Mystical Theology and Social Dissent: The Life and Works of Judah Loew of Prague

Judah Loew, better known as the Maharal of Prague, was a pivotal personality in late medieval European Judaism. Best known from the popular legend that credited him with the creation of a golem-an artificial human with superhuman powers-his true importance lay in his comprehensive exposition of a unique expression of Jewish mystical theology, his call for a reformation of Jewish communal life, and his influence on subsequent Jewish life and thought. Byron Sherwin’s lucid exposition of the life, legend, works, and ideas developed in Loew’s massive writings ‘reveals the concealed’ by unravelling the often obscure nature of his mystical theology, his polemical jousts against past and contemporary Jewish scholars, and his innovative programme for social and educational reform.