(28) Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, so that the span of Jacob’s life came to one hundred and forty-seven years.
From Jewish Virtual Library "Golem"
in Ashkenazi Hasidic lore, the golem would come to life and serve his creators by doing tasks assigned to him. The most well-known story of the golem is connected to Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague (1513-1609). It was said that he created a golem out of clay to protect the Jewish community from Blood Libel and to help out doing physical labor, since golems are very strong. Another version says it was close to Easter, in the spring of 1580 and a Jew-hating priest was trying to incite the Christians against the Jews. So the golem protected the community during the Easter season. Both versions recall the golem running amok and threatening innocent lives, so Rabbi Loew removed the Divine Name, rendering the golem lifeless. A separate account has the golem going mad and running away. Several sources attribute the story to Rabbi Elijah of Chelm, saying Rabbi Loew, one of the most outstanding Jewish scholars of the sixteenth century who wrote numerous books on Jewish law, philosophy, and morality, would have actually opposed the creation of a golem.
(טז) גָּלְמִ֤י ׀ רָ֘א֤וּ עֵינֶ֗יךָ וְעַֽל־סִפְרְךָ֮ כֻּלָּ֪ם יִכָּ֫תֵ֥בוּ יָמִ֥ים יֻצָּ֑רוּ ולא [וְל֖וֹ] אֶחָ֣ד בָּהֶֽם׃
From Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
[גֹּ֫לֶם] noun [masculine] embryo (Late Hebrew גּוֺלֶם, Aramaic גּוֺלְמָא, unfinished vessel), גָּלְמִי רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ Psalm 139:16 mine imperfect substance (RV) did thine eyes see.
from Commentary on Sefer Yetzirah,Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
There is also evidence that creating a Golem was primarily not a a physical procedure,but rather a highly advanced meditative technique.By chanting the appropriate letter arrays together with the tetragrammaton,the initiate could form a very real mental image of a human being,limb by limb.This possibly could be used as an astral body from,through which one could ascend to the the spiritual realms.
The formation of such a spiritual body,however would also result in tremendous spiritual potential........"
א"ר יוחנן בר חנינא שתים עשרה שעות הוי היום שעה ראשונה הוצבר עפרו שניה נעשה גולם
Rabbi Yoḥanan bar Ḥanina says: Daytime is twelve hours long, and the day Adam the first man was created was divided as follows: In the first hour of the day, his dust was gathered. In the second, an undefined figure was fashioned.
From Inner Space,Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
The Kabbalists explain this when they tell us the very first ingredient in creation was the thought of Adam-Humanity.Though humanity was the last in the external order of creation,the thought of humanity precedes creation .We are the original purpose and intention for which the entire building was constructed. The thought of humanity is therefore called Kadamon. The first manifestation of god's purpose is thus called Adam Kadamon,the primordial will that preceded creation.
(Adapted with Egalitarian wording)
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וְלָא מָטָא לִנְבוּאָה דְּוַיְחִי, אֶלָּא בְּמִצְרַיִם, וְהִיא נְבוּאָתָא מַעַלְיָיתָא, לָא אִתְנַבִּיאוּ דְּכַוָּותָה, וְלָא מָטָא לְהוֹ שׁוּם אֵינִישׁ מִן בְּנֵי נְבִיאָה, אֶלָּא הוּא וּמֹשֶׁה, בְּמֹשֶׁה כְּתִיב, כִּי לֹא יִרְאַנִי הָאָדָם וָחָי. בְּיַעֲקֹב כְּתִיב, וַיְחִי יַעֲקֹב. וַיְחִי: נְבוּאָתָה דְּנַחֲתָא מֵאַסְפַּקְלַרְיָאה דְּנַהֲרָא. |
From Zohar,Berg Edition
Jacob arrived at the prophecy of "and...lived" only in Egypt. It was an excellent prophecy, the like of which was never prophesied before. None of the prophets was worthy of it except for him and Moses ALONE. It is written of Moses, "For no man shall see Me, and live" (Shemot 33:20). Of Jacob, it is written, "And Jacob lived" REFERRING TO the prophecy which descends from the shining mirror, TIFERET(Beauty).