When I visited Prague about 12 years ago, I was told that the GOLUM protected the Jews. In fact, I bought a little souvenir Golem thing and tody it rests on my Father’s grave...To protect? Have I been wrong all these years?
No, that’s true, the original folklore is that Jews protected the Jews against attacks. Maybe the people in Prague are just sick of hearing about it? (Perhaps the folklore represents the gift of Rabbi Loew in an allegorical way.)
He did protect the Jews. Some versions of the legend however suggest that he might also have attacked Jews in his rampage. I know the Golem also as a protector of Jews.
From wikipedia:
Depending on the version of the legend, under Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor, the Jews in Prague were to be either expelled or killed. To protect the Jewish community the rabbi constructed the Golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river and brought it to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations. As this golem grew it became increasingly violent, killing gentiles and spreading fear. A different story tells of the Golem falling in love, and when rejected, he became the violent monster as seen in most accounts. Some versions have the Golem eventually turning on its creator and perhaps even attacking other Jews.
The Rebbe Rashab and the Rebbe [Rayatz] once visited the shul of the Maharal in Prague [in 1908]. The Rebbe [Rayatz] wanted to go up to the attic in which the golem is to be found, bribed the shammes, took a ladder, and climbed up. (When the Rebbe [Rayatz] recounted this episode I asked him what he saw up there; there was no reply.)
When the Rebbe Rashab heard about this he reprimanded his son severely, and after some time told him, "I had months of work!" (-- Evidently, to forestall any possible ill effects.)
Most Lubavitchers I know believe very much that there was a Golem, and that this story is widely known.