In Prague, in the late sixteenth century, Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel took clay from the banks of the Vltava River and from this clay shaped a humanlike figure – a golem. This golem – which was called Josef, or Yoselle – was created to defend the rabbi’s people from anti-Semitic pogroms, and apparently did so very effectively. Once activated by magical incantation, golems like Josef could move, were aware, and would obey. But with Josef something went terribly wrong and its behaviour changed from lumpen obedience into violent monstering. Eventually the rabbi managed to revoke his spell, upon
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