On September 7, 2009, the Jewish world commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Judah Loew ben Bezalel, commonly known as Maharal. MaHaRaL is the Hebrew acronym of Moreinu ha-Rav Loew, "Our Teacher the Rabbi Loew" Although best known now as the creator of the Golem, in his time he was known for his educational reforms.
He made several major changes to the Yeshivah system including the rejection of pilpul and the assertion that the material taught should match the age and maturity of the student.
In the CatalogAs with many of our Rabbis who were know by an acronym, it can be confusing to find works by and about them in the library. We use his full name, Judah Loew ben Bezalel, ca. 1525-1609. Here are works written by the Maharal and here are works about him.
Online BooksTiferet Yisrael (Hebrew only)
Gevurot haShem (Hebrew only)
Ner Mitsvah (Hebrew only)
Prague Maharal Conference
While this site is primarily to promote the Conference, it includes a biography of the Maharal, as well as pictures
of Jewish Prague and links to the Maharal exhibit at the Jewish Museum of Prague.
Biography of Maharal
Conference home page
Jewish Museum of Prague
This exhibit includes a biography of Maharal as well as descriptions of his books and the work that the museum
is doing to preserve the volumes.
Jewish Museum of Prague
HUC Libraries Golem Exhibit
This exhibit explored the image of the Golem in popular culture and includes pictures from our "Build your own Golem"
contest.
http://www.huc.edu/libraries/exhibits/golem/index.htm
Jewish Encyclopedia
This overview article includes biographical notes, examines his philosophy, and mentions his majors works
Judah Löw (Löb, Liwa) Ben Bezalel
Lectures at YU Torah online
Golem of Prague, Fact or Fiction / lecture by Dr. Shnayer Leiman
Fascinating lecture on how the Maharal became associated with legends of the Golem
Golem of Prague
Maharal / lecture series by Dr. Alan Brill
Lecture series on the life, work, and theology of the Maharal. Search under "Maharal" for the rest of the lectures.
Maharal 01
While the Library thinks that these sites are useful, their content is not under our control and may express views that are not shared by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
If you have any further questions about finding information on this, or any other topic, ask your local HUC-JIR librarian or email us using the form on the campus library homepage.
Updated 2009