Since ancient times, many magicians have been engaged in the creation of a homunculus - an artificial human endowed with consciousness. Perhaps the most famous example of this phenomenon, transformed by various European sources, is the golem, a man-made anthropoid inspired by magic.
The Talmud tells the story of rabbis who got hungry while traveling, so they created a calf from the earth and ate it for dinner. The Kabbalists determined that the rabbis performed this magical act by casting certain incantations, mainly using the formulas set forth in the Sefer Yetzirah or the Book of Creation.
Stone golem.
Just as God speaks and creates in the history of Genesis, so the mystic can change reality. By the way, the magic word Abracadabra, according to some information, comes from Avra K'davr (which can be translated from Aramaic, as “I create as I say.” Other sources claim that “Abracadabra” is of Persian origin. Thus, in the rarest Under circumstances, a person can infuse inanimate matter with this intangible but essential spark of life: the soul.
Golem - Dust Born
Kabbalists viewed the creation of a golem as a kind of alchemical task, the fulfillment of which proved the skill and knowledge of the adept of Kabbalah. However, thanks to numerous legends, the golem has become a kind of folk hero. Tales of mystical rabbis creating life from dust were abundant, especially during the early Middle Ages. And today many science fiction writers are inspired by stories such as Frankenstein and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Anthropoid in anger.
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Sometimes the golem saves the Jewish community from persecution or death, showing itself as a real hero, patron of the disadvantaged, or a cruel avenger. However, Jewish folk tales about golems often tell about what happens when the magician is unable to handle the created golem. This often leads to tragic results.
Golem Legend
The classic golem narrative tells how Rabbi Judas Lowe of Prague (known as Maharal; 1525-1609) creates a magical anthropoid being to protect the Jewish community from anti-Semitic attacks. But, in the end, the golem becomes terrible and cruel, and the rabbi is forced to destroy it. (Tradition says that the golem remains in the attic of Altneusula in Prague, ready to be reactivated if necessary).
This legend appeared recently in Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. A similar storyline is observed in Paul Wegener's expressionist film Golem (1920), whose protagonist is a cruel creature whose powers are too easy to use for destructive purposes.
It is, of course, the perfect embodiment of the same anxiety that underlies many mystical speculations about demons, dibbooks, ghosts and golems. Their life force is so great that it not only brings hope, but also strikes terror into the hearts of people.