The book, The Lost Dream, is a snapshot in time. It is the story of one man and his family that was repeated millions of times in Europe and Russia. Sadly, six million of these stories ended in death at the hands of the Nazis and the wilfully blind of the rest of the world.
It begins:
My name is Israel Ignac Feldman. I was born in Lodz, Poland in the year 1914 to parents who would have been regarded as lower middle class for those of you who insist on becoming acquainted with financial class structure right at the beginning of my story. What we lacked in money we more than made up with love and respect for family and our endless spiritual love.
Israel Ignac Feldman wrote this book when he was 89 years old, yet manages to take you back in time in a way that makes you feel you are there. He takes us on a Jewish journey between two World Wars, in a climate that was hopeful. He noted that the enlightenment was to have ended all wars.
“The feudal system had collapsed and a new system of capitalism and democracy arose in Western Europe along with winds of freedom. Huge factories sprang up where ghettos once stood. The French revolution with its slogan “liberty, fraternity and equality for all” would be a dream come true. There would be no more wars , no more killings.”
We know what happened.
His story includes his admiration for the women in his life. He shines a light on the strength of our Yiddishe mommas-our Jewish mothers who, left on their own when husbands were drafted into the Russian and/or Polish armies, cared for their children, found food and shelter and ran from town to town to save their children. This is an extraordinary story of women of valour; “Eishet Chayil.” And a beautiful story between his beloved Lonia and himself. This book was brought to life with the assistance of his daughter and my friend, Vardit Feldman.
His story ends well. He brings his family to Canada. A miracle in itself as Canada had a policy of None is too Many when it came to Jews.
Mr. Feldman ended his story with an important warning to all who come after:
“The Lost Dream was so titled because I recognized every generation lays claims to its madmen-Men who want to commit genocide-annihilate another people. As the last words of this book were typed, the name Ahmadinejad from Iran comes to mind. I ask all who read this book, Jew and Gentile, not to give this madman a chance to proceed with his plans for a nuclear Iran. Learn from the Holocaust. Never Again should mean exactly Never Again! Sadly we allowed all of us-Rwanda and Darfur. Israel came up from the ashes. Do not allow Israel to go into the ashes again. Do not lose that dream for a real viable place.”
How prescient of this man for here we are with threats from Iran because of a man who gave Iran the means to destroy Israel. The madman of our generation. The Amalek of this generation. Barack Hussein Obama who gave billions to the Iranian madman, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and turned a blind eye to his calls for “Death to Israel.”
I suggest you read his book; his memoire. Immerse yourself in that moment in time. Hopefully you can find a copy in a used book store. If not, we can hope the publisher will do another run!
From the Ethics of the Fathers: “Rabbi Tarfon used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it.”
