Golem according to the Jewish folklore it is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter. This word is also used in the Bible to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance.

In modern Hebrew language the word golem literally means cocoon but also fool, silly or even stupid. Apparently the word golem derives from the word gelem that means raw material.

Like Adam, all golems are created from clay. They were a creation of those who were very holy and close to God.

A very holy person was one who strove to approach God, and in that pursuit would gain some of God s wisdom and power.

One of these powers was the creation of life. No matter how holy a person became, however, a being created by that person would be but a shadow of one created by God.

Early on, the notion developed that the main disability of the golem was its inability to speak. Having a golem servant was seen as the ultimate symbol of wisdom and holiness.

In many tales the Golem is inscribed with magic or religious words that keep it animated. You have to write one of the names of God on its forehead, a slip of paper in its mouth, or enscribed on its body, or writing the word Emet (truth in the Hebrew language) on its forehead.

By erasing the first letter aleph in Emet to form Met (dead in Hebrew) the golem could be deactivated. Another way is by writing a specific incantation in the owner s blood on calfskin parchment, and placing it in the mouth. Removing the parchment will deactivate the golem.