A different story tells of a golem that fell in love, and when rejected, became the violent monster seen in most accounts. One Friday evening Rabbi Loew forgot to remove the shem, and feared that the Golem would desecrate the Sabbath. Rabbi Loew deactivated the Golem on Friday evenings by removing the shem before the Sabbath began, so as to let it rest on Sabbath. The only care required of the Golem was that he couldn't be active on the day of Sabbath (Saturday). It was said that he could make himself invisible and summon spirits from the dead. The Golem was called Josef and was known as Yossele. To protect the Jewish community, the rabbi constructed the Golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river, and brought it to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations. Depending on the version of the legend, the Jews in Prague were to be either expelled or killed under the rule of Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th century rabbi of Prague, also known as the Maharal, who reportedly created a golem to defend the Prague ghetto from antisemitic attacks and pogroms. In Jewish folklore, a golem ( /Л€ЙЎoКЉlЙ™m/ goh-lЙ™m Hebrew : Ч’Ч•ЧњЧќ вЂЋ) is an animated anthropomorphic being, magically created entirely from inanimate matter. (Though this could be up for debate as for being a superstition, or a custom.) Give Tzekadakah to someone embarking on a trip (especially to Israel) to ensure his safety as he becomes a вЂњShaliach MitzvahвЂќ and donate the money while away.When you move into a new house you must make sure to have a broom, salt, sugar, loaf of bread (or flour) and of course a mezzuzah, and itвЂ™s even more good luck to move in right before Shabbat.Never sew clothes while someone is wearing them and if you must, tell the person wearing the clothes to chew on a string. DonвЂ™t put shoes on a dresser or a table or bad luck will ensue.IF you eat an olive, you have to have at least two (a lone olive is only eaten as part of the meal after a funeral).DonвЂ™t open an umbrella in the house (or it will rain at your wedding).A pregnant woman is not supposed to go to a cemetery.If a child is laying on the floor and you step over him, you must walk back over him or he wonвЂ™t grow anymore (my mother was a strict enforcer of this one!).(In fact, we donвЂ™t even say вЂњMazel Tov, but rather BвЂ™shaвЂ™ah Tovah to a pregnant woman.) You should never have a baby shower or buy anything for a baby before itвЂ™s born.Throwing clod of earth behind you from the burial as you walk away.But that did not stop people from wanting them, from needing them. There were no lucky charms with any guarantee. There were indeed things beyond our control, and if we could not change them we had at least, like Job, to bear them and accept them and make the best out of it all. But even then we had to accept and resign ourselves to whatever the Divine Will was. We might be able to avoid some or certain tragedies. In contrast, monotheism posited that in so far as anything could be affected on earth, it was our relationship with God and our actions that determined what happened. The more you worshipped, the more gods you had, the less the likelihood of trouble. Paganism asserted that we were the playthings of the gods and our fates were decided by them and the planets. But people believed that spells, charms, and incantations carried out by shamans and witches could change the course of the stars and our fates. The Biblical word Mazal simply meant the heavenly bodies, and people knew that the sun and the moon affected things on earth one way or another. Until relatively recently, the way everyone looked at the natural universe was through astronomy and its daughter, astrology. I often encounter people who explain their failures or tragedies in terms of the вЂњEvil Eye.вЂќ In parts of Africa I am told, to this day if the Witch Doctor says someone will die, he or she goes off to a special hut and dies. If someone believed he had been cursed, he felt cursed, and it took its toll on him. Maimonides, in his rational moments, was clear that references in our ancient sources to spirits, evil eyes, and other such supernatural phenomena were of significance only in that people actually believed in them and therefore psychosomatically, as we would say today, they were actually affected by them. But what is really troubling is that hardly any rabbis of note are prepared to speak out against this epidemic of delusions. I understand that for all the technological advances of society, humans remain fragile, insecure organisms that need to feel protected. I understand that people are insecure and weak, and need props, supports, and placebos. Jeremy Rosen - вЂњWhy Judaism and Superstition DonвЂ™t MixвЂќ

Might and magic 7 golem parts