El Golem. Tradiciones mágicas y místicas del judáismo sobre la creación de un hombre artificial

by Moshe Idel, Florinda F. Goldberg (Translator), Henri Naftali Atlan (Contributor)

Este libro contiene el primer tratamiento completo de los materiales textuales referidos a la creación del Golem desde la Antigüedad hasta la época moderna y se presentan las variadas maneras en que fue entendido el Golem en los diferentes sistemas místicos.
La idea de que el ser humano es capaz de crear un hombre artificial cumplió el papel de otorgar a los sabios judíos una posición especial, en tanto que dueños de poderes sobrenaturales originados en un profundo conocimiento de la lengua hebrea y de sus poderes mágicos y místicos. El autor presenta las diversas teorías sobre el Golem en sus contextos históricos e intelectuales y pasa revista a las técnicas para su creación, tema que ha sido descuidado por los investigadores.
En el libro se investiga también la actitud judía y cristiana ante el Golem durante el Renacimiento, como parte del interés por la naturaleza y el carácter del hombre. El texto se basa en el examen de numerosos manuscritos aún no trabajados, y refuta el difundido supuesto según el cual las características generales de la mística judía ya son bien conocidas.

Genres: Jewish, Religion, Judaism, Research, Nonfiction

419 pages, Paperback

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.