THE GOLEM by Edward Cohen (As of March 31, 2006) The development of "The Golem" was made possible in part by a New Commission in Jewish Theatre grant from the National Foundationt for Jewish Culture and the performances were made possible in part by grants from The Jim Henson Foundation, Greater Jackson Arts Council, Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. 1800 Westmoreland Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90006 (323) 735-5909 © 2005 Edward Cohen CAST OF CHARACTERS AND ACTORS Jacob – the Narrator, actor on stage - LARRY DENMAN 3D PUPPET CHARACTERS/VOICES RABBI LOEW of Prague. 1525-1609. A learned holy man and master of the Kabbalah. Tall, imposing, a man of high ethics, great devotion to his people and his God—and a sense of humor. – ANDREW McLARTY (Young) JACOB HA-LEVI Jacob ha-Levi, Rabbi Loew's best pupil and assistant as a young man - the young Jacob is a player in the story represented by a puppet. – DAVID LIND PERLA Rabbi Loew's wife. The temple bookkeeper, she's practical and down-to-earth, a counter to the rabbi's head-in-the star. – ROXIE RANDLE MAISL, The mayor and wealthiest person in the ghetto. – JAMES RICE YITZHAK HA-COHEN, Rabbi Loew's son-in-law and assistant. – ANDREW THOMAS III GOLEM An artificial man created by Rabbi Loew out of mud, he's clumsy, dangerously strong, simple- minded - a 2-year-old in a giant’s body. – (pre-recorded) ANDREW McLARTY EMPEROR RUDOLPH II of Bohemia, and Hungary (1552-1612). Troubled, capricious, melancholic, forever in cycle between lunacy and piercing intelligence. – JAMES RICE KARL VON RUMPF Rudolph's chief minister, Wants to remove the emperor and install unbalanced child-heir, Julius Caesar, whom Karl can control. – MATTHEW BLACK JULIUS CAESAR, Rudolph's illegitimate son (1585-1609) – JAMES BROWN (“JR”) ALCHEMIST – ANDREW THOMAS III CROWD IN THE STREET & AT THE CEMETARY – ROSCOE FORCH, & all other available males & females GUARD (speaking) – ANDREW THOMAS III OLD MAN – JAMES RICE WOMAN – RACHEL HAVIRD MAN & WOMAN AT THE SYNAGOGUE – MATTHEW BLACK, ELIZABETH BOTELER YACHYM – (panting & screaming in pain) – ? HORAK – ANDREW THOMAS III VOICES OF MOB – (males only) CHILDREN VOICES – KATIE MEDLIN, SARAH KOCHER MAN & WOMAN at the synagogue GOLEM 2D PUPPETS FOR SHADOW PUPPETRY Yachym mob w/torches (orange light) Horak CU Horak Rabbi Unformed Golem Man on a horse CU of Golem's cradled in Rabbi's arms, open close mouth for inserting shem Golem Jacob 2 puppets are blowing shofar Golem carries Rabbi on his shoulders Jewish Crowd 2 Vandals 2 Armed Guards with halberds crossed Palace Guard Translucent Rabbi Golem w/cat little girl Maisl translucent Golem Rabbi offered a crown Golem offered a crown Mothers arms raising children Golem with a crown cats child archers shooting arrows Golem with arrows in his back parents Rabbi's son Golem's head with letters being erased 1 Act I (Scene 1 - 1:20) The stage is dark. On the screen a moonlit river and distant spires of the city. JACOB, the narrator, enters STAGE REAR and lights a candle. Its amber light reveals a man of middle years, young enough for enthusiasm, old enough for regret. We are in the early 1600's in a cluttered Prague basement storeroom, lit only by a small window near the ceiling. Dusty packages, wooden crates, wagon wheels, cast-off clothes, an ancient cape hanging on a hook, a sturdy bench, a stand-up work table. It all looks like it's been here through the entire Dark Ages. JACOB The rabbi's old storeroom, quiet now, but here is where he kept it, the thing he made. The first thing I'd like to say is, the great Rabbi Loew of Prague was no saint, even if there were Jewish saints, which the rabbi would have said, emphatically, there are not. The rabbi had too short a temper and too soft a heart. But Rabbi Loew was a Tzaddik, a wise man, a master of the Kabbalah, whose closeness to God allowed him to perform miracles, very curious miracles. And this brings me to the wondrous, some say terrible, thing the rabbi did. Was I wrong to help him? I was young, no more than nineteen, a loyal student of the rabbi. I ask myself, is good that comes with ill all bad? And so I tell my story. I must, for I am the only one who remembers. On word "remembers," lights down on Jacob and up on a screen - his memory. (Act I -Scene 2 – 0:11) 16th CENTURY PRAGUE - NIGHT SOUND of thundering horses. As the sound nears, we hear a person RUNNING, his GASPS of air. JACOB It was, like many others, a bad time for the Jews… The two sounds, RUNNING and HORSES, merge the horses are almost on us. (Act I - Scene 3 – 0:12) STREETS OF PRAGUE GHETTO - NIGHT A MOB, some on horseback, breaks through the gates of the ghetto and chases YACHYM, an elderly Jew, through the cobblestone streets, their torches lending a sinister orange illumination to the chase. The SOUNDS are louder now that we are near. An anti-Semite, HORAK, urges them on. HORAK He's slowing down, boys, I can smell the old Jew! 2 (Act I - Scene 4 – 1:03) RABBI'S STUDY By candlelight, JACOB, then a young student, studies with RABBI LOEW. He's bearded, a tall vibrant figure of mature years with a flowing beard. The rabbi's desk, room, everything, is covered with books and papers. JACOB It was very late one night. We were studying the Kabbalah, the mystical and very powerful Jewish writings on Torah and God. It was said the Kabbalah taught the secrets of the universe, even, some say, how to become like God. But the lessons were very difficult. RABBI LOEW Listen carefully, Jacob. You are falling asleep. It is very simple: Ten are the numbers, as are the Sephiroth, and twenty-two the letters, these are the Foundation of all things. Of these letters, three are mothers, seven are double, and twelve are single. JACOB Then the rabbi heard something. But heard is not the right word. He sensed things, I don't know how. It was the reason I studied Kabbalah, so I could know things that others didn't, secret forbidden things. Rabbi Loew stares into the candle flame. The screen behind them reveal what the rabbi is perceiving—which is Yachym, as he takes refuge inside a dark building. The mob nears, their torches throwing shadow monsters on the street and walls. (Act I - Scene 5 – 0:10) GHETTO STREET - NIGHT Rabbi steps out of his house onto the street, his robes flowing like a vengeful Old Testament prophet. Though an impressive figure, he is old and we see he must walk with the aid of a rough-hewn wooden staff. RABBI LOEW In the name of God, stop! But they knock his staff away, then trample him and surge inside after Yachym. RABBI No! It's more a cry than a word. 3 (Act I - Scene 6 - 0:40) GHETTO SLAUGHTERHOUSE The mob rages in, past sides of beef hanging from hooks, setting them swinging and casting long shadows, creating a strobe effect on Yachym as he flees. From the mob, SHOUTS of pleasure as at a rabbit hunt. MOB MEMBER 1 He’s cornered in the slaughterhouse! MOB MEMBER 2 Who said Jews were smart? Right, Herr Horak? HORAK Easy now, boys, keep it organized. (then shouting) Murderer, child murderer… MOB (under narration) Murderer, child murderer ... JACOB It's an old, old lie, a tragic falsehood, told every year at Passover, that Jews murder Christian children. It was told by those who hated the Jews and every year Jews died. MOB (taking it up) Murderer, child murderer… Yachym's terrified face as he SCREAMS. Then we lose sight of him as the mob surges over him like swarming rats. Rabbi Loew, desperate to get through, pushes his way through the WHOOPING crowd. His staff is gone and each step is a gamble. A final CRY OF PLEASURE from the mob. The rabbi is too late. Yachym hangs by a noose from a butcher's hook, his shadow swinging from light to dark between two slaughtered cows in a mockery of Kosher. HORAK Good work, boys, justice is done to the child killer. Home, now, there we go. The mobs swarms out, forking like a river around the figure of Rabbi Loew as he stares at the shadow of Yachym. Jacob comes to stand beside the rabbi. RABBI LOEW Alev-Ha-Shalom. May you rest in peace, my old friend. 4 (to God) Dear Lord, I am your servant but I have to ask, Why did I come too late? Why did you let me? (Act I - Scene 7 - 0:42) GHETTO STREETS - MORNING The funeral cortege winds its way through the narrow streets, led by the rabbi as lights come up on Jacob on-stage. JACOB The rabbi had known Yachym since they were children together in shul. I remember him, a harmless pious man. In capable of hurting any of God's creations, even a fly, much less murder a Christian child. So, along with haroseth and lamb shank, Passover also meant death. LIGHTS DOWN ON JACOB (Act I - Scene 8 - 0:17) GHETTO STREETS - DAY On the screen as the rabbi follows the funeral wagon, many frightened people imploringly reach their hands out to him. Jacob walks alongside. RABBI (to Jacob, despairingly) What can I do for them? Nothing, except bury them. Where are armies of Judah Maccabee? Or even David with his slingshot? PERSON IN CROWD (calling after the rabbi) Why has God abandoned us? WOMAN CHORUS Why? Why? (Act I - Scene 9 - 0:18) JEWISH CEMETERY An ancient place, row after row of headstones. Rabbi Loew performs the funeral service. Yachym's family CRIES as the rabbi recites the KADDISH. RABBI Yis-ga-dal v'yis-ka-dash sh'may ra-bo 'ol-mo dee-v'ro bir-u-say, v'yam-lech ma-lhu-say ... (KADDISH words under as Jacob narrates.) Bechay eychon uv’yomechon uvchayey d’chol beys yisroel, baagolo uvisman kroiv, vei’imoro Omein.... 5 JACOB How many times had Rabbi Loew said these sad holy words over another murdered Jew from our Ghetto. How many times more will he have to say them? RABBI (concluding the prayer) …Oseh sholom bimrov, hu berachmov ya'aseh sholom olaynu, v'al kol yisroel, vimru Omein. He concludes with a handful of dirt onto the lowered coffin, and the others do the same, THUD after THUD. (Act I - Scene 10 - 0:52) RABBI'S STUDY - NIGHT Lit by amber candlelight, the rabbi prays and davens. He stops davening and addresses his wall of untidy books, as if God inhabited the dusty shelves. RABBI God, I do not wish to try your not-so-endless patience but I bring up an old matter. My people beg me to help them. I look ahead and you, beloved God, know what I see… Do you know how many of us they've killed this year? Yes, of course you know. And that's only Prague. All these years of studying Kabbalah—but I can change nothing on this earth. I mean no disrespect, I ask not for a miracle, only for guidance … He waits. Nothing. He turns from the books. RABBI (grumbling) Or maybe just a sign, would it be too much to ask, nu? For a second, no more, the jumbled bookshelves take on a shimmer but the rabbi has already turned away. Dispiritedly he sits at his desk and wearily picks up his yad (pointer) to read an ancient scroll, looking for answers…as a faint glow from the areas of the books watches over him. (Act I - Scene 11 - 0:19) LATER Rabbi Loew sleeps, his head resting on the open scroll. Tiny Hebrew letters seem to flame off the page and disappear into the rabbi's head like subatomic particles. On the screen we see his dream: Hebrew letters flaming into being and one by one, the Hebrew letters spelling "Ata Bra Golem Devuk Hakhomer VeTigzar Zedim Chevel Torfe Yisroel." 6 BLEND OF DREAM VOICES Ato bra Golem Devuk Hachomer V'Tigsar Khavel Torfe Yisroel In the background the Kabbalah" "Tree of Life" (see Google/Tree of Life for example), with energy pulsing in each branch. Then, from behind the letters an ominous red and brown shape begins to form, growing taller… (Act I - Scene 12 - 1:04) RABBI'S STUDY RABBI (still asleep in the dark lit only by the screens and a candle) Please God, no! Rabbi jumps up - the shape disappears abruptly when PERLA, the rabbi's wife enters. She's as practical as he is mystical. PERLA The same nightmare? RABBI A different one. PERLA What? RABBI It was nothing. PERLA For nothing you scream? Come to sleep. It's late. You're not so young any more. RABBI Soon, my beloved wife. PERLA So vermischt, is my Esteemed Rabbi, leader of the ghetto, wisest man in the empire, his left shoe doesn't match his right. It's true: one foot sports a boot, the other a slipper. RABBI It's a new fashion, Mrs. Esteemed Rabbi. 7 PERLA (with deep affection) From what do you know about fashion? She puts a nightcap on his hoary head and he suffers her to settle a blanket around his thin shoulders. PERLA (as she exits) Five minutes, no more. The moment she leaves he's back into his fevered studies. By candlelight, as the rabbi reads aloud from the Kabbalah scroll, we see the letters and words he's reading appear, the same as before in the dream. RABBI (reading) Ata Bra Golem Devuk Hakhomer VeTigzar Zedim Chevel Torfe Yisroel On the screen, the dream's ominous blood-red shape forming, coalescing, rising … RABBI (reading, with horror) "Create a Golem out of clay who will destroy all the enemies of Israel." It is a huge monstrous misshapen man. The image disappears. (Act I - Scene 13 - 0:48) LIGHTS UP ON JACOB. JACOB I can still hear the rabbi telling me of his dream. I felt a thrill - - of excitement and also of fear. A Golem was a creature from the most secret part of Kabbalah, a creature frighteningly strong, close to a man but closer to monster. Creating a Golem should be undertaken only by the purest of hearts, the strongest of wills, the most learned of all rabbis. Usually it is forbidden, for only God should create life. Yet God's people were suffering and there had been the dream, the command -- LIGHTS DOWN on Jacob. Only the screen is lit as we see shape continuing to form… JACOB (whispering) Ata Bra Golem Devuk Hakhomer VeTigzar Zedim Chevel Torfe Yisroel