Slow Read Along of The Books of Jacob | II. Book of Sand, Chapter 12
"There is one God in three figures, and the fourth is the holy Mother."
Welcome to the Slow Read Along of Olga Tokarczuk, The Books of Jacob. You read along at your own pace, and I comment on one chapter a week over 32 weeks. I share my voiceover and glimpses into characters and context for paid subscribers. This week we look at chapter 12 where we meet the holy Mother.
Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018. The New Yorker described The Books of Jacob as an “Essential Read.”
Meeting the Holy Mother in A Book of Sand
“In the sand strewn over the table that served as our slate, Isohar drew triangles, and marked their corners according to what was in the Zohar…. and then the triangle stands on its head, now the God of Truth is on top, and beneath him is the Shekhinah and the Shekhinah’s vessel, the Messiah.”
(Tokarczuk, Books of Jacob, p. 714-713)
At the start of chapter 12, we see Jacob, through the sceptical eyes of Abraham writing to Tovah, “as a restless and agitated man, not a rebel or a sage.” Abraham pleas, “I deeply want to believe that you knew what you were doing, giving Hana to someone like him.” The seed of doubt will grow and grow in Tovah’s mind.
Nahman has his doubts too, and wrestles with them and his will to believe. Jacob’s self-assurance fixes Nahman’s belief.
There is nothing that brings greater relief than the certainty that there is someone who really knows. For we ordinary people never have such certainty.
Tokarczuk, The Books of Jacob (Nahman, p. 729)
In Salonika, Jacob challenges and defies Konio, a rival successor in Sabbatai Tzvi’s prophetic line, the son of the Second, Baruchiah. Jacob uses fear and intimidation. “Whoever fears, respects. That’s just the way it is,” he says. Nahman is uneasy with the confrontation, but with Mordechai’s assurance the group are drawn more deeply into Jacob’s cult. They live solely on alms while dedicating their lives to religious study under Jacob.
From Nikopol, in 1754, Hana sends news that she has given birth to a daughter, named Eva, and nicknamed Avacha. Following the news of the birth, Jacob has an ecstatic, spiritual experience, ruah haKodesh, when the spirit descends into man. There is synchronicity between Eva’s birth and the descent of the spirit into Jacob. Jacob’s spiritual transformation most would assume to be a “solemn, noble moment” but it “turns out to be more like a flogging, or a birth. (724)
Jacob and his followers are harried and ostracised from Salonika. Konio’s followers attempt to assassinate Jacob. He survives but he and his group decide to leave for Smyrna. Jacob develops an eczema-like illness, which, prompted by the remark of a Thessalonian ‘witch’ that he was “molting like a snake” convinces his followers that Jacob is the Messiah, associated with the symbol of the serpent. When Jacob plunges into the sea, the illness is cured, and Nahman narrates the story as a miracle cure. His submission to Jacob is deepened as they sailed through a storm to Smyrna. Jacob humiliates Nahman, who “finds an odd pleasure in it.” He promises never to leave Jacob.
After returning to Smyrna, with the family of Hana, Jacob and Eva united, his followers practise the Kabbalah. Elisha Shorr from Rohatyn arrives in Smyrna on Nahman’s invitation and convinces the group to return to Poland. They travel to Czernowitz where Jacob’s father reveals his view of his son’s character. The group are held up at the Ottoman-Poland border, where Jacob performs a Dervish whirl, mixing Jewish, Sufi, Christian and even Russian traditions.
“I am a dancer,” proclaims Jacob. Reb Elisha Shorr replies that Jacob is a holy fool.
For paid subscribers below I have some additional sources and notes to enrich your Slow Read. Next week we begin the Book of the Road.
chat question - Tell me what caught your eye in an interview with Olga Tokarczuk
character - Hana
context - Shekhinah.
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