Harry Potter and the 3 Weeks pt. 2

 

Not only can the periods when we had and did not have a Beit Hamikdash be compared to the periods without and with Voldemort, many similarities can be drawn between the actual events that took place as well as the characters who arose in those times. As the period of the first Beit Hamikdash was nearing the end, there were two prophets and leaders in Israel who had found themselves at a difference of opinion. These men were Yermiahu and Chananya, and their story is remarkably similar to that of Dumbledore and Fudge. The story begins in the end of the fourth book when Harry told Dumbledore that Voldemort had returned. Dumbledore, however, did not seem entirely surprised to hear this news. He then made a bold statement to the school that Voldemort was back, and he was basing this on more than the testimony of a 14-year-old boy. His brilliance and track record of being correct most of the time gained him the belief of those under his influence. This was up until Fudge came out and rejected the notion that the Dark Lord had indeed returned. There was an immediate shift in the dedication of the people from Dumbledore’s side to Fudge’s. What’s fascinating is that anyone who would open there eyes would see just how much sense Dumbledore was making. People were missing, people were dying, and there was an appearance of the dark mark not even one year prior. It should have been obvious that Voldemort was soon to return. I believe their denial was in two-fold. Firstly, it’s much easier to accept good news. Secondly, and more importantly, they were convinced that their interpretation was correct. Voldemort had died the night he attempted to kill Harry, and there is no magic that can bring people back to life.

Dumbledore, however, possessed a broader prospective. He was able to look at the same occurrence and more accurately understand it. He had a hunch that Voldemort had made horcruxes, he had a hunch as to how Harry stayed alive, and he had a hunch as to what happened to Voldemort if it wasn’t death. To a less keen eye, Voldemort was dead, and he wasn’t coming back. Dumbledore asked fudge to see reason and acknowledge the position he’s in. Acknowledging that Dumbledore was correct would affect his popularity, but would ultimately benefit the people on the whole. Fudge decided to maintain his resolve, and Dumbledore went his separate way (his exact words being “We have reached a parting of the ways.” Time eventually revealed that Dumbledore was correct, and Fudge lost all credibility as disaster struck.

Yirmiahu makes a bold statement as well that the Jews were going to be attacked and kicked out of Israel. Yirmiahu’s brilliance and track record may have eventually won over the people over whom he had influence, but there was another man, Chananya, who had a great deal of influence, and when he came out and rejected the notion that the Jews would be kicked out, there was an immediate shift in the dedication of the people. What’s fascinating is that anyone who would open their eyes would see just how much sense Yirmiahu was making. People were rebelling, people were violating the commandments of Hashem, and they didn’t warrant Hashem’s continual protection. It should have been obvious that the Jews were soon to be taken over. I believe their denial was in two-fold. Firstly, it’s much easier to accept good news. Secondly, and more importantly, they were convinced that their interpretation was correct. Chananya had a prophecy with relation to the Jews and their safety status, and without getting into the specifics of the prophecy or his interpretation, on the surface, Chanaya’s interpretation seems to be a logical one.

Yirmiahu, however, possessed a broader prospective. He was able to look at the same prophecy and more accurately understand it. He knew that the safety Chananya had understood was a misinterpretation. Yirmiahu approached Chananya and asked him to see reason and acknowledge the position he’s putting himself in. Chananya decided to maintiain his resolve, and, as it says in Yimiyahu 28, 11, the prophet Yirmiahu went his separate way. Time eventually revealed that Yirmiahu was correct, and Chananya lost all credibility as disaster struck.

Harry Potter and the 3 Weeks

We’re told that the third Beit Hamikdash will be the best of all three. It may even be a time where god is so clear in the world that there will no longer be sin. We may return to how the world was in Gan Edan. But why? What makes the third Beit Hamikdash so qualitatively better? What enables the generation to live such an ideal life? We see this dynamic of three periods of ideal living surrounding two periods of disaster in the Wizarding World. Up until Voldemort’s first rise to power, the Wizarding World was happy. There were bumps along the way like Grindelwald, but Dumbledore took care of him before he did too much serious damage. They were living in an ideal, peaceful time- one when they did not have to worry about death eaters, dark marks, or coming home to find their loved ones dead. What more could someone ask for? However, despite their blissful life style, they were not happy; they were normal. They didn’t know how it felt to be expelled from a care free life style and plunged into fear with no sanctuary. They were completely under-appreciative of their freedom.

Then came the first rise. An experience so mortifying that it tore families apart, massacred a generation, and left those who experienced it terrified even of the name of the man involved. They were begging for freedom, and, finally, it came. This generation now knew how to appreciate the lives that used to be taken for granted. But their bliss just wasn’t as sweet as it was the last time. The name Voldemort caused fear when he, himself, was not there to do so. Death eaters who kept themselves out of Azkaban were living amongst innocent and scared people. Worst of all, they knew it would come to an end, and freedom with an end in sight can hardly be called freedom. Dumbledore, Snape, Black, plenty knew that Voldemort was not completely defeated even if some couldn’t come to terms with it. Even fudge knew he would one day return. There was even prophecy that foretold his return, they were “free”, but not like the last time.

Then Voldemort returned to start a reign far worse than the last one. He took over the ministry, he killed hundreds, and this time there was no Dumbledore to rely on. When things looked darkest, and nearly all hope was lost, Voldemort was defeated and the Wizarding World was, yet again, free. This freedom was a complete one, all the feelings of the first time came back; it wasn’t missing a detail. And this time the perfect bliss they had, was the one they so desperately craved for so long. There was no under-appreciation. In addition to the state of life being exactly how it was in the beginning, and in addition to the fact that it was, this time, being experienced by those who felt suffering, and in addition to the fact that this time they knew it would last, it came after the worst, most desperate period of suffering. They lived in a complete feeling of happiness and comfort that the world had never known before.

This is the experience of the third Beit Hamikdash that awaits us. The Jews in the time of the first Beit Hamikdash had it all, but they never lost it. They never had their walls surrounded and were never starved to death. They were never stripped of their freedom, and they never had the most precious thing in their lives taken away. They had the Beit Hamikdash, but they never wanted it as much as we do now. The second generation knew how it felt to long so desperately for its rebuilding, but they didn’t have the same Beit Hamikdash. The open miracles that the first one had were not seen by the second.  Even worse, they knew it would come to an end; there was even prophecy that foretold it. The second would be destroyed, but the third would be eternal. How could they take true pleasure in a Mikdash centered life that would soon end?

Then comes the third generation. We don’t know it exactly what the world will be like, but we can expect a happiness and ideal life the likes of which the world had never seen… because it’s logical. We’re promised the restoration of the miracles that hadn’t been seen since the first. This time we won’t dread the end; its forever. This time it’s in a generation that knows how to appreciate it because we’ve fasted and mourned for it for 2000 years! This time it comes after a suffering so much longer and harder than had ever been seen before. There is no past comparison to what awaits us, and it does await us. This is among the last prophecies that have yet be fulfilled in a long line that was foretold thousands of years ago. Right now we’re in the suffering period, but its length and hardship is building the greatness of the event soon to come. An event so great that it should be physically painful that it has not happened yet.