Golem

After his wife is killed in a pogrom riot attack that kicks off the film, Rabbi Yehudah Loew, Chief Rabbi of Prague suffers a crisis of faith and no longer trusts in God to deliver him and his people from the constant persecution they face as they are legally not allowed to defend themselves.

In his moment of desperation, with his faith the furthest from him, the Rabbi creates a Golem, breathing life into a giant clay man with the help of his best student, Jacob, who is engaged to marry his daughter Rebecca. Because the Rabbi did not have his faith in tact when the Golem was created, the Golem is flawed and displays many human traits and desires that ultimately make it difficult to control and render if far from the effective weapon of defense the Rabbi needed it to be.

After a police officer is killed when the Golem defends the Jewish quarter from another pogrom, the Emperor decrees that if the Golem sets foot outside of the Ghetto, he will raze the Jewish quarter and kill or expel all inhabitants. This is all going to the plan of the antagonist, Father Thaddeus, who fabricates a blood libel accusation against the Jewish community in order to cause the worst pogrom of all and trigger the Golem to march on the city proper, violating the Emperor's decree. Rabbi Loew desperately attempts to convince the Golem to let him return him to the earth, but the Golem no longer follows any commands. The final pogrom is easily thwarted and the Golem marches for the city proper.

Rabbi Loew, his daughter Rebecca and Jacob rush to the town square where the Golem is squaring off against the imperial army. An epic battle of thrown spears, smashed buildings and cannon fire ensues. The Emperor's wife and son, seeking an escape from the sudden chaos end up in the middle of the battlefield and the Golem raises a hulking fist over them. At that moment, the Rabbi comes to realize that control of such things is well beyond him and he gives the fate of his people back to God, rediscovering his faith. A brilliant beam of light, the first ray of the rising sun, fills the Golem's face and he pauses his attack, remembering a lesson of humanity at the last moment.

The Golem lowers his fist and lets the Rabbi return him to clay. The Golem's clay remains are locked away in the Old Town Shul, where they still remain to this day. Father Thaddeus' sinister plot is discovered by the Emperor and the threat against the Jews is ended. As the sun rises, the Rabbi invites his congregation back into the synagogue, announcing he will lead the morning prayers for the first time since his wife died.