In this collection of fictional writings, the Golem of Jewish folklore is both hero and villain. The Golem, a creature made of clay and brought to life by Rabbi Leyb of Prague in the sixteenth century, has provided an enticing subject for fiction writers since the legend began. In some works, Rabbi Leyb gives birth to the Golem to help the Jews with the overbearing burden of their work. In others, the Golem is the protector of the Jews, keeping watch during the nights before Passover to make sure that a Gentile does not plant evidence for a blood libel in a Jewish home. But the powerful Golem can also lose control and have to be destroyed. Joachim Neugroschel has brought together some of the best work featuring the Golem, including H. Leivick's masterful blank verse play; Yudl Rosenberg's "pamphlet" full of Golem tales; and stories by S. Bastomski, Dovid Frishman, and Y. L. Peretz, which he translates fluidly from the Yiddish.

Scientist, mathematician, and court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, John Dee is also one of the sixteenth-century's most renowned alchemists, driven by a passion to fathom the elemental secrets of the cosmos. But when his reckless assistant, Edward Kelley, succeeds in using a crystal sphere to summon angels, Dee is catapulted into an awesome struggle that may extinguish the light of reason forever. One of the spirits invoked is a cunning demon who takes possession of Dee's young daughter, Katherine, and shows Dee a frightening vision of his own future. Terrified by what has been foretold, Dee abruptly decides to close his house in London and flee to Europe with his long-suffering wife, Jane, and their two young children. Their desperate flight brings them at last to the city of Prague--a center of culture, knowledge, and learning, both sacred and profane, a gateway between the Eastern and Western worlds, and also, it is whispered, a door between our world and the world of the spirits. There, in the city's ancient streets, Dee encounters the mystic Rabbi Judah Loew, who enlists his aid in the creation of a Golem--a man fashioned from the clay--to defend the city's Jewish Quarter from persecution. And he asks Dee's help to avert a impending crisis that threatens to engulf the world. For ancient legends say that the fate of the world rests on shoulders of thirty-six righteous men. And if one of those righteous men dies before his time, the world will end and dark spirits will remake it in their own image.

As legend tells it, the Old-New Synagogue in Prague was built by angels, and later was home to a golem who remains locked away in the building to this day. In lyrical prose, Mark Podwal shares the story of the world's oldest active synagogue, which was completed in 1270. Throughout the years, this sacred place of prayer and celebration has endured plagues, wars, and the Nazi regime. Its story is part legend, part history, and one that stands as a testament to the perseverance of the Jewish people. Includes an author's note and bibliography.