Director, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies; Professor
js-director@umich.edu, brmaya@umich.eduOffice Information:
2127 Thayer
phone: 734.647.7862
Jewish Culture and the Arts; Jewish Languages; Maya Barzilai; Jewish Literature; Faculty; Staff
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., University of BerkeleyM.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem
B.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Highlighted Work and Publications
Golem: Modern Wars and Their Monsters
Maya Barzilai
In the 1910s and 1920s, a “golem cult” swept across Europe and the U.S., later surfacing in Israel. Why did this story of a powerful clay monster molded and animated by a rabbi to protect his community become so popular and pervasive? The golem has appeared in a remarkable range of popular media: from the Yiddish theater to American comic books, from German silent film to Quentin Tarantino movies. This book showcases how the golem was remolded, throughout the war-torn twentieth century, as a muscular protector, injured combatant, and even murderous avenger. This evolution of the golem narrative...
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