The Stone Warrior
#2 of Der Golem en Prague!
"Not again! Not after two months of repairing this storefront and now vandals have come to destroy it once more!" Eytan Goldstein said as his shop was ruined yet again by drunken hooligans. The humble store, once run by his father, sold rare fruits to the community as well as exotic Middle Eastern spices for a high price and it was the largest storefront in the Judenstadt of Prague. The wolf and his family had run this shop for generations, which in addition to selling fruits, vegetables and other assorted foodtuffs, sold Shabbat sticks, brass menorahs, and other Judaica to the residents of the ghetto, all at a reasonable price considering the chronic poverty inherent in the ghetto.
And yet with disturbing regularity, these hooligans would return every few months to smash the windows, deface the signs, and loot whatever they could, forcing Eytan and his wife, Deborah to raise prices to pay for repairs, which broke their hearts. How were they to help their community when they had to "price out" nearly all their potential buyers and who but the most desperate of people would buy from a store that was in a perpetual state of repair?
And when the major festivals like Passover came, how could they balance making a profit and keeping those festivals possible for others, when they were forced to overcharge for the herbs, wine, psices, and unleavened bread which were essential to the Seder?
The officers didn't care one way or the other what happened in the ghetto and in fact, deplored being there in the ghetto. All the judges and magistrates would rule against the Jewish business owners whenever their stores and homes were vandalized by these callous animals, for lack of a better word. All attempts at defending their businesses were rendered moot by laws stipulating that the Jews of the city could not carry their own weapons, thus preventing their own police force in the ghetto and if things ever became violent, they would never get a fair trial. So essentially their attempts at free enterprise, peace, and raising their quality of life were dependent on the whims of vicious goyim known for their disrespect.
But where else could Eytan and Deborah go? 16th century Europe was no place to be Jewish- in the countryside, pogroms or anti-Jewish persecutions which would often result in the burning of synagogues and the deaths of many Jews had reached Eytan's ears and filled his heart with remorse. Only because of their sheer number would these pogroms stop in Prague but even then the persecution, the insults, the vandalism, the senseless destruction of personal goods would continue unabated. And the filth and poverty in which Eytan lived would never disappear either. To improve his outlook on life, something desperate needed to happen and he prayed every night for divine protection on his business, his family, his friends, and his community.
Deep in his despair, the wolf saw something peculiar beyond the crowd of brutes destroying his family's store- a gigantic stone lion walking over his way. He had caught the eye of many who were on the same street- this hulking creature of hardened clay who after slowly walking over to the hooligans, in this case a group of dogs, grabbed one of them with his giant paws and held him aloft, squeezing his shoulders.
"Let me go. Let me go, whatever you are!" the mangy dog would say.
"I will but you must never hurt this man or his business again. You will leave the people of the Judenstadt in peace and never cause them harm again!" his robotic, 'stony' monotone of a voice sounded as the flea-bitten dog ran away as fast as he could, with his cohorts not too far behind.
"Who exactly are you?" Eytan said, reaching his hand out. His wife upon hearing the end of the destruction and chaos rushed out the door to meet whoever had stopped the looting of their store.
"I am the Golem of Rebbe Loew, sent to protect the Jews of Prague from those who would make their lives even more difficult. I heard the destruction from down the street and came to investigate whatever happened here. I take it you are in good health."
"Never mind me and my wife- we can flee when this happens but our store is completely ruined by those vandals."
"They stole so much from us and all we want to do is make a profit and help our community" Deborah said, examining the cashier's table now rent asunder. "We can't make a profit at all because of these hooligans and..." the she-wolf said, tears welling in her eyes "we want peace."
"We need protection, we need a chance to sell our wares and live in our homes without fear of vandalism or violence. We have no other place to go in this world without being harassed by the goyim and in other places, we know it is much worse to be a Jew," the wolf continued, his eyes staring at this gigantic stone soldier.
"That's why I am here to protect you! I was created out of clay by Rebbe Loew to make your lives better. If ever anyone threatens the Jews of this city, my purpose is to stop the hooligans."
"Thank you so much and thank Rebbe Loew, that most holy of men for bringing you into existence. We will no longer need to cower in fear every time they come for now we have our protector," the wolf said to the lion made of stone.
Perhaps maybe things would finally change for the people of the Judenstadt in Prague...