The Tall Rabbi and the Magic Lantern

The Klausen Synagogue beside the cemetery is said to have been founded by the distinguished Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, that is, son of Bezalel. He is said to have been born in Worms in 1520 and to have come to Prague in the reign of Rudolf II. He was an excellent master of all Hebrew learning, and a distinguished mathematician and astronomer besides; the Jews soon chose him as their chief rabbi, but people generally called him simply the tall rabbi on account of his unusual stature. When word spread among the Jews that the emperor would come to him, they rejoiced and were in firm hope that they would be helped. The emperor did indeed visit the rabbi towards evening with his astronomer, and the rabbi showed him some pieces of his art: as they relate, he had made himself a magic lantern and with it displayed many pictures on the wall for the emperor — he conjured up for him a picture of Hradčany, various scenes out of the past, and even out of the future.