22 April 2026
Golem: A story of empowering
In the Hebrew Bible, Golem is a synonym for “raw material, shapeless mass, imperfect substance” in the Psalms (139:16). Rabbi Eleazar from Worms started to invent Golem after his wife and daughters were murdered in 1197. A strong “it” created in thoughts by a desperate person. Then Golem as a story of strength, rescuer, assistant and also savior of Jewish Communites went omn to Prague and from there spread into pop culture. Pop culture took a liking to Golem from the early 1940s onwards. Jewish illustrators in the US created superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Captain America and Wonder Woman – and their evil counterparts. Israel’s first large-scale computer in 1966 was called Golem. Golem also appeared in the cartoon series The Simpsons. Golem finally came back to Worms, created from Hebrew letters by American artist Joshua Abarbanel whose artwork was installed in teh Jewish Museum in a construction from the 13th century.






