Golems are simple beings, made out of clay, dust, and earth. They are formed into giant, crude interpretations of humans and were created for one purpose—to protect the Jewish people for the past five thousand years from violence and persecution. And while this sounds like a great way to save your community, when using magic, there are always consequences.
A Golem is an artificial being, meaning, it is created by human magic and is born to serve its master, or its creator. They are usually shaped fairly similar to a human. Some claim they are giants. Some say they are dumb, or lacking intelligence, and can only follow simple instructions. But every account states that Golems are soulless when created.
The word itself, or its etymology, traces back to ancient Hebrew, meaning raw material, or unshaped matter.
The term Golem in literature dates back to the ancient Hebrew Bible, or specifically Psalms 139:16. It affirms that God’s knowledge encompasses even the hidden “unformed body”.
Yes, an Unformed Body, or something unfinished, but yet encompassed by God’s knowledge.
So, this dumb, clay figure, gets infused with God’s knowledge? Hmmm.
Think about that for a moment. The ancient Hebrew Bible tells its followers that Golems have no soul, they were unfinished, and that they were incomplete when they were made. We’re going to come back to this concept when we focus on symbolism.
What’s is a Golem’s Purpose?
In order to answer this question, I’ll need to take you through a short history of the Jewish people over the past 5000 years.
Sadly, and for whatever reason that I don’t understand no matter how hard I research, Jewish people have been treated mercilessly for thousands of years. They were enslaved by the Egyptians starting in 1743 BCE, and then by the Babylonians. The Romans slaughtered the Jews in Jerusalem in 70 CE. And the Middle Ages weren’t any nicer to Jewish people. From the 11th – 17th centuries, Jews were massacred.
They were blamed for causing the Black Plague and were on a losing end of the Spanish Inquisition. As time passed, other parts of Europe resented Jews as well. They were over-taxed, prohibited from owning land, denied certain professions, and excluded from the “normal” education system. Needless to say, Jews lived in a constant threat of violence for a very long time.
So, what did they do about it?
Well, a Rabbi named Judah Loew ben Bezalel created a Golem in the 16th century (just like in the Hebrew Bible, made of clay and earth) to protect his community from further attacks.
They needed help and if folklore and mysticism is the only way to save yourself and your community – why not? And considering Jewish people are still around today, maybe Bezalel’s Golem did its job. Who am I to judge?
Golems are made by humans. That in turn means, humans are taking a divine-style role, or, we’re acting like gods. And what happens when humans think we’re better than what we are?
Well, simply based on our past decisions, we usually wind up losing control of what we set out to accomplish and we screw a bunch of stuff up. It’s really part of our nature.
Technology
What started out as pulling humanity out of a primitive existence to simply make life easier to live, expanded beyond our imaginations. We invented radios, phones, the automation lines, televisions, and soon we’re overwhelmed with information being thrown at us from every black screen and media outlet. We’ve created weapons and AI – a birth of something quickly weaving out of our control and making our own existence practically inhuman. Irony?
Protection
Referencing back to Bezalel, we learned he created a golem for protection, but what the cost of that protection?
Let’s look at our own morality. When we create something for our protection, we’re metaphorically building a wall. We build a wall around our hearts to protect us from the dangers of getting hurt, but in all actuality, all we’re doing in suffocating our authentic self and hiding it behind something unnatural – like an artificial human.
Adam
What if Adam is the humanistic universal symbol for spiritual growth?
Some scholars claim that Adam was the first Golem made from dust, earth, and clay. But we also learned that Golems are born soulless, or lacking divinity. So, how does that work? Well, let’s talk about it.
Divinity
The concept that Golems are artificial is based on the thought that they are created from human magic and are born soulless. This also means that humans are so-called, playing God; or, we’re dabbling with divinity.
But let’s look at it from this point of view. If I were to create something, for instance a figurine for a friend, I don’t just make and give. I mold this figure with intent. I make it with love. Therefore, when I offer my gift to my friend, I’ve metaphorically given it a soul. And that means, I too am dabbling with divinity.
Happy Writing,
-RADolence
What Are the Origins of the Golem Legend? | HISTORY
Golem: Mythical Creature – Mythical Encyclopedia
Persecution and Killing of the Jews in Medieval Europe | Early European History And Religion — Facts and Details
The Myth of the Golem: The Animated Clay Man of Jewish Legend
Do Golems of Jewish Lore Still Have Power Today? – Lores and Legends
* Not all images are not mine; therefore, I cannot take credit.