Golem “friend” October 29, 2017 7:54 AM Subscribe
Can’t find this Metafilter comment, a long description of having a “friend” that is in fact a description of creating a Golem (without ever using the word ‘Golem’ which makes it hard to search).
You obviously travel in different circles than me.
posted by Splunge at 1:55 PM on October 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 1:55 PM on October 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Any other clues that you can remember? Was it in the last year or so, or older? Do you have any inkling of what the original thread was about?
posted by vignettist at 2:23 PM on October 29, 2017
posted by vignettist at 2:23 PM on October 29, 2017
Got it!
“It is wise to say that it's difficult to make adult Friends, but even more difficult to keep them. Most of the people I know who are my age – I just turned 36 a few months ago – have reluctantly resigned themselves either to going to a lot of trouble to make solid and trustworthy Friends or just giving up and becoming homebodies. And the "solid and trustworthy" bit is often the hardest part; it's not terribly difficult to make a Friend, if that's all you want to do, but you very quickly find that there's a big difference between making a Friend and making a good Friend. For example, the instructions for making Friends that can be found in the Sodei Razayya of Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymus are pretty straightforward, and if you refer to the proper passages in Sefer Yetzirah as an additional guide, it's hard to go wrong on the technical details; but most of the people I know who go through that long process and finally manage to make a Friend usually find that they've made a mistake somewhere, and their Friend is not really powerful enough for the task for which they summoned it. Even when they find they've made a solid Friend, the hardest part is still to come – actually keeping a Friend. It seems as though the bond forged when the maker inscribes the shemhamphorasch upon the parchment and places the parchment in the Friend's mouth before uttering the incantation tends to fade over time. If that happens, your Friend may go on a rampage, and you can only hope to erase the first letter from the אמת inscribed on your Friend's forehead before it's too late.”
posted by leotrotsky at 2:26 PM on October 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
“It is wise to say that it's difficult to make adult Friends, but even more difficult to keep them. Most of the people I know who are my age – I just turned 36 a few months ago – have reluctantly resigned themselves either to going to a lot of trouble to make solid and trustworthy Friends or just giving up and becoming homebodies. And the "solid and trustworthy" bit is often the hardest part; it's not terribly difficult to make a Friend, if that's all you want to do, but you very quickly find that there's a big difference between making a Friend and making a good Friend. For example, the instructions for making Friends that can be found in the Sodei Razayya of Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymus are pretty straightforward, and if you refer to the proper passages in Sefer Yetzirah as an additional guide, it's hard to go wrong on the technical details; but most of the people I know who go through that long process and finally manage to make a Friend usually find that they've made a mistake somewhere, and their Friend is not really powerful enough for the task for which they summoned it. Even when they find they've made a solid Friend, the hardest part is still to come – actually keeping a Friend. It seems as though the bond forged when the maker inscribes the shemhamphorasch upon the parchment and places the parchment in the Friend's mouth before uttering the incantation tends to fade over time. If that happens, your Friend may go on a rampage, and you can only hope to erase the first letter from the אמת inscribed on your Friend's forehead before it's too late.”
posted by leotrotsky at 2:26 PM on October 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
That’s a fine comment.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:32 PM on October 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:32 PM on October 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
The real rampaging Golem was inside you all along!
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 5:55 PM on October 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 5:55 PM on October 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
There is also a discussion in there of how hard it is to make friends in Minnesota, and this is true. I am a Minnesotan and do not even spend time with friends I already have. Being a Minnesotans means saying "let's get together soon" for your entire life.
Maybe that's why the Minnesota goodbye is so long. It's the last time you will see them for months or maybe years.
posted by maxsparber at 8:00 AM on October 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Maybe that's why the Minnesota goodbye is so long. It's the last time you will see them for months or maybe years.
posted by maxsparber at 8:00 AM on October 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Can you reboot a Friend? Asking for a Janet.
posted by maudlin at 12:23 PM on October 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 12:23 PM on October 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Golemfriend in a comment, I know, I know, it's serious
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:47 AM on November 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:47 AM on November 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by Sangermaine at 9:02 AM on October 29, 2017 [25 favorites]