[gothic-l] Golem, Yiddish Frankenstein

[jdm314 at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 5/13/01 2:49:32 AM, you wrote:

<< My previous posting about Golem wasn't posted, so I repeat. One
proof that East European Jews descend partially from Ostrogoths could
be the Golem. Golem is a Frankestein-like monster from the Yiddish
folklore and according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition,
he is a Gothic character. So how come EE Jews are the only ethnic
group to have a Gothic folklore other than Goths themselves? Golem
has nothing to do with the Torah or such. So the plot thickens!>>

Wow, I had never thought of this. And now that you mention it, East European
Jews did traditionally wear a lot of black, just like the other modern Goths!
It was a dark and stormy night in the village of Chelm. The after-havdala
silence was broken only by the sounds of thunder, rain, and wolves howling at
the moon...

    Mr. Labkovsky, you have made an error that plagues newcomers to this
list. There are about a dozen different meanings of the word Gothic, and
these have virtually no connection whatsoever. In other words, Frankenstein
is part of the 19th century literary movement known as Gothic. The name is a
coincidence. Gothic Literature has no more to do with the Ancient Goths than
does the Gothic Music played at raves. There used to be an excellent
explanation of this in the list's FAQ, but this seems to have disappeared. It
was, however, quoted from this post:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/message/2133  . PLEASE read that.
    While your at it, why not read more about Frankenstein at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/message/1153 ? Other list members:
perhaps I should ad Golem to this list. I believe it should come out, based
on other Hebrew words that show up in the Gothic bible, as *golaim, but I'd
have to check that. The word means "unformed", and occurs in Psalm 139:16 (or
138 according to the Vulgate, where it is rendered "imperfectum.") The Golem
legend is very interesting, and I recommend it on its own merrit, even if it
has nothing to do with this list.
    Perhaps I should summarize it in GOthic and post it here and to Gutiska ;)


IUSTEINUS

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/