-Marilyn Cooper, Jewish Word | Golem, Moment Magazine
(יד) אוֹדְךָ֗ עַ֤ל כִּ֥י נֽוֹרָא֗וֹת נִ֫פְלֵ֥יתִי נִפְלָאִ֥ים מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ וְ֝נַפְשִׁ֗י יֹדַ֥עַת מְאֹֽד׃ (טו) לֹֽא־נִכְחַ֥ד עׇצְמִ֗י מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּ אֲשֶׁר־עֻשֵּׂ֥יתִי בַסֵּ֑תֶר רֻ֝קַּ֗מְתִּי בְּֽתַחְתִּיּ֥וֹת אָֽרֶץ׃ (טז) גׇּלְמִ֤י ׀ רָ֘א֤וּ עֵינֶ֗יךָ וְעַֽל־סִפְרְךָ֮ כֻּלָּ֢ם יִכָּ֫תֵ֥בוּ יָמִ֥ים יֻצָּ֑רוּ (ולא) [וְל֖וֹ] אֶחָ֣ד בָּהֶֽם׃
(14) I praise You, for I am awesomely, wondrously made; Your work is wonderful; I know it very well. (15) My frame was not concealed from You when I was shaped in a hidden place, knit together in the recesses of the earth. (16) Your eyes saw my unformed limbs; they were all recorded in Your book; in due time they were formed, to the very last one of them.
(7) God ה' formed the Human from the soil dust of the earth blowing into his nostrils the breath of life: the Human became a living being.
(א) וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ (בראשית א, כו)... רַבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי בְּנָיָה וְרַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן גֹּלֶם בְּרָאוֹ, וְהָיָה מוּטָל מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ, הֲדָא הוא דִכְתִיב (תהלים קלט, טז): גָּלְמִי רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ וגו'...
(1) “And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness.”... Rabbi Tanchuma in the name of Rabbi Benaya and Rabbi Berehya in the name of Rabbi Elazar said: When the Holy Blessed One created the first human, God created him in an unformed state and he was situated from one end of the world to the other. That is what is written: “Your eyes saw my unformed parts...” (Psalms 139:16)...
Rabbi Yochanan bar Ḥanina says: Daytime is twelve hours: In the first hour of the day, his dust was gathered. In the second, an undefined figure [lit. Golem] was fashioned. In the third, his limbs were extended. In the fourth, a soul was cast into him. In the fifth, he stood on his legs. In the sixth, he called the creatures by the names he gave them. In the seventh, Eve was paired with him. In the eighth, they arose to the bed two, and descended four. In the ninth, he was commanded not to eat of the Tree. In the tenth, he sinned. In the eleventh, he was judged. In the twelfth, he was expelled and left the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “But man abides not in honor; he is like the beasts that perish” (Psalms 49:13).
Rava says: If the righteous wish to do so, they can create a world, as it is stated: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God.” Indeed, Rava created a man. Rava sent him before Rabbi Zeira. Rabbi Zeira would speak to him but he would not reply. He said to him: You are from the sages. Return to your dust.
Rav Chanina and Rav Oshaya would sit every Shabbat eve and engage in the study of Sefer Yetzira, and a third-born calf [igla tilta] would be created for them, and they would eat it.
(ב) עשרים ושתים אותיות חקקן חצבן שקלן והמירן צרפן וצר בהם נפש כל כל היצור ונפש כל העתיד לצור:
(2) Twenty-two letters: God engraves them, carves them, weighs and transmutes them, combines them and forms with them the soul of all—of all created, and soul of all God has yet to form.
[Abraham] sat alone and meditated on [the Sefer Yetzirah], but could understand nothing until a heavenly voice went forth and said to him: 'Are you trying to set yourself up as my equal? I am one and have created the Sefer Yezirah and studied it, but you by yourself cannot understand it. Therefore take a companion, and meditate on it together, and you will under stand it." Thereupon, Abraham went to his teacher Shem, the son of Noah, and sat with him for three years and they meditated on it until they knew how to create a world. And to this day, there is no one who can understand it alone, two scholars [are needed], and even they understand it only after three years, whereupon they can make everything their hearts desire.
Regarding "they are 22 objects, but a single body": the 22 letters form a single word when they are joined together... and the world is a body as well, and its 22 components are [divided into] three, seven, and twelve—fire, air, and water, and the seven planets, and the twelve constellations. The year is also a single body—its three are cold, hot, and temperate, and the seven days of the week, and the twelve months of the year. And man is also a single body-his three are the head, middle, and lower bodies, and the seven "gates" (ori-fices in the face) and the twelve "guides" (limbs and organs).... Each of these join with each of the others, and each of them substitutes for the others, and corresponds to the others, and without one none of the others can exist.... The world is built upon all of these, whether to build or to destroy, and it was based on these that the secret of this book was revealed to Abraham our father, to know God's deeds and to fulfill all the deeds of His service.
-Eleazar of Worms (c. 1176-1238), Perush al Sefer Yetsirah
-David I Shyovitz, 'A Remembrance of His Wonders'
And if the person who recites the letter errs, God save us, in his pronunciation of the letter that is appointed upon the limb that is in the head of the person who reads, that limb is separated [from its place] and changes its place, its nature being immediately transformed, another form being conferred to it [and] the person becoming injured, this being the reason that the name whw is sealed by the word mum [injury].
[Jeremiah] went to Sira his son and they together submerged themselves in the Sefer Yezirah for three years, to uphold that which is written: "Then they that feared the Lord spoke one with another . . . " (Malachi 3:16). At the end of three years, when they set about combining the alphabets by means of combination, grouping, and word formation, a man was created for them on whose forehead was written: YHVH elokim emet [The LORD God is truth]. But there was a knife in the hand of this created being, and he erased the alef of emet [truth], leaving only met [dead]. Jeremiah rent his garments and said, "Why have you erased the alef from emet?"
He replied, "I shall tell you a parable. To what may this be compared? An architect built many houses, cities, and courts, and no one could copy his style and no one understood his knowledge nor possessed his skill. Then two men forced themselves upon him. He taught them the secret of his trade, and they knew every aspect of the craft. When they had learned his trade and his secret and his skills, they began to argue with him until they broke away from him and became independent architects, charging a lower price for the same services. When people noticed this, they ceased to honor the craftsman and instead came to the newcomers and honored them and gave them commissions when they required to have something built. So too has God made you in His image, shape, and form. But now that you have created a man like Him, people will say: 'There is no God in the world other than these two!'"
Then Jeremiah said, "What solution is there?" He answered, "Write the alphabets with intense concentration backwards on the earth you have strewn. Only do not meditate with the intention of honor and restoration, but rather the complete opposite." So they did, and the being turned to dust and ashes before them. Then Jeremiah — peace be upon him — said, "Truly, one should study these matters only to know the power and omnipotence of the Creator of the universe, but not to practice them, for it is written: 'You shall not learn to do' (Deuteronomy 18:9)."
Chacham Tzvi (Rabbi Tzvi Ashkenazi of Amsterdam, 1656 – 1718) writes that his ancestor, Rav Eliyahu Ba’al Shem of Chelm (1550 – 1583) created a human-like being (a golem) using the Sefer Yetzirah. The Chacham Tzvi’s son, Rav Yakov Emden (Altona 1697 – 1776) writes[23] that, eventually Rav Eliyahu decided to deactivate the golem. So, he removed the name of G-d which he had placed in the golem’s forehead. But as he was doing this, the golem fought back and scratched Rabbi Eliyahu on his forehead.
Chacham Tzvi wonders if a golem can be counted for a minyan. On the one hand, only a Jew may be counted for a minyan and a golem is not a Jew. On the other hand, since a golem is created by a tzadik and the actions of a tzadik are considered their progeny, perhaps they should be considered like a child of a Jew. This can be compared to the teaching of the Talmud[24] that one who rears an orphan in their home is considered to have birthed them.
| שאלות ותשובות חכם צבי סימן צג |
נסתפקתי אדם הנוצר ע"י ספר יצירה כאותה שאמרו בסנהדרין רבא ברא גברא וכן העידו על זקני הגאון מוהר"ר אליהו אבדק"ק חעלם מי מצטרף לעשרה לדברים הצריכין עשרה כגון קדיש וקדושה
מי אמרינן כיון דכתיב ונתקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל לא מיצטרף או דילמא כיון דקיי"ל בסנהדרין המגדל יתום בתוך ביתו מעה"כ כאילו ילדו מדכתיב חמשת בני מיכל כו' וכי מיכל ילדה והלא מירב ילדה אלא מירב ילדה ומיכל גדלה כו' ה"נ כיון שמעשה ידיהם של צדיקי' הוא הו"ל בכלל בנ"י שמע"י של צדיקי' הן הן תולדותם
ונ"ל דכיון דאשכחן לר' זירא דאמר מן חבריי' את תוב לעפרך הרי שהרגו ואי ס"ד שיש בו תועלת לצרפו לעשרה לכל דבר שבקדושה לא היה ר' זירא מעבירו מן העולם דאף שאין בו איסור שפיכת דמים דהכי דייק קרא (אף שיש בו דרשות אחרות) שופך דם האדם באדם דמו ישפך דוקא אדם הנוצר תוך אדם דהיינו עובר הנוצר במעי אמו הוא דחייב עליה משום שפכ"ד יצא ההוא גברא דברא רבא שלא נעשה במעי אשה מ"מ כיון שיש בו תועלת לא היה לו להעבירו מן העולם א"ו שאינו מצטרף לעשרה לכל דבר שבקדושה כך נ"ל
Responsa of Chacham Tzvi (Tzvi Hirsch ben Yaakov Ashkenazi, 1656 - 1718) #93
I've contemplated: A person that is created by the means of The Book of Creation [i.e. a golem], just like those described in Tractate Sanhedrin: "Rabba created a being" and also as witnessed by our elder Geonim, my father and teacher R. Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of Helm ... can they be counted as part of the ten (minyan) for prayers that require ten such as Kadish and Kedusha?
Do we say that since the Torah states "And I shall be sanctified within Bnei Yisrael" [and Golem was not at Mt. Sanai] it should not be counted or perhaps [he should be counted], since it stated in Sanhedrin 19a: 'He who rears an orphan in his home Scripture considers it as if he had begotten him', since its written "Five sons of Michal" which suggests Michal bore the children however Meirav actually bore them. Rather, Meirav birthed them and Michal raised them, so too here, since he [the golem] is the product of the handiwork of the righteous it is considered generally part of Bnei Yisrael. Since it is made from the hands of the righteous it is their descendent.
It seems to me, that since R. Zeira killed it, since the Gemara states, "Creature, return to the dust" thus he killed him. And if you thought that it could participate in the ten for things that require Keduasha, then R. Zeira would not have removed it from this world, that even though he does not have a prohibition of "spilling blood", since the Torah states "Whoever sheds the blood of man, By man shall his blood be shed;"--specifically a person created by a person, i.e. only a person that is born from his mother's womb would qualify as "spilling blood", the being here was created by Rava and not from the womb of a woman. In any case, since it has utility [i.e. it could count in the minyan] he would not have removed him from this world; thus, for sure he would not be counted in the minyan for things that are holy.
But once, out of carelessness, someone allowed his Golem to become so tall that he could no longer reach his forehead. Then, out of fear, the master ordered the servant to take off his boots, thinking that he would bend down and that then the master could reach his forehead. This is what happened, and the first letter was successfully erased, but the whole load of clay fell on the Jew and crushed him.
In the reign of Rudolph II among the Prague Jews lived a man named Bezalel Loew, known, because of his tall stature and great learning as high Rabbi Loew. This rabbi was highly skilled in all the arts and sciences, especially in the Kabbalah. By means of this art, he was able to bring to life figures, formed of clay or carved from wood, that, like real men, did what was assigned to them. Such self-made servants are worth much: they do not eat, they do not drink, and do not need wages; they work tirelessly, you can scold them and they give no answer. The Rabbi Loew had formed such a servant out of clay, laid the Shem in its mouth, and brought him to life with it. This constructed servant performed all the menial duties in the house throughout the week: chopping wood, carrying water, sweeping the streets, etc. But on the Sabbath he had to rest, therefore, the master took the Shem from his mouth and made him dead before the rest day arrived. But once it happened that the rabbi forgot to do this and misfortune followed. The magic servant became enraged, tore down the houses, threw rocks around, uprooted trees, and thrashed about horribly in the streets. People rushed to let the rabbi know about this, but the difficulty was great; it was already the Sabbath, and any work, whether creating or destroying, is strictly prohibited, so how to undo the magic? To the rabbi, his Golem was like the broom to the sorcerer's apprentice in Goethe's poem. Fortunately, no one had yet inaugurated the Sabbath in the Altneu-Synagogue, and since this is the oldest synagogue in Prague, everything depends on it, and there was still time to take the Shem from the wild fellow. The master ran, and tore the magic formula from the mouth of the Golem — the clay lump fell and crumbled to pieces. Terrified by this scene, the rabbi no longer wanted to make such a dangerous servant. Even today, pieces of the Golem can be seen in the attic of the Altneu-Synagogue.
What did [the Golem] look like? You would like a portrait. In your own mind, he looks like a monster. You imagine him excessively tall, strong, heavy, dragging his body like lead — some kind of human beast that nature put on earth to mock or frighten it. Well, let me tell you, you are mistaken... He was somewhat taller than the Maharal, who was very tall, and somewhat heavier... Strange, mysterious, he seemed to plow earth and heaven all at once... I should add that he was blessed with both intuition and intelligence... he radiated a force which overwhelmed you, moved you, flooded you with emotion... But even more striking was his shadow, which followed the Maharal's as if refusing to let go.
-Maya Barzilai, 'Golem: Modern Wars and their Monsters'
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, 2000.
Norma Contrada, "Golem and Robot: A Search for Connections," 1995.
Edan Dekel and David Gantt Gurley, "How the Golem Came to Prague," 2013.
Joseph Dan, "The 'Iyyun Cycle" in The Early Kabbalah, 1986.
Terri Frongia, "Tales of Old Prague: Of Ghettos, Passover, and the Blood Libel," 1995.
David Honigsberg, "Rava's Golem," 1995.
Moshe Idel, Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid, 1990.
Gershom Scholem, "The Idea of the Golem" in On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism, 1965.
---, "The Golem of Prague & The Golem of Rehovoth" in The Messianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality, 1971.