The Books of Jacob

In Brunn, Jacob and his followers send many letters. They have their own bureaucracy, in which they recruit new people, make money, and plot their own foreign affairs. Jacob wants to win over the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, but his delegations fail repeatedly. He sends Nahman and, when Nahman fails, Jacob orders for him to be beaten. In Brunn, they bring back many of the old Ivanie customs. Jacob also plans to assemble a small military force as “he who has banners and an army, even a modest one, is considered to be a true ruler in this world” (175).

Bishop Soltyk is captured by the Russians and, when he returns to Warsaw, he seems like a changed man. Having built successful businesses in Warsaw, the followers who remain in Poland debate why they are sending so much of their own money to Jacob. Golinski is particularly worried about his wife’s faithfulness. He travels to Brunn, and then Vienna, to find her. He signs his name to a letter to Maria Theresa in which he explains the history of Jacob’s heresy and asks for a public “confrontation” (165) with Jacob. However, he is not the true author of the letter and he recognizes that some of the details have been embellished to sully Jacob’s reputation.

The Dobrushkas host a large family gathering. Thomas returns from Vienna with new games, books, and ideas. His vehement praise of freemasonry brings criticism. Jacob reshuffles his house and requests that Wittel Matuszewska spend more time with him. She takes over the running of his affairs, including criticizing the way in which he is “always arranging intercourse so that it is good for the men, but not necessarily for the women” (158). His health falters again and he arranges for Eva to be sent to Vienna, away from the emperor, to have portraits made of her which he can use to raise funds. He speaks about his plans for his followers, which involve three steps: first is baptism; then they will gain knowledge (referred to by the Hebrew word Daat); finally, they will gain entrance to the Kingdom of Edom, which is salvation. His followers print leaflets documenting his teachings.

Thomas runs a profitable overseas trade business. Jacob helps him find contacts across the continent and he loans money to Jacob through the small Viennese bank he has set up with his fellow Freemasons. He tries to arrange for Jacob to be given a noble title, but the emperor is increasingly wary of the Freemasons. Eva spends time with the emperor, but he has a new lover; she spends her time at court with a new acquaintance named Giacomo Casanova, who speaks of his interest in alchemy. Eva becomes pregnant but tries to hide any visible signs of her pregnancy. Jacob is angry and sends a medicine to his daughter which aborts her pregnancy. Thomas develops his own interest in alchemy and sets up a forge of his own, trying to turn base metals into gold. Jacob takes an interest in this process, particularly as it will help him alleviate the debts incurred by his lavish spending at the court and a recent, unsuccessful foray into the stock market at Thomas’s suggestion. Together, they produce tiny bottles of “miraculous liquid” (151) which they claim can cure all diseases. They sell them but these medicines are not enough to cover the debts.

Jacob is forced to sell many items and release many of his staff. Empress Maria Theresa dies, and Jacob hopes that this will prompt the emperor to recall Eva to the court with a view to marrying her, but Eva knows that this will not happen. She nervously bites her nails so often that she must wear gloves. Shlomo’s firstborn son, Franciszek, believes that he is intended to marry Eva, though she does not seem to know that he exists. Samuel is the son of Gitla and Asher. He has grown up to be a “thin, pimply” (145) law student. In Vienna, he sees Eva for the first time, and she makes an immediate impression on him.

Asher and Gitla live in Vienna. He works as an optometrist and she works with him, grinding the glass for the spectacles. Their regular, comfortable routine involves weekly trips to a café where they sip coffee and discuss new Enlightenment ideas. Now, Asher regards his life as beginning only “when, in Lwow, a pregnant girl came to him, when she stood at his door” (140). However, he is driven to a sudden melancholy after a chance encounter with Shlomo’s son, Franciszek Wolowski. He experiences a nostalgia for his days in Rohatyn, exacerbated by his occasional trips to help a patient whose condition resembles the prophetic fevers of Hayah Shorr. Hayah now lives in Warsaw and, though she has grown old, still tells fortunes for people when they ask her to do so. She occasionally sees Yente in these prophecies and knows that the old woman has “not quite died” (134). She also feels another unknown presence.

Franciszek Wolowski wants to marry Eva, chiefly because she is “unavailable” (134). However, his proposal to her is turned down in embarrassing fashion. To distract himself, he becomes enamored with the music scene in Vienna. He returns to Warsaw, where he will be assigned a wife and help his father train Jacob’s military legion. Jacob’s health problems require frequent bloodletting and he is often weak and unsteady. At court, he and Eva have fallen out of the emperor’s favor; Jacob tries unsuccessfully to ask the emperor for help in paying his debts, but the emperor offers only partial aid.

Jacob dissolves his court and plans to leave. He meets with Thomas, accusing him of squandering the investments on the stock market. Thomas remains enthusiastic, however, and—through his connections with the Freemasons— secures “an impressive castle on the River Main, near Frankfurt” (126) which will be made available to Jacob and his followers.

Nahman writes about how his wife Wajgele dies during the birth of his daughter, Rozalia. He also comments on Jacob’s “willful, lawless” (123) sons, Roch and Joseph, who are sent away to study at the School of Chivalry and then the Corps of Cadets. Nahman feels responsible for the two boys, who are not shown much affection by their father. On one occasion, Nahman is surprised to see a much-changed Moliwda. He now works as a royal scribe; he lives alone and drinks often. They meet occasionally but, around Christmas in 1786, Nahman learns that Moliwda is dead. Nahman is summoned to Brunn by Jacob, who has “wasted away” (119). As Nahman and the others pack up or sell anything left in the house, Jacob waits attentively on news from Thomas.

In the late autumn of 1786, Moliwda reflects on his life. He is part of a social circle of writers and intellectuals; he has written his own book—published anonymously—about sex workers in Warsaw. His experiences and his aging bring about a “doddering misogyny” (114) in him, and he realizes that he hates women. During one of his final meetings with Nahman, he tells the story of how he married a Jewish woman while running away from home. She died giving birth to their child, who also died. After, he traveled far and wide, working as a translator. His life changed when he met Jacob. He asks Nahman whether he has led “a good life” (110) but gets no answer. On his way home, he watches a musical instrument shop burn.