Jacob's Ladder

"Marina Aptekman makes skillful use of rich and diverse source materials, some new and others interpreted in an original and innovative way. This is an important and thought-provoking contribution to the field of Russian-Jewish cultural relations."—Mikhail Krutikov, associate professor of Slavic Languages and Literature, University of Michigan

“This book is a fascinating study of a largely unexplored subject--the role of Kabbalah in Russian literature from the mid 17th to the 20th century and the larger context in which literature developed. Focusing on images and allegories that derive, directly and indirectly, from Kabbalah, Aptekman shows how and why lt became an important element in mystical freemasonry, romanticism, and modernism. In addition, she limns the alternation between mystical and magical (or occult) interpretations of kabbalah and reveals how the occult interpretation came to be associated with black magic and, eventually, with the myth of a Judaeo-Masonic conspiracy.” ~Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, professor of history, Fordham University

"Aptekman’s study is a valuable work that offers much to a reader interested in Russian literary culture and the role played by Freemasonry in Russian literature. More specifically, in Chapter 1 Aptekman provides a fascinating overview of how Kabbalah played a significant role in the literary works of a triumvirate of late eighteenth-century Russian writers (Mikhail Kheraskov, Fyodor Kliucharev and Semyon Bobov). The author’s analysis of the kabbalistic elements utilized by the Silver Age poet Vasilii Rozanov is also stimulating, especially in regard to the cultural backdrop of anti-Semitism rife in Russia at the turn of the twentieth century." ~Robert Collis, The University of Sheffield,

“Those who are looking for names, sources, and themes related to the aspects of Kabbalah at the periods around the turns of the two centuries will find this book a useful tool." ~Henrietta Mondry (University of Canterbury), H-Judaic

“Marina Aptekman’s thoroughly researched book Jacob’s Ladder makes a valuable contribution to both Russian and Jewish Studies by exploring the evolution of kabbalistic themes and allegories in literature and philosophy from pre-Romanticism to the Silver Age. This study opens up new ways of decoding and interpreting literary works by tracing the evolution of mystical kabbalistic allegories during three centuries of Russian literature." ~Nadja Berkovich, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign