- This topic has 68 replies, 32 voices, and was last updated 7 months, 1 week ago by .
-
Posts
-
Anyone visited the ‘Altneu’ shul there?
The shiyla with the Gingerbread man is did the fox knowing commit gezalah? and why were those chasing the gingerbread man not osik with hashavs avaidah?
The Chacham Tzvi, 93 above does not mention the Maharal in his question about being counted for the minyan.
I understand that discovering new information or questioning long-held beliefs can be a surprising and sometimes unsettling experience. However, it’s essential to separate fact from fiction and examine the evidence available.
The legend of the Golem, particularly the Golem of Prague, is indeed an old and well-known tale in Jewish folklore and mythology. The story revolves around a creature, often made of clay or other materials, brought to life through mystical means, usually to protect the Jewish community from harm.
While there are various versions of the Golem legend, the most famous one is associated with Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, also known as the Maharal of Prague, who allegedly created the Golem to defend the Jewish people in the 16th century.
Reb Yudel Rosenberg, as you mentioned, is not the originator of the Golem legend. In fact, his name is not widely associated with the Golem lore. It is possible that someone made that claim, but it doesn’t align with the historical and literary evidence surrounding the Golem’s existence in folklore long before the 20th century.
The Golem legend is deeply rooted in Jewish culture and has been passed down through generations. While historical evidence for the existence of the Golem itself is lacking, the story’s presence in Jewish literature and traditions is well-established.
It’s important to approach folklore and mythology with an understanding that legends often evolve over time, and there may be multiple versions or interpretations. Nonetheless, the Golem legend, including the one about the Golem of Prague, has a rich cultural and historical significance that extends far beyond any individual’s claims.
While it can be challenging to confront changes in our understanding of stories we grew up with, it’s also an opportunity to explore the richness of cultural traditions and the complexities of historical storytelling. If you find that this revelation is causing you significant distress, seeking support from a therapist or counselor can be beneficial in processing and coping with these feelings.
The story with the Vilna Gaon was, he told a talmid that after learning Sefer Yetzirah he started to make a Golem. But then he had a siman min Shamayim to stop. The Gaon said he understood it to be a message that he was too young to be doing this. The talmid asked the Gaon how old was he at the time. The Gaon answered, 10 years old.
Isn’t the legend that anyone who went up to the Maharl’s shul’s attic, where the Golem remained after the Maharal was niftar, came back down insane. They therefore locked the door, and everyone was afraid to go up.
As a kid I read the book “The Golem of Prague” by Gershon Winkler. I remember really enjoying it.
I had a Rebbe, an adam gadol, who in shiur said over something from the Maharal’s sefer on Mesechta Shabbos (regular “Achron” style chiddushim on Gemara, Rashi & Toisfois.) He looked up and said straight faced, when the Maharal wasn’t making Golem’s he wrote chiddushim on Mesechte Shabbos.
ujm writes: “Is there any reason to doubt that some of our Gedolim today are capable of creating a Golem, if he deems it necessary?”
There is no doubt of this. Not only are they capable of creating a golem, but they are demonstrably capable of creating an entire generation of golems.
Your kids can watch the golem stories in 3d animation (videos approved by Rabbanim) on ruchnii dot com
CS, do gazaanim in crown heights let their kids watch those films? If not, are they just good enough for the olamisher litvishe?
Yes! Many gezh subscribers
Actually the approving Rabbanim- one is Litvish, one lubavitch
CS, are you and/or your husband gezh?
@ujm
Newly made up Lubavitch reference, gezh. Slang for being at least 2nd or 3rd year Lubavitch.
Word source is “megeza hayichus,” which a term in the world of true yichus – liniage of Rabbonim and Talmidei Chachamim.
The real Lubavitch term is, for those of is who shtam from the first chasidim of the Alter Rebbe (he only had about 5.) We are the “Geboirener.” Most Lubavitchers today became Lubavitch by the Heintege Rebbe z”l or the Friedeker Rebbe z”l. Behind their backs, we call them “the tzugekumeners.”
A zaida who was in tefisah in Sibeer is a huge yichus.
I have yet to see a Lubavitcher be even remotely impressed when I tell them each of the 7 Rebbes was meshadech / mechutanim with family. Or that I am eblcht”a cousins with the Rebbe z”l. My grandfather was 2nd cousins with the rebbe z”l. The rebbe’s father and my grandfather’s mother were first cousins. Their mothers were sisters. They had a common grandfather.There are a sach rabbeim in yeshivas who are unqualified and make goilems out of their talmidim.
Anybody knows what Rav Yehuda said about yichus from Ezra?
כל ארצות עיסה לארץ ישראל, וארץ ישראל עיסה לבבל.
Before Ezra left Bavel to lead most of Klal Yisra’el back up to Eretz Yisra’el, he clarified the yichus of all the Yidden remaining in Bavel, and took any of the mamzeirim or other pesulei kahal up with him. Leaving Bavel as the area most kasher to marry from. (Gemara Kiddushin Perek Asarah Yuchsin.) Ezra did this because he was not leaving Rabbanim over in Bavel to watch over yichus matters.
(It is not referring to “descendants of Ezra.” Rather to Ezra Hasofer’s work in clarifying the nations Yichus. Yichus here refers to halachakly allowed to marry to all Yiden.)Someday, thanks a lot for this connection. It sounds true, but I recall that R Yehuda was introduced to the person who was X generation from Hillel, XX from Ezra, so it sounds more literal than what you suggest. Is this also in Kiddushin, can’t find it right now somehow. Maybe time to sleep . will wake up when daf Y comes to this sygya
The Satmar Rebbe said that while he doubts the authenticity of the golem, he knows many of his grandchildren…
Anyone ever heard of the Drahichyn Golem before?
I can’t find much out there besides this article and a brief mention on the JewishGen town page.
And why would he forbid his children from becoming rabbis rather than just telling them not to study Kabbalah? It almost makes Rabbis sound supernatural like mystical wizards rather than someone who is a learned and wise teacher and leader. But I suppose those saying that todays Gaonim can great golems do see a mystical/supernatural element in them? So it’s not really the golem that is the Jewish superhero but the Rabbis who control them that have the superpowers???Source
link removed“The last Polish golem
It is probable that the last golem on Polish soil was created by Rabbi Dovid Yafa (Yaffe, Yaffo) in 1800 in Drahichyn in Polesie (in today’s Belarus – not the more famous Drohiczyn in the Podlasie region of Poland). Reb Dovid was a descendant of the famous Rabbi Mordechai Yafa. However, as Jacek Moskwa explains, Reb Dovid far surpassed his ancestor in kabbalistic skills.According to one of the versions of the story – which, as Jacek Moskwa highlights, doesn’t appear in other variants of the golem legend – the Drahichyn Golem was a kind of shabes-goy, which means that he performed all the chores forbidden to Jews during shabes. In winter, he would light up fire in ovens and stoves, which was very important. The golem would always receive his orders one day earlier, so that the religious law wasn’t infringed upon.
One day, as a result of a mistake made in the order, the golem started a fire which burned down the whole shtetl. Following this catastrophe, Rabbi Dovid commanded his children that they never follow in his footsteps and become rabbis. According to the family tradition, this fatherly precept was observed.”
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.