Rabbi Loew’s Well-Deserved Bath

Rabbi Loew´s head was full of fleeting Sephiroth. After rubbing his forehead, he decided to soak hands and limbs in his tub, after days upon nights of uninterrupted toil. His finished work, the Golem, was resting his enormous head between his hands. A growling sound came out of his half open lips. His chest heaved under his skin like a living volcano. The cat, which was resting nearby, hissed and was gone in an instant.
Rabbi Loew watched his hands. Luminous clay that he had used to rub over the Golem´s head to give the finishing touches was slow to dissolve in the warm water of his bath. He smiled with satisfaction.
The density of matter conjured to end all violence.

Leonora Carrington was a dedicated reader. Gershon Scholem’s Major Trends of Jewish Mysticism occupied an important place in her library. She had a close friend who was a specialist in Kabbalah and other mystical subjects. Each afternoon, they would sit with a cup of coffee, and discuss such figures as the Golem and the Dybbuk. Some of her drawings were inspired by both the Kabbalah and Hassidic stories.