Ancient+Robotics

Golem

A golem is a being created out of lifeless matter and then is given life. They were a creation of those who were very holy and close to God. They would create the golem by molding it out of soil, then walking or dancing around it saying letters from the alphabet and saying the name of God. To kill a golem if it got out of control you would do the same to create it just do it backwards. However, no matter how holy a person was, a being created by that person would never be as good as the ones created by God.

  A story of a golem is in Jewish Folklore and the most common story involves Judah Loew Ben Bezalel, the late 16th century chief rabbi of ﻿ Prague , who reportedly created a golem to defend the Prague from attacks. To protect the Jewish community, the rabbi constructed the Golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river, and brought it to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations. As this golem grew, it became increasingly violent, killing people and spreading fear. The attackers begged Rabbi Loew to destroy the Golem, promising to stop the persecution of the Jews. To deactivate the Golem, the rabbi rubbed out the first letter of the word "emet" (truth or reality) from the creature's forehead leaving the Hebrew word "met", meaning dead. The Golem's body was stored in the attic of a Synagogue, where it would be restored to life again if needed. According to legend, the body of Rabbi Loew's Golem still lies in the synagogue's attic. Some versions of the tale state that the Golem was stolen and entombed in a graveyard. The famous story of the Golem of Prague is usually considered to be a Jewish folk story from the 18th century, at the latest.

The Golem and Frankenstein:  One of the most famous works where a golem appears is in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The Golem is like the creature because they are both created out of material then given life by a person who wants to have power. Victor wanted to become famous (power) and the holy person who created the golem want to have power like God.

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