Horrovits, the shtetl's rabbi, advises his son Benjamin to divorce his wife Hanna because seven years have passed since the death of their son, and she has not conceived since then. Dismissing his father's advice, Benjamin secretly smuggles a Torah for Hanna and warns her that it is a Kaballah; many men have gone mad after reading its texts. The couple makes love, with Hanna applying a contraception potion.
During Hanna's pregnant sister Rebecca's wedding, a group of peasants in plague masks arrive. Their leader, Vladimir, accuses them of cursing their people with the Black Death, claiming that none of the Jews has contracted it. Intending to massacre the village, Vladimir is stopped when Perla says she will try to heal his sick daughter. Horrovits suggests the village repent in order to save themselves. Hanna argues that they should fight back and make a Golem to protect the village, but is rebuffed.
Hanna discovers her sister had a miscarriage after being assaulted by one of the invaders. Enraged, she sneaks into the synagogue and finds the 72 secret names of God hidden in the Torah in order to reveal the code of merkabah, which could summon a Golem. She forms a mud sculpture of the Golem, and places the Shem HaMephorash inside its mouth, completing the ceremony by setting ablaze a Star of David. The next day, she is ambushed by a group of invaders, who beat and hang her. She is saved by the Golem, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her dead son. Hanna wipes the mud off its forehead, revealing human skin with the word "EMET" (Truth) carved into it. Perla confronts Hanna, revealing that when another Golem was summoned to protect them in the past, the creature had gone on a rampage against the very people it was supposed to protect. She warns that the Golem is not a living thing and that Hanna should destroy it before it becomes too dangerous. Hanna then tries to drown the Golem, but discovers that it cannot be killed by normal means.
Hanna spies Benjamin flirting with another woman; the woman is slaughtered by the Golem. The village discovers the woman's corpse and presume she was murdered by outsiders. Rebecca's husband is killed in the ensuing fight with the invaders, and Benjamin is saved by the Golem, who is acting upon Hanna's emotions. A terrified Vladimir and his followers flee. At dinner, the Golem stabs himself, showing Hanna that they are connected through pain stimulus. While Hanna and Benjamin have sex, Perla sneaks in and tries to kill the Golem, only to be killed by it instead. Benjamin discovers Perla's corpse, and pleads with Hanna to destroy the Golem; she refuses, claiming it is just a boy.
Fearing that the Golem has become a danger to the village, Benjamin assembles a minyan. He lures the Golem to the synagogue, and Horrovits tries to kill it by using the Pulsa diNura death curse. The plan almost succeeds until Vladimir, who has returned after his daughter has died, begins to set fires around the village, distracting them. The Golem slaughters Horrovits and goes on a rampage. Vladimir is about to kill Hanna when the Golem tears his heart out, then attempts to kill everyone in sight until Benjamin pleads again with Hanna. Hanna kisses the Golem goodbye, removing the scroll of God's name from its mouth, killing it.
