Brief Summary

This story takes place in ancient Prague, at a time when Jews were being persecuted there. The town Rabbi was given a vision that he should produce a Golem, a large statue made of clay. The Jews worked tirelessly to create the creature, and when they were finished, he engraved the word "truth" on its forehead. Golem came alive. He did as he was asked and the Jews were able to live in peace again. The Rabbi knew he would have to destroy Golem. He did so by erasing the first letter on Golem's forehead, changing "truth" to "death." Golem broke apart, leaving only shattered clay behind. To this day, it is said that there is a room in a synagogue in Prague where Golem's remains lay that has not been opened in hundreds of years.

Reaction

This book was not what I was expecting! It seems rather ruthless, but I guess the Jews were desperate. For me, the most interesting part was the similarity between the words "truth" and "death" in the Hebrew language and how closely they were related. This book could be used to teach the concept that with great power comes great responsibility and it must be used wisely.