The Jewish golem story tells of a magical, soulless humanoid formed from mud or clay by rabbis, most famously by 16th-century Rabbi Loew of Prague, to be a weapon for the Jewish community. Brought to life using Hebrew mystical rituals (the Sefer Yetzirah), the golem acts as a powerful guardian but can become dangerous, often needing to be deactivated by removing a holy name from its mouth or erasing a letter from its forehead.