jehuda vermoordt. De rabbi helpt zijn creatie daarom de volgende dag om zeep.
In de vertelling van Elie Wiesel is de golem juist zeer gehoorzaam en vormt een tandem met Jehuda, zijn schepper en meester. De Roomse kerk wordt niet bepaald gunstig afgeschilderd. Met name bisschop Thaddaus wordt opgevoerd als een notoire en doortrapte antisemiet. Door kracht van de golem en de slimheid van Jehuda, die de criminele listen keer op keer te doorziet, worden vele joodse levens gered.
Wonderlijk om te zien hoe deze verhalen zo verschillend zijn. Volgens mij zijn er vele versies van zo'n oud volksverhaal. Maar het blijft gissen waarom Mulisch nou juist voor een zwartgallige variant heeft gekozen. Wellicht om bewijs op te voeren dat het klonen of scheppen van menselijke wezens verwerpelijk of gevaarlijk is.
January 26, 2011
It starts out with a story-within-a-story-within-a-story-within-a-story, leaving me dizzy and feeing like I was solving an algebra problem to figure out who the narrator was.
The story presents the Golem as more human rather inhuman.
The book is a series of anecdotes about the Golem acting the part of the Superman of Prague – savoir of Truth, Justice, and the… Hasidic way.
The famous rabbi is wise and peace loving and a seeker of truth and holy… but also incredibly rigid in his views. His is a mighty oak, refusing to bend.
The story ends as the legend of the Golem always ends, with a an Abrahamic character reluctantly but unquestioningly doing what he believes to be right, and killing the one he gave life to.
Why can’t the Golem ever have a happy ending? Why, to quote the Bard, are all Golem characters “To be thus taunted, scorn'd, and baited at?” The Golem, Frankenstein’s creation, the Terminator, every sci-fi genetic engineering project, Cylons, etc, all come to bad ends.
November 23, 2008
I picked out this story because I noticed that it was written by Elie Wiesel. I had read Night many years ago and thought it was a very well written, thought-provoking and emotion-triggering story.
This story is very interesting, a quick read, that gives some insight into the Jewish culture and religion. I had heard about Golems before, but never before in this context and I really enjoyed the story, told as one that has been passed down from generation to generation.
This story is very interesting, a quick read, that gives some insight into the Jewish culture and religion. I had heard about Golems before, but never before in this context and I really enjoyed the story, told as one that has been passed down from generation to generation.
April 10, 2013
This is a story told by Elie Wiesel. It is a part of Jewish culture, history and belief. The Golem is a very well told story. It is a quick and easy read but at the end, you'll wish that there were more. I am a huge fan of Elie Wiesel. I have yet to read a book by him that I didn't like! The Golem gets 5/5 stars.
April 17, 2014
This is an interesting summary of several of the legends of the golem from the point of view of a child who witnessed several of the events described. I liked how the golem had a secret identity. It tied into Passover as the golem frequently defended the Jews from accusations of using the blood of Christians to make matzah.
July 28, 2014
I didn't feel one way or another about the content, but the book itself is beautiful. The drawings almost always include a cascade of Hebrew letters pouring into the scene below, the pages are thick with a fine coarseness, and the copy I bought smells about as old as the story described. Simply fabulous.
November 23, 2025
yossele :’) “why did the maharal take him from us? did he really believe the era of suffering and injustice was a thing of the past? that we no longer needed a protector, a shield? did he not know that exile, after him, would become harder than before, even more cruel? he could have left us his golem; he should have. what did he have to fear?”
April 17, 2008
History
-Folklore
-Folklore
September 30, 2018
Una vera chicca questo romanzo breve di Elie Wiesel, e bellissime anche le illustrazioni. Grande atmosfera, grande profondità...
October 7, 2013
Just a wonderful retelling of an ancient folktale.
July 21, 2015
Quick read, but worth it.
September 2, 2016
Jewish folklore centered around a clay-made being that is created by rabbis, and who follows the direction of one rabbi in particular, to fight injustice to Jews in 1500s Prague.
September 12, 2016
I loved this book! Such an engrossing and emotional story!
October 15, 2016
Fantastic illustrations to accompany the Czech folk tale of Rabbi Lowe. Too bad Judah doesn't have the Golem to protect them today...
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June 10, 2021I knew that if i read a book by our beloved Elie Wiesel, blessed be his memory, that i would learn exactly what i wanted to know. It's a short but powerful story of stories.
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August 26, 2018Intéressant mais un peu simplet. Ce serait plutôt adressé a un public jeune.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews