The Books of Jacob

The disputation takes place on July 17, 1759. Yente watches over the congregation from “the top of the vault” (432). Moliwda gives a stirring and convincing defense of the Contra-Talmudists and “the crowd is moved” (431). The Rabbis present the traditional Talmudists’ arguments but they are unconvincing and the disputation is adjourned until the next day. Asher Rubin attends and then returns home, where Gitla asks him about Jacob. She is pregnant again.

The disputation drags into September. The discussions have broken down into accusations about “the thirst for Christian blood among the Talmudist people” (427), referencing traditional antisemitic conspiracy theories about blood libel (See: Background). In the audience, Pinkas is so astonished by the absurdity of the claims that he confronts Moshe. He is dragged away by the guards. Despite the uproar in the cathedral, the rabbis must return in three days to present their response. When they return, Rabbi Rapaport “calls the whole accusation an act of spite, revenge and plain old blood libel” (423) brought about by deliberately poor translations of Hebrew. Katarzyna Kossakowska writes to Bishop Soltyk to say that the disputation has ruled in favor of the Contra-Talmudists on every point except the Jewish consumption of Christian blood. The decision on this point has been delayed. A date for Jacob’s baptism has been set, and she asks for additional funds and possibly “some other Place to stay outside of the City” (420).

Father Chmielowski is enduring many problems. He is still harboring the runaway Jan and, after attending the disputation, he is convinced that Jewish people are in need of “Christian blood” (419). Worried about antisemitic violence, Pinkas prepares to visit the delegation of the Pope to ask for a denunciation of the Contra-Talmudists’ accusations. The Talmudists now hope that the mass baptism of the Contra-Talmudists is the best solution. Pinkas’s nephew Yankiel brings him news about Gitla. Jacob’s followers gather ahead of the “great event” (415). They believe that the baptism will change everything for them. While being involved in the disputation, Nahman has fathered a child with his “very young wife, Wajgele” (412). He gives Wajgele and the newborn Christian names; all Jacob’s followers prepare for their baptism by selecting Christian names. Father Chmielowski watches the situation in Lwow and is surprised to meet Hrycko, the young gentile boy who translated for him during the first meeting with Shorr. Now, Hrycko passes as a Jewish man, but he is preparing to convert to Christianity with the other Contra-Talmudists. Chmielowski is appalled but can do nothing.

Unable to “restrain himself” (400), Pinkas searches for Jacob. He sees Jacob and cannot deny to himself that the man is handsome. When he returns home, however, he is overcome by rage and begins writing about how Jacob is ugly, illiterate, foolish, and that “his teeth [are] black” (398). The baptism eventually takes place on September 17, 1759. Jacob and his followers officially become Christians. Nahman does not attend; his baby falls sick and dies, but he insists that this be kept secret. Hana is “shocked” (395) when Jacob decides to shave off his large beard. To her, he seems like an entirely new person.

A plague hits Lwow and Asher Rubin “tries to picture how the illness passes from one person to another” (394). Rumors blame the Contra-Talmudists for bringing the plague to the town when they came to be baptized. Asher forbids Gitla from leaving the house. One evening, Pinkas and his nephew visit Asher with the aim of finding Gitla. Pinkas wants Asher to marry Gitla and leave Lwow. Asher stays in Lwow and tries to stop the plague. Jacob walks among the sick, laying his hands on the suffering people in an attempt to heal them. Asher studies Jacob, knowing about his prior relationship with Gitla. He tries to find homes for his patients’ children, now orphaned by the plague. Gitla gives birth to twin girls and, a short time later, Asher moves to Vienna with Gitla and her three children.

Moliwda writes to Katarzyna Kossakowska about how the plague is ravaging the Contra-Talmudists. Katarzyna then writes to other powerful people, requesting their help in showing “Christian mercy” (386) to Jacob’s followers. Jacob himself leads a small delegation to Warsaw, where he hopes to meet with the king to ask for some land where he can live with his people. During the journey, he provides lessons and demonstrations designed to reaffirm his followers’ faith in him. However, Shlomo envies the attention Jacob gives to other members of the group. Nahman notices the “great consternation” (380) among his fellow Contra-Talmudists.

During the journey, Jacob’s fame precedes the traveling party. They are petitioned for favors and, in one town, attacked by a “gaggle of oafs” (377). Reb Mordke falls ill and dies; his death causes arguments in the group. They bury him “according to the Catholic custom” (375). The next day, Hershel dies. Jacob seems distraught at first, but then, during Hershel’s funeral, he unexpectedly breaks into song. His followers join in, and they pray together for help from God. The day after, Jacob and Moliwda travel to Warsaw, leaving the others in Lublin. Nahman reflects on his memories of Reb Mordke.

Jacob and Moliwda travel to Warsaw. As Moliwda drinks vodka, he assures Jacob that his audience with the king will be granted. For the first time, Moliwda suspects that Jacob may actually “believe in all the tales he told the others” (369). Jacob hires an ostentatious carriage and rooms for the delegation from Lublin. He hires servants and begins meeting with powerful people, who wish to meet the strange “neophyte and Puritan” (368). Moliwda acts as Jacob’s translator and often embellishes the language. He spends time with Katarzyna Kossakowska as she makes many social calls. They discuss Jacob’s lavish spending and the difficulties he is facing; Moliwda does not mention the apparent interruptions and surveillance of Jacob’s mail.

Katarzyna hosts a Christmas dinner at her home. She invites Hana and her children to stay with her, though Hana struggles to socialize as she does not speak the language. She worries that she has been cut off from Jacob and the other Contra-Talmudists. After Christmas, Katarzyna and her husband speak to their neighbors about finding homes for Jacob’s followers on “the estates of various nobles” (357). She decides to dub Jacob’s followers “Puritans” rather than converts as this phrase has “good associations” (356). During one visit, Father Chmielowski meets Katarzyna again and they discuss books, Warsaw, and the baptisms of the Puritans.

Father Pikulski holds a meeting with Shlomo Shorr and other recent converts. He asks them about the “path [they traveled] to reach the true faith” (349) and he is shocked that the naive men do not realize that they are being interrogated. They talk freely about Jacob and Pikulski realizes that they truly love him. In a letter to the church authorities, Pikulski comments that his fears have been realized: The supposed conversion of the Contra-Talmudists is hollow, as they do not truly believe in Christianity. He believes that they are heretics with “muddy views of Christianity” (345).

Moliwda is worried about Jacob, who “went off alone in the carriage and never came back” (344-43). In Warsaw, he learns that Jacob has been imprisoned by the Bernardines (the religious order to which Pikulski belongs). Moliwda hears about the interrogations, then attends one and sees how the Contra-Talmudists “keep digging themselves in deeper“ (340). He sees Jacob led into the room to be interrogated and Moliwda translates for him.

Jacob seems as though he has been beaten and he answers the questions in a simple, honest manner. After affirming his biographical details, he talks about his beliefs. He claims that his teachings about the Messiah were more metaphorical than literal; however, the church interrogators have more information. Their questions become more pointed, but Moliwda is confident that Jacob is more intelligent than the interrogators. By the end of the interrogation, however, Moliwda notices that Jacob has lost his confidence. Moliwda knows that the priests do not trust him and, when he is summoned the next day, he is read a list of his own transgressions. Moliwda is told to write out “everything he knows about Jacob Frank that other people might not know” (331). Fearing for his life, he begins to write.

Moliwda is now one of the secretaries of Primate Lubienski. When Lubienski is invited on a hunt, he takes Moliwda with him and asks about his time with the “heretics” (329). Moliwda tells stories but keeps his most personal truths to himself. The hunt is hosted by Hieronim Florian Radziwill and includes many different sorts of animals. The king is also present but Moliwda is unable to speak to him. He returns to Warsaw alone.

Nahman attempts to explore his memories through his writing. He finds himself at a “crossroads” (325) as he tells how the priests summoned him to be interrogated. Even though he resents some ways in which Jacob had begun to act aloofly among the Christians, he assures his fellow Contra-Talmudists that Jacob’s capture and suffering are all part of the Messianic prophecy. He speaks to the interrogators and tells them everything. When the interrogation is finished, however, he moves far away with Wajgele.

Hana receives very little news or very strange letters. She knows that Jacob has been arrested and she feels that she is now a prisoner, though she is still staying in Katarzyna’s house. She invents increasingly elaborate ways in which to delay her own baptism.