The Golem, by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1989, Isaac Bashevis Singer published his short book The Golem seven years earlier in 1982. The edition I read was illustrated by Uri Shulevitz, a winner of the Caldecott Medal in 1969. The story is set in old Prague, centuries ago and it brims with timeless lessons. Originally written in Yiddish, the author translated the text into English. This book is appropriate for anyone roughly aged 11 through adult reading levels.
Joseph, the Golem, a being created from clay and brought to life by the Cabbalist Rabbi Leib, is, at first, a great help from God, delivering a righteous jew from an unjust court where is being tried for kidnapping and murder. Rabbi Leib is careful to obey the direction and advice he had received from the saint who taught him how to build the man of clay, and he puts the giant clay figure back into sleep.
But humans are quick to rationalize and soon the giant is awakened again and put to work on difficult everyday tasks. As his waking hours stretch on and his own life experiences grow, so does his mind and soul, and so too his own yearnings, and he breaks free from the Rabbi’s control, refusing to obey him or to allow him to rub the name of God from his forehead. Not until the golem falls in love with a simple, kind-hearted servant girl and also develops a taste for wine is he undone, allowing the Rabbi put the creature back to sleep.
This is an amusing tale, full of jewish lore and references to Cabbalist magic. At first I was not impressed with Singer’s style, having expected something different, I suppose, but as I thought more about the story I could begin to see his method paying off, and ended up with a much stronger appreciation. The plot and movement of the story was strong and compelling, and I found myself reaching for it frequently over the three days I took to read it. Go look for this one. I think you’ll like it.
The Golem
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York, 1982.
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