Written by Leslie Fiedler, Fiedler
of the Roof is a book that tells an unfolding tragedy. He began his life with the deep-seated belief
that the world could become whole, one.
He favored a world community where all differences would be erased. He carried
this out in his own family. He married a
non-Jew and his eight children also married gentiles. None of his grandchildren are Jews. He speaks of two holocausts; one committed by
Hitler and the Nazis and the other a secret one which he, and others like him,
perpetrated against themselves. We can
weep as we read his confession. “There
is no one to say Kaddish for me when I die.
I am not just a minimal Jew; my Judaism is nearly non-existent as I have
only recently become aware, it is a terminal one as well, the last of a 4,000
year line.”
“Between 1305 and the early 1800’s. the House of Taxis ran a form of pony express service all over Europe…. Its couriers clad in blue and silver uniforms, crisscrossed the continent carrying messages between princes and generals, merchants and money lenders.” –Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave We may think we are the first generation consumed by rapid communication but we are not. Throughout our history it has been a priority. Of course, now in the 21 st century we must ask: are we better or worse for it?
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