In folklore, what did the 16th century raabi Judah Loew ben Bezalel create to defend the Prague ghetto from antisemitic attacks?
"The Golem (1915 film) Der Golem (, shown in the US as The Monster of Fate) is a 1915 German silent horror partially lost film, written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen. It was inspired by an ancient Jewish legend, the most prevalent version of the myth involving 16th century Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel who created the Golem to protect his people from anti-Semites. Wegener claimed the film was based on Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel ""The Golem"", but Troy Howarth states ""it is more likely that (the screenwriters) simply drew upon European folklore"". The film was the"
"creation of the by Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel in the 16th century. According to Walter Laqueur: Altogether, there have been about 150 recorded cases of blood libel (not to mention thousands of rumors) that resulted in the arrest and killing of Jews throughout history, most of them in the Middle Ages. In almost every case, Jews were murdered, sometimes by a mob, sometimes following torture and a trial. The term 'blood libel' can also refer to any unpleasant and damaging false accusation, and it has taken on a broader metaphorical meaning. However, this usage remains controversial and it has"
"Judah Loew ben Bezalel Judah Loew ben Bezalel, alt. Löw, Loewe, Löwe, or Levai, (between 1512 and 1526? – 17 September 1609) widely known to scholars of Judaism as the Maharal of Prague, or simply The Maharal, the Hebrew acronym of """"Moreinu Ha-Rav Loew"""" (""Our Teacher, Rabbi Loew""), was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as a leading rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia. Due to his unprecedented impact on Jewish study, he is considered one of the most important rabbis of all times. Within"
"a certain degree of self-administration. On Easter Sunday of 1389 one of the worst pogroms took place, the probable number of victims during the massacre range from about 500 to more than 3,000. The ghetto was most prosperous towards the end of the 16th century and at the beginning of the 17th century when Judah Loew ben Bezalel served as Rabbi, when a Yeshiva was founded and when the Jewish Mayor, Mordecai Maisel, became the Minister of Finance. The very wealthy man helped develop the ghetto. By then, Prague was seen as a Hebrew metropolis in Central Europe. By 1638"
"a couple of slightly earlier examples, in 1834 and 1836. All of these early accounts of the Golem of Prague are in German by Jewish writers. It has been suggested that they emerged as part of a Jewish folklore movement parallel with the contemporary German folklore movement. The origins of the story have been obscured by attempts to exaggerate its age and to pretend that it dates from the time of the Maharal. It has been said that Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg (1859–1935) of Tarłów (before moving to Canada where he became one of its most prominent rabbis) originated the idea"
"of Prague Gemeinde. Both Samuel and his wife were grandchildren of Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the famed Maharal of Prague. Gittele and Elija had four sons. The eldest son was Rabbi Bezalel, Rabbi Leib Bumsla (1655–1734) the second son, the third was Rabbi Gershon Brandeis, known as ""Rosh Hakahal"", and the youngest son was Rabbi Jonah Landsofer (1678–1712). Rabbi Jonah was the author of numerous books and responsa including the sefer ""me'il tzedaka"". Originally authored anonymously, it wasn't till nearly 100 years later that the Noda Biyhuda revealed the author's name. ""Even that the author hid his name due to"
"ascending to the synagogue attic during World War II and trying to stab the Golem, but he died instead. The attic is not open to the general public. Some Orthodox Jews believe that the Maharal did actually create a golem. The evidence for this belief has been analyzed from an Orthodox Jewish perspective by Shnayer Z. Leiman. The general view of historians and critics is that the story of the Golem of Prague was a German literary invention of the early 19th century. According to John Neubauer, the first writers on the Prague Golem were: However, there are in fact"
"the world of Torah and Talmudic scholarship, Loew is known for his works on Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism and his work ""Gur Aryeh al HaTorah"", a supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary. He is also the subject of a 19th-century legend that he created , an animate mythological being fashioned from clay. Rabbi Loew is buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague in Josefov, where his grave and intact tombstone can still be visited. His descendants' surnames include Braude, Leib, Loewy, Loeb, Lowy, Lowi, Low-Beer, Loew, Oppenheimer, Pfaelzer, Lowenstein and Keim. The Maharal was probably born in Poznań, Poland,—though Perels"
"to frighten a young lady with whom he is infatuated. ""The Golem: How He Came into the World"" is a prequel to ""The Golem"" from 1915 and as the only one of the three films that has not been lost, is the best known of the series. Set in the Jewish ghetto of medieval Prague, the film begins with Rabbi Loew, the head of the city's Jewish community, reading the stars. Loew predicts disaster for his people and brings his assistant to inform the elders of the community. The next day the Holy Roman Emperor signs a royal decree declaring"
"inside Homer's gut. In a parody of ""The Golem"", at the end of an episode of Krusty's show, Bart goes backstage to complain about an acid-spraying Krusty brand alarm clock. There he finds the Golem of Prague, a creature from Jewish mythology. Krusty tells Bart that in the 17th century, the Golem was sculpted out of clay by a powerful rabbi and would obey any command written on a scroll and placed in his mouth. Although the golem was created ostensibly to protect Jewish villages, he would obey any scroll placed in his mouth, evil or good. He had been"
"narrating a reinterpretation of events surrounding Adam, Eve and Lilith in a futuristic and apocalyptic way. Edward M. Erdelac's weird western series Merkabah Rider features a Hasidic mystic gunslinger and draws heavily from Jewish myth and folklore. It is often suggested that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the two Jewish creators of Superman, essentially the beginning of superhero comics and comic books, were partly inspired by the story of the Golem of Prague. Jewish mythology Jewish mythology is a major literary element of the body of folklore found in the sacred texts and in traditional narratives that help explain and"
"several sources). It is an Orthodox fortress synagogue called the Old Synagogue. In 1494 a disastrous fire destroyed a large part of Kraków. In 1495 the Polish king Jan I Olbracht transferred the Jews from the ravaged Old Town to the Bawół district of Kazimierz. The Jewish Qahal petitioned the Kazimierz town council for the right to build its own interior walls, cutting across the western end of the older defensive walls in 1553. Due to the growth of the community and influx of Jews from Bohemia, the walls were expanded again in 1608. Later requests to expand the walls"
"Golem effect The Golem effect is a psychological phenomenon in which lower expectations placed upon individuals either by supervisors or the individual themselves lead to poorer performance by the individual. This effect is mostly seen and studied in educational and organizational environments. It is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy. The effect is named after the golem, a clay creature that was given life by Rabbi Loew of Prague in Jewish mythology. According to the legend, the golem was originally created to protect the Jews of Prague; however, over time, the golem grew more and more corrupt to the point of"
"extraordinary magnitude, including the act of jumping over train carriages, similar to England's Spring-heeled Jack. A contemporary and possibly associated rumour concerned a ""Razor Blade Man"" who was said to slash at victims with razors attached to his fingers. Researcher Mike Dash quotes George Zenaty, a noted authority on the policing of Prague during the war years, that: In 2015 a social activist claiming the identity of Pérák fronted a guerilla media campaign to commemorate the former site of the Lety concentration camp. The 2017 book ""Mýtus o pérákovi. Městská legenda mezi folklorem a populární kulturou"" by Czech folklorist Petr"
"in the small town of Liozna, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (present-day Belarus). He was the son of Baruch, great-grandson of the mystic and philosopher Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the ""Maharal of Prague"". He was a prominent (and the youngest) disciple of Dovber of Mezeritch, the ""Great Maggid"", who was in turn the successor of the founder of Hasidic Judaism, Yisrael ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov. He displayed extraordinary talent while still a child. By the time he was eight years old, he wrote an all-inclusive commentary on the Torah based on the works of Rashi, Nahmanides and Abraham ibn"
"pickaxes, spears, bolts, etc. In the vicinity of the fortress are the remnants of the Turkish bath and the memorial drinking fountain dedicated to Zawisza the Black, Polish knight who was killed defending the fortress during the 1428 Siege of Golubac. The region is known for many myths which developed in time. Two of the most popular include the one about the devil face's midget with goat ears and legs, long white beard and the conical hat. He lives in the Danube's whirlpools and shows only at night. He ascends from the depths to drown people who swim or are"
"of the synagogue, whereupon the golem fell in pieces. The Golem's body was stored in the attic ""genizah"" of the Old New Synagogue, where it would be restored to life again if needed. According to legend, the body of Rabbi Loew's Golem still lies in the synagogue's attic. When the attic was renovated in 1883, no evidence of the Golem was found. Some versions of the tale state that the Golem was stolen from the ""genizah"" and entombed in a graveyard in Prague's Žižkov district, where the Žižkov Television Tower now stands. A recent legend tells of a Nazi agent"
"Kerem Maharal Kerem Maharal (, ""lit."" Maharal Vineyard) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near Atlit, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In it had a population of . The moshav was established in 1949 by group of Jewish holocaust survivors, originally from Czechoslovakia, who immigrated to Israel with the help of the Aliya movement after World War II, and was named after legendary 16th century Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, also known by the Hebrew acronym ""Maharal"" (""Moreinu HaRav Loew"", translated as ""Our teacher, the Rabbi Loew""). It was built on the site of"
"developed from the shield of Bishop György Fenesy (1686–1689) after an agreement which was made with him in 1694. The bastion with the three gates on it refers to the existence of the fortress. The rampant unicorn between the two bastions on the side of the shield came from the bishop's shield. The sword in the fore-feet of the unicorn symbolises the manorial power of life and death. The snake twisting on the sword stands for the defeat of treachery and hatred by faith. The star and the sun symbolise the alternation of days and nights. And finally, the eagle"
"was in turn strongly influenced by medieval Arab and Jewish occultism); White Kennett (1660–1728) makes reference to a ""pentangle of Solomon"" with the power of exorcising demons. The hexagram or ""Star of David"", which became a symbol of Judaism in the modern period and was placed on the flag of Israel in 1948, has its origins in 14th-century depictions of the Seal of Solomon. In 1354, King of Bohemia Charles IV prescribed for the Jews of Prague a red flag with both David's shield and Solomon's seal, while the red flag with which the Jews met King Matthias of Hungary"
"The floor of the synagogue is below the ground level so it was repeatedly afflicted by floods and moisture. In the second half of 18th century it was necessary to restore aron-ha-kodesh and bimah damaged by flood and so they were changed to the Baroque style. About the same time (in 1793) successful businessman and communal leader Joachim von Popper donated the synagogue with a wrought-iron Rococo grille which adorns the bimah until now. The grille is decorated with an emblem of the Prague Jewish community – Magen David with a Middle-Age Jewish hat. In 1860, a radical step was"
"situated around a central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by King Władysław II Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga of Poland. The Hen’s Foot (so called because it is built upon three projecting buttresses) and the Danish Towers date from their reigns, as do the Jadwiga and Jogaila Chamber, in which the Polish coronation sword is exhibited today. During this period, the Wawel bega to take on something of its present appearance and size as further buildings were developed on the hill to serve as quarters for the numerous clergy, royal clerks, troops, servants and craftsmen; this work included"
"Maisel Synagogue Maisel Synagogue () is one of the historical monuments of the former Prague Jewish quarter. It was built at the end of the 16th century which is considered to be the golden age of the ghetto. Since then its appearance has changed several times, its actual style is neo-gothic. Nowadays the synagogue belongs to the Jewish Community of Prague and is administered by the Jewish Museum in Prague as a part of its expositions. The construction of the synagogue was initiated by Mordechai Maisel. First, in 1590, this renowned businessman and benefactor of the ghetto gained the building"
"Israel. In 1354, King of Bohemia Charles IV prescribed for the Jews of Prague a red flag with both David's shield and Solomon's seal, while the red flag with which the Jews met King Matthias of Hungary in the 15th century showed two pentagrams with two golden stars. In 1460, the Jews of Ofen (Budapest, Hungary) received King Matthias Corvinus with a red flag on which were two Shields of David and two stars. In the first Hebrew prayer book, printed in Prague in 1512, a large hexagram appears on the cover. In the colophon is written: ""Each man beneath"
"not strategic but to employ and thus feed the poor. Another myth, recorded in writings of Václav Hájek z Libočan or Bohuslav Balbín, is that the Emperor Charles IV himself worked on the wall several hours every day ""to help his beloved people"". The term ""hladová zeď"" has become a Czech euphemism for useless public works. Hunger Wall The Hunger Wall () is a medieval defensive wall of the Lesser Town of Prague, today's Czech Republic. It was built on Petřín Hill between 1360 and 1362 by order of Charles IV. Marl from quarries on Petřín Hill was used as"
"his flag according to the house of their fathers…and he will merit to bestow a bountiful gift on anyone who grasps the Shield of David."" In 1592, Mordechai Maizel was allowed to affix ""a flag of King David, similar to that located on the Main Synagogue"" on his synagogue in Prague. Following the Battle of Prague (1648), the Jews of Prague were again granted a flag, in recognition in their contribution to the city's defense. That flag showed a yellow hexagram on a red background, with a star placed in the center of the hexagram. The symbol became representative of"
"farm when he was killed in the war.One day a man named Yossel showed up naked at their doorstep. Hersh explains the story of the Golem of Prague and that the man thinks he is the Golem and that makes Shayna his rabbi.They take him in and Hersh puts the Shema, the prayers that are said to be how the rabbi brought him to life, in his jacket's inner pocket. Later on,all the Jews in Lublinske were gathered up by German soldiers and being taken into the Parczew Forest and where they would probably be killed. Yossel decides to attack"
"the synagogue is the hero of a well-known legend deriving from the Tales of 1001 Nights. Ayzik Jakubowicz, a pious but poor Jew, dreamed that there was treasure hidden under the old bridge in Prague. Without delay, he made his way there. On arrival, it turned out the bridge was guarded by a squad of soldiers and that digging was out of the question. Ayzik told the officer about his dream, promising him half of the booty. The officer retorted, ""Only fools like Polish Jews can possibly believe in dreams. For several nights now I have been dreaming that in"
"of his many troubles, including imprisonment on trumped-up charges. Chanoch ben Moshe Altschul of Prague designated this annual celebration for his family to commemorate his release from prison in 1623. When damask curtains were stolen from the governor's palace in his absence, all the city's synagogues announced that anyone who had the stolen goods in his possession should turn them over to the gabbai. A certain Jew delivered the curtains to Altschul, then the gabbai of the Maisel Synagogue, claiming he had purchased them from two soldiers. The vice-governor demanded that the buyer be named and delivered to him for"
"Jewish mystical tradition. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (the Maharal) died on the 18th day (18 means ""Chai""-""life"" in Gematria) of the Hebrew month of Elul in the year 1609 (17 September). The 18th of Elul, 12 days before Rosh Hashanah, is a central mystical date in the personal preparations of teshuvah (return to God) for the upcoming ""Days of Awe"". A central component of the teachings of the Maharal was the concept of Divine paradox, above intellect. This prepared the way for the Hasidic movement, that sought the inner expression in Hasidic philosophy of the Kabbalistic tradition. The founder of"
"Lauder Schools of Prague The Lauder Schools of Prague are the only Jewish schools in Prague and in the entire Czech Republic. The schools consists of an elementary school called The Lauder Gur Arje Jewish Day School and a secondary school called The Lauder Or Chadaš Jewish Community High School. The names of the schools refer to an important figure of the Jewish Ghetto in Prague, Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, who was also known as the Maharal of Prague and Rabbi Loew. The schools were founded in 1997 by the Prague Jewish Community together with the R. S. Lauder"
"1689, the great fire of the ghetto burned down all the Klausen and the synagogue is named after them. Shelomo Khalish Cohen, a rabbi of the burned down synagogue, which had been part of the complex, then initiated construction of a new synagogue in early baroque style at the site. In 1694, the building was finished and two years later monumental three-tiered aron ha-kodesh, the Torah Ark, was added, thanks to the endowment of Samuel Oppenheimer, an affluent and influential personality of the Austrian monarchy, part of which Prague was at the time. Many important rabbis, for example Elazar Fleckeles,"
"invented, although it is unknown when or by whom (Moskwa points to a possibility that the author was Kraszewski himself, who is known to have invented some tales he claimed were true). Teter mentioned that the story (""a carefully crafted tale of conversion"") was likely created and developed as a ""response to a number of challenges that the Polish Jewish community faced from the mid-eighteenth century"". Polish historian Janusz Tazbir asserted that the story – he uses the term ""legend"" – originated at the turn of the 19th century and was published in a Jewish periodical issued in London as"