The Golem

"For centuries, Jews have remembered the Golem, a creature of clay said to have been given life by the mystical incantations of the mysterious Maharal, Rabbi Yehuda Loew, leader of the Jewish community of 16th-century Prague. Some versions have the Golem as a lovable, clumsy mute; others as a monster like Frankenstein's who turned against his creator, giving a vivid warning against magic and the occult. In this beautiful book, Elie Wiesel has collected many of the legends associated with this enigmatic and elusive figure and retold them as seen through the eyes of a wizened gravedigger who claims to have witnessed as a child the numerous miracles that legend attributes to the Golem. 'I, Reuven, son of Yaakov,' he begins, 'declare under oath that "Yossel the mute," the "Golem made of clay," deserves to be remembered by our people, our persecuted and assassinated, and yet immortal people. We owe it to him to evoke his fate with love and gratitude .... He was a savior, I tell you.' Reuven's Golem is no fool or monster, but a figure of intuition, intelligence, and compassion who may yet return, perhaps in our own generation, to protect the Jews from their enemies. Mark Podwal's highly imaginative drawings recapture the mystery of Gothic Prague, and the elusive Golem is given a shape as the shadow of the Maharal. Thus, two remarkable artists have come together in the creation of a work of rare spiritual beauty which is also a triumph of the bookmaker's art."--Dust jacket.