According to a Jewish legend, a golem was a human-shaped object molded out of clay brought to life by a magic word .The word “Golem” means the unformed, or amorphous. It is matter which God shaped into the form of Adam, before breathing the breath of life into his nostrils. The Kabbalah teaches that the virtuous can create in this way. Usually the golem functioned like a robot and could perform simple tasks. It is said that as a God cannot create another fully divine God, man cannot create another fully human man. That is the reason why the Golem always lacks a characteristic essential to the true humanity, often, but not always, the power of speech.
The ‘handbook’ to creating a golem is the Sefer Yetzirah, or book of creation, which describes the letters of the Hebrew alphabet as the key to all creation. Making a golem involves reciting combinations of letters derived from Sefer Yetzirah. At least two Kabbalists saw the point of the ritual chanting as being the achievement of a state of ecstasy, and not creating life. At any rate, in the Kabbalah, creating a golem is an end in itself. It is the later legends that portray the golem as protector of the ghetto and manservant for the Sabbath (scholem).
Although the idea of a golem goes back to biblical times, most legends about the creature appeared during the Middle Ages. Typically, the golem came to life when a special word such as truth or one of the names of God was written on a piece of paper and placed on the golem's forehead or in its mouth. At any point, the creator of the golem might end its life by removing the paper with the sacred word.
In a famous story from the 1500s, Rabbi Judah Low ben Bezulel of Prague created a golem from clay. In another legend, set in Poland, a golem made by Rabbi Elijah of Chelm became so powerful and dangerous that the rabbi hurriedly changed it back into a lifeless heap.
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