The Golem and Frankenstein

I was recently asked if Jews celebrated Halloween. Of course, I answered yes that although Halloween wasn't specifically a Jewish holiday that we had nothing against it and participated in it as an American children's holiday. But it got me to thinking about Judaism's most famous monster, the Golem and the influence it had on the even more popular horror icon, Frankenstein.

Many have heard of the golem and some may even know that it was Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague, who is credited with his creation. Like Frankenstein, he was a large, bulky creature of enormous strength and little intelligence. The similarities are so strong that Boris Karloff modeled his posturing and portrayal of the Frankenstein monster after the silent film depiction of the Golem in the 1931 classic hit, Frankenstein. But despite the similarities, there's a lot that made the two monsters different. The Golem was formed with prayer and the assistance of God, whereas Frankenstein was pieced together by the famous doctor of the same name in defiance of the divine.

I also learned that the mention of golems precedes the famous Rabbi Loew and is actually mentioned once in the Bible itself in Psalm 139.16. There it means "shapeless mass." There are also several mentions of creating golems in the Talmud where the term means "unformed," or "imperfect." A rather interesting mention of the term golem from the Talmud is with regards to our original human ancestor, Adam. According to Talmudic lore, he was called "golem," or imperfect himself for the first 12 hours of his existence with the meaning "body without a soul." I find this passage fascinating because it raises some interesting questions.

1) If the soul enters the body at the moment of conception then why was Adam referred to as a golem?

2) Is the Talmud speaking of a deeper meaning for the term soul, besides the force that animates and gives life?

According to Kabbalah, there are 3 levels of the soul...the nefesh, ruach and neshamah. The nefesh is the life-force, or animal soul of the body. The ruach (wind) is the divine breath of life that comes to rest (nafash) in the human body. The neshamah is the human capacity for intellect that separates us from the plants and animals around us. So perhaps the Talmud is referring to a higher consciousness that developed later in Adam.

Jewish mysticism also teaches that we are in reality aspects of the Divine and it is only our limited consciousness that falsely makes us feel separate from God. My most famous teaching of this is from the Hasidic Rabbi Dov Baer of Lubavitch. He taught that one should "think of your soul as an aspect of the divine like the raindrop in the sea." This then, I believe, is the real meaning the Talmud is getting at. For the first twelve hours, Adam was the raindrop in the sea and it was only with the passage of time that his perception became limited and a sense of distinctiveness and separation emerged.

Anyhow, this is just a thought to consider. I'd like to hear yours. In the meantime, enjoy Halloween and realize that we as Jews are just as much a part of that fall tradition in America as anyone else.

Until next time....

Shmuel