Folklore in Prague: The Story of Golem & Representations of the Jewish Experience

Every ancient civilization has its share of folklore and superstitions. In Prague, the Jewish community was under constant surveillance, attack, and discrimination. The story of the Prague Golem is about a beast coming to life to protect its people.

According to legend, this mysterious creature remains in a deep sleep behind a locked attic door in the city of Prague‘s Jewish Quarter.

I first learned about this tale while exploring this neighborhood Prague. Most interesting to me was how the Golem is an allegory for anxiety and fears within the Jewish population of the Czech Republic.

Let’s get into this old folklore, and what it means for the neighborhood where it originated, the Prague Jewish Quarter.

The Story of the Prague Golem

Like the other Jewish neighborhoods around Europe, the Jewish Quarter in Prague is a poignant place to find oneself. The streets have a worn look from years of use and misuse. In a twisted irony, the Jewish Museum was converted over to Nazi management during the occupation of Prague. 

But let’s go further into history, about 700 years back, when the Jewish Quarter was populated by the first generation of inhabitants. In that same year, the construction of the Old-New Synagogue was completed.

It all started during the Holy Roman Empire

A few hundred years after the establishment of the Prague Jewish Quarter, severe accusations against the Jewish community began to boil over.

Significant contention was brewing between the Jews and the growing ideologies surrounding Catholicism during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire.

This invoked Pogroms, inciting fear and tension within the Jewish community. Rabbi Loew Bezalel, a high authority of the time, decided to take matters into his own hands.

Using the practice of Kabbalah, the Hebrew practice of mysticism, and with the help of two assistants, Rabbi Loew Bezalel formed a figure from mud and clay at a nearby riverbank. A swarm of fire solidified the creature into a hard form that appeared like a shadow of a man.

In a final God-like act, Rabbi Loew Bezalel recited a shem and scratched the word “Emet” (meaning truth) into the forehead of the mud figure. 

A quote from David Wisniewski’s book Golem states, “The Rabbi knelt and engraved the word emet – truth – upon the creature’s forehead. Instantly, the giant’s chest expanded like bellows.”

The Golem was alive, or at least almost so.

“The Rabbi knelt and engraved the word emet – truth – upon the creature’s forehead. Instantly, the giant’s chest expanded like bellows.”

The creature awoke as if coming out of a great sleep. Rabbi Loew told the creature of his only responsibility: to protect the Jewish people.

The great responsibility of the Golem in Prague

The Golem of Prague acted as a night watch, roaming those ancient alleyways as you can today. The creature patrolled for signs of threats and was intimidated by sheer brute force. I think no one in their right mind would try a tussle with a living mud creature.

For a time, the Jewish Quarter once again became a peaceful place to live. That is, until Golem turned on its own creators, the Jewish people.

In one rendition of the story, Rabbi Loew attempted to scratch off the shem (Emet) still scrawled on the Golem’s forehead. He accidentally only took off the ‘E’ leaving the word met, which changed the word from truth to death.

The death of the Golem at the Old-New Synagogue

Rabbi Loew knew it was time to undo what he had done, now for the sake of his people. The Golem was put to rest by the Rabbi and his two assistants, and locked Golem in the top of the Old-New Synagogue for a permanent sleep.

It’s said that the Golem of Prague is still there to this day with the door locked behind him. If he’s ever needed to protect the Jewish people again, he’s only one shem away from coming back to life.

Representations of the Golem of Prague

Long before Rabbi Loew, Golem tales were quite common among Hasidic Jewish folklore. You might say that the Prague Golem is a representation of the plight of the Jewish people.

While the Golem of Prague may be an imaginary character, the Pogroms during the Holy Roman Empire were not. The Prague Golem was a necessary superpower; a collaborative effort of the Jewish community. They had to band together not only for safety but for the preservation of their culture.

The best way to learn about a new city is to take a walking tour on your first day. While on a free walking tour through GuruWalk, I learned about a unique legend originating from Europe’s oldest synagogue still in operation. 

Is There a Connection Between the Golem of Prague and Gollum from Lord of the Rings?

While hearing this story, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some connection between Golem and Gollum, the former Stoor Hobbit from Lord of the Rings (LOTR).

Hobbits from the Lord of the Rings are near-human, and even if the creepy thin body of the hunched Gollum, you can’t help but see some human-like similarities.

The Prague Golem was a sort of Frankenstein character, created by mud and brought to life in order to protect local Jewish residents. Some familiar with the folklore believe that the Prague Golem is representative of the Jewish spirit, which has needed to be strong and resilient throughout history.

On the other hand, the LOTR Gollum was a former Hobbit corrupted by the One Ring. This particular Gollum represents how susceptible humanity is to corruption.

With regard to inspiration, we can only speculate.