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It is said that the body of Rabbi Loew's golem still
lies in the genizah of the Old-New Synagogue in Prague.
In some documents, the golem was stolen from genizah and
entombed in a graveyard in Žižkov.
In this very place,
the great Žižkovská tower now stands. A legend is told
of a Nazi agent during World War II ascending the attic
and trying to stab the golem, but perishing
instead. The attic is not open to the
general public.
The existence of a golem is sometimes a mixed
blessing. Golems are not intelligent — if commanded to
perform a task, they will take the instructions
perfectly literally.
In some incarnations of the legend of the Maharal's
golem, the golem has powers that can aid it in its
tasks. These include invisibility, a heated touch, and
the ability to use the Maharal's walking stick to summon
spirits from the dead.
This last power was often
crucial, as the golem could summon dead witnesses, which
the medieval Prague courts would allow to testify.
Golem - The hubris theme
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