The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague [Hardcover]

Yudl Rosenberg (Author), Prof. Curt Leviant (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

This collection of interrelated stories about a sixteenth-century Prague rabbi and the golem he created became an immediate bestseller upon its publication in 1909. So widely popular and influential was Yudl Rosenberg’s book, it is no exaggeration to claim that the author transformed the centuries-old understanding of the creature of clay and single-handedly created the myth of the golem as protector of the Jewish people during times of persecution.

In addition to translating Rosenberg’s classic golem story into English for the first time, Curt Leviant also offers an introduction in which he sets Rosenberg’s writing in historical context and discusses the golem legend before and after Rosenberg’s contributions. Generous annotations are provided for the curious reader.
The book is full of adventures, surprises, romance, suspense, mysticism, Jewish pride, and storytelling at its best. The Chief Rabbi of Prague, known as the Maharal, brings the golem Yossele to life to help the Jews fight false accusations of ritual murder—the infamous blood libel. More human, more capable, and more reliable as a protector than any golem imagined before, Rosenberg’s Golem irrevocably changed one of the most widely influential icons of Jewish folklore.

(20080701)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this first English translation of Rosenberg's "groundbreaking collection of stories," novelist, translator and scholar Leviant brings the Hebrew work to a wide audience. Published in 1909, the "pseudepigraphic" book purports to be a first-hand account of 16th century events in which the Maharal (the Chief Rabbi of Prague) passes on "the secret concerning the creation of the golem from clay and dust of the earth." Aided by the golem, who possesses formidable supernatural attributes, the Maharal defeats his nemesis the priest Thaddeus, "a vicious anti-Semite and a vengeful and vindictive snake in the grass." Thaddeus works diligently to unleash violence against the Jewish community, but the Maharal provides the spiritual guidance and intellectual counterplots to defeat him. In tone, the tales partake of Scheherazade and Sherlock Holmes, magic and mystery; good triumphs and evil is punished. Leviant's lucid introduction surveys the golem legend and Rosenberg and his innovations. Succinct, pertinent notes clarify Biblical allusions and Kabbala references for readers seeking more than a good story.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"This collection of Golem stories written in the early twentieth century by Yudl Rosenberg provides a valuable inside perspective on the shape of the legend."—Robert Alter, author of Imagined Cities

(Robert Alter )

"Given the enduring attraction of the Golem myth to the Jewish and general public, this book is an important addition to the corpus of Jewish cultural texts in English translation." —Lewis Glinert, Dartmouth College

(Lewis Glinert )

"Thanks to an erudite and insightful introduction and adroit translation by Curt Leviant, English readers will, for the first time, be able to enjoy a book of wonderful tales describing the heroic and humorous deed of Yossele, ''the claymener goylem''."—Moshe Moskowitz, Midstream

(Moshe Moskowitz Midstream )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300122047
• ISBN-13: 978-0300122046
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,727,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the protector of truth (emet), May 28, 2007

By 

Jizo43 (New England) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague (Hardcover)

"The Golem and the Wonderous Deeds...."has been translated for the first time into English directly from the Hebrew. It is simply a wonderful book all around. It has wonderful, concise introduction about the golem and tracks it through literary and biblical history. The book reads smoothly and has a very Sherlock Holmes' feel to it as the Maharal has to clear the Jews of Prague from the constant false accusations of killing gentiles for their blood to mix into the matzhos for Passover. The characters are 3-dimensional for a collection of folk tales and the author creates a balance of portraying the Jews and gentiles in the text. Not all the gentiles are bad, as one would expect. It would be easy for the Jews here to become bitter because of their constant persecution, but there is fairness with the police, judges, etc...The Jews here seek truth, justice and peace. The Golem portrayed here is different than the Golem that appears previously in literature and the bible. It is the Golem we've come to know, but as the translator/editor has said, it is this Golem of only the last 100 years that sticks in our heads, though we think it's longer.

So in conclusion,this book reads in an enjoyable, measured fashion. It is also wonderful that it has been brought back to life for the Non-Hebrew & Yiddish reading audience who can now enjoy it as it was originally written by Rosenberg.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clasic of Jewish Folklore, September 9, 2007

By 

Gary Selikow (Great Kush) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague (Hardcover)

This is a translation from the original manuscript written by Yudl Rosenberg in 1909.
It was a response to the terrible blood libels which had gained credence in the 1890s and was leading to greater attacks on Jews. Rosenberg relies on age-old Hassidic hagiography and folklore to create this folk tale of Rabbi Liva and his creation through kabbalah of the Golem, a manlike creature made from dust and ashes, that Rabbi Liva uses to perform great miracles and to save the innocent and punish the evil.
He uses the Golem to frustrate the evil designs of the spiteful and malicious anti-Semite Father Tadeus. A young Jewish girl is kidnapped and forcibly converted to Christianity before being rescued by the Golem, and forgeries of the blood libel are disproved through the Golem's deeds and the evildoers aiming to frame the Jews unmasked.
The tragedy of a brother (who was swapped at birth) and sister marrying each other, is averted, amidst much supernatural and metaphysical phenomena.
This is a tale of Jewish folklore, fantasy and kabbalah and is both glorious and intriguing.
It is also a commentary, on the fate of the Jews through the ages.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Uplifting Experience, June 12, 2007

By 

Howie Saefer "Howie Copywriter" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague (Hardcover)

I would consider the Golem of Prague to be an extremely uplifting book. While the device of using "magic" in a plot has its downsides, for example, not being realistic, it opens up a whole new realm of creativity to solve a problem. How many times even when one is a child, one wishes one could solve a problem if they had a strong all-powerful friend. This doesn't mean having a genie to satisfy greed, but to obtain justice. Obtaining justice in an often unjust world is a very poignant problem, not only because many of the descendants of people talked about in these books died in the Nazi Holocaust.
More to the point, injustice occurs both in our lives and around us. The Golem was a literary device to solve these injustices to the Jews in the matter of the infamous Blood Libel. The Golem indeed had much more human characteristics than ever before. This book is well worth a read as a distinguished piece of world literature. Also recommended is the translators preface by Curt Leviant.