The poem tells the story of Judah Loew and his creation of the Golem.
In the poem, Borges quotes the works of German Jewish philosopher Gershom Scholem and Cratylus by Plato.
Borges was fascinated by Kabbalah all his life, and besides El Golem, wrote 3 other texts relating to Kabbalah: Una vindicación de la Cábala(1932), Del Culto de los Libros(1951), and La Cábala(1980).
Additionally, there is a section dedicated to the Golem in Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings.
[2] The poem explores the idea that human-created language systems are inherently limited and how reality cannot be confined to language and words, and the idea that creation is necessarily imperfect.