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Explore
with us the history of the Jews in Prague, going back over a thousand years
and full of upheavals and contrasts. We will guide you through the former Jewish
Ghetto of Prague, a little piece of the Orient in the middle of Europe.
Out of the mists of the past looms Golem, an artificial being, the
work of the Prague Maharal Rabbi Löw, who was known as the wisest of
the wise, famed for his wisdom throughout Europe, and whose destiny
personified that of the Prague Ghetto for nearly a century.
You can almost hear the sound of the wings of the angels who according to the
legend brought stones from the Temple in Jerusalem to Prague to build the
Old-New Synagogue.
The tombstones of the ancient Jewish cemetery are like pages of a book of
poetry, with thousands of human stories engraved in stone in Hebrew. The
clock on the Town Hall with its Hebrew symbols and the hands moving backwards
still inspires poets today.
The ancient synagogues echo with the prayers of the deeply religious and learned
rabbis of the past. Even today you can still hear in them this Old
Testament prayer, the profession of faith of the members of the chosen
race, encapsulating the quintessence of Judaism:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart.
(Deut. 6:4-5.)
Some of the wise sayings of Rabbi Löw (1512-1609)
- God looks
after his creatures and they are dear to him.
- All things are in God and nothing exists
without Him…
- Good can only be recognised through the
medium of its opposite. The meaning of our final liberation is only
revealed to us when we understand the extent of our banishment.
- God is willing to communicate his wisdom to
human beings if they are willing to listen to him.
- Truth that has been devised by human beings
is of short duration.
- Perfection is not something that happens on
its own, but it is based on fusion with the Creator.
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