Harry Potter and the Reflections of our Fathers

           In this week’s Parsha, Vayeshev, Yosef finds himself in a difficult position. He’s the head of his master, Potifar’s, house, and he catches the eye of Potifar’s wife. She persistently tries to seduce Yosef, but Yosef maintains his resolve. On their final exchange, she grabs onto his clothing, but he denies her yet again. There’s an interesting Midrash (story brought down by the Rabbis that may or may not have happened) that says that when Yosef was fighting with his urge to give in to her, he saw a reflection of his father’s face, and then told Potifar’s wife no. This story is a bit troubling. Yosef seems to be doing just fine on his own. The simple text depicts Yosef as single handedly defeating his inclination to act immorally, and the Midrash almost diminishes his righteousness by suggesting that he needed this miraculous push of seeing a reflection of his father.

A good place to look for an insight into Yosef’s situation is when Harry sees a reflection of his father in the Mirror of Erised. For those who don’t know, the inscription on the mirror, when read backwards and parsed correctly, reads I show not your face but your heart’s desire. Dumbledore describes the mirror in a similar vain. He says, “It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts.” This is why you don’t need to know how it works or even what it is to use it properly. The mirror reflects an existing reality within you whether you acknowledge it or not. Ron looked into the mirror wanting and expecting to see Harry’s family, but instead he saw what he desired most. Quirrel wants to see how to find the stone, but because more than anything he wants to give it to Voldemort, he can’t see himself finding it. Finding it is just a means to his desire. The question is, if Harry’s desire is to see his parents, why does he get to choose to see something else? He focuses on the mirror, thinks that he wants to find the Philosopher’s Stone, and he sees himself finding it. If it were as easy as thinking something and seeing it on the mirror Quirrel could have done it too. Why is it that the mirror shows Harry whatever he wants to see as opposed to reflecting his actual deepest desire as it does for everyone else?

I’d like to suggest that it took Harry seeing Voldemort to realize that the only thing more important to him than seeing his parents was making sure Voldemort couldn’t cause anyone the same pain that he caused Harry. Voldemort told Harry that with the stone he could bring his parents back to life. More so than Harry realizing that Voldemort was lying, he realized that getting his parents back wasn’t worth bringing Voldemort back to full power. In one of the biggest challenges of Harry’s life he realized what was most important to him. His deepest desire changed, and I don’t think he would have seen his parents in the mirror had he tried again afterward. I believe there’s a similar understanding by Yosef. Seeing his father didn’t make him decide not to act; deciding not to act made him see his father. Yosef was in a difficult position. He could have been thinking about Potifar’s wife and the desire he had for her, or he could be thinking about his father, Yaakov, and the legacy he stood for. It took Yosef seeing Potifar’s wife to realize that there were things more important than physical desire. In one of the biggest challenges in Yosef’s life he, like Harry, realized what was most important to him. I think the Midrash is trying to praise Yosef. Despite his situation he chose to see his father, and the values that lead to this decision were the values that enabled him to say no.

Harry Potter and the Four Sons

In the hagada, we read about the four sons: the smart one, the bad one, the simple one, and the one who doesn't know how to ask. For me, these titles are difficult to understand. Why do we call the first son smart, all he does is ask questions? You'd assume someone smart would teaching and not just asking. We call the second son bad, but based on his question he seems as smart as the smart son. The third son we call simple even though he asks the same amount of questions as the bad son. And while we claim the fourth son doesn't know how to ask questions, anyone who has been around Jews who know little to nothing about Judaism know that they're still able to ask questions on what we're doing. Even non-Jews can ask questions on it. How can you have someone who doesn't even know how to ask?

I think it helps to view these four characters like a different four characters we know of: Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar slytherin, Godrick Gryffindor, and Helga Hufflepuff. It's interesting that Ravenclaw is "the smart house" because the smartest characters we know of (Dumbledore, Voldemort, Snape, James, serious, Hermione) are not in Ravenclaw! Rather what is Ravenclaw? It is the house for those who value smarts above all else. Padma Patil was shocked when she noticed how smart Hermione was that she wasn't placed in Ravenclaw. The entire school knew of Hermione's heroic and brave deeds at this point so why was Padma surprised that Hermione was in Gryffindor? It's because to a Ravenclaw who values brains above all else, someone who is that smart belongs in Ravenclaw since brains to them is the most important thing. Padma couldn't understand that Hermione valued her bravery over her brains. Similarly, the smart son is called smart not because he's already smart but because he values smarts and therefore asks numerous questions to increase his knowledge. As stated above, there have been members of Slytherin who were much smarter than Ravenclaws and even members who have been braver than Gryffindors. However, it's normally clear who belongs in Slytherin because they use their smarts, bravery, and all other positive attributes for bad. Similarly, the bad son uses his brain and asks an intelligent question. However, he asks only to mock them as displayed by his exclusion of himself from the question. He uses the word to you as opposed to "to us." And even though the smart son uses the same word, he says our god to include himself, which the bad son never says. Thus, like the Slytherins, he uses his brains for bad reasons.

Gryffindors are very interesting. To a normal group of unqualified, underage wizards, going directly to what very well maybe a trap set by Voldemort with an army if death eaters waiting for them would be a bad idea. However, to Harry and his fellow Gryffindors (and Luna who is a completely different story) they saw that Black was in trouble and they ignored all other details. To them it was "simple," and they did what they had to do. Harry says it him-self in the first book. Ron and Hermione are trying to stop him from going through the trap door because of all the trouble he can get into. Harry tells them that it doesn't matter about the points or about getting expelled. To him it's simple; he needs to save the philosopher's stone. Nothing else matters. A Gryffindor has the ability to completely look past the details and focus on what is simple and what matters most. While the simple son asks the same amount of questions as the bad son, his question is very different in nature from those asked by the smart son and the bad son. The simple son ignores all the details that they mention and inquires about the actions of the seder on the most simple and basic level.

Hufflepuffs have the quality of loyalty. They don't try to glorify themselves as everyone else does. They focus on everyone else before themselves. In the fourth book, Cedric could have easily been mad at Harry who was underage and somehow became the second Hogwarts champion. Harry's own best friend was mad, and we wasn't the one who's attention was being stolen. If he wasn't mad at first, he definitely could have been mad when Rita Skeeter made it seem that Harry was the only Hogwarts champion. None the less, he doesn't sport the anti-Harry badges that everyone else does. He also helps Harry figure out the egg clue. Yes Harry told him about the dragons, but in anger he could have easily justified not paying back the favor (especially given that Harry wasn't supposed to be in that competition in the first place). However, Cedric isn't just looking to glorify himself. Even when Amos Diggory says that Cedric is a better seeker than Harry, Cedric corrects him by saying he won unfairly. We see from the other houses a definite interest in fame and glory. Fred and George attempted to enter into the tournament, Ron sees fame and success in school in the mirror of erised, Phinneas Nigellus proclaims that everyone should remember Slytherin's involvement in Voldemort's defeat, and we don't get to know very many Ravenclaw characters all that well. What we do see is an active avoidance by Hufflepuff of attracting attention to themselves. Similarly, it's not that the fourth son doesn't know how to ask, rather the character described is the type of person, whom we've all had at a Seder, who doesn't speak up or draw attention to themselves. The hagada tells us what to do with them. It says to open their mouths by telling them they have an obligation to tell these things over to their children. If the person actually couldn't talk then telling them about this obligation won't help all that much. If they can talk but have other reasons for keeping quiet then informing them that eventually they'll need to be willing to discuss all these matters would be a good way to get them started in the discussion. Thus we see that the founding fathers of Hogwarts have a lot more depth than we thought, and by examining them we can better understand the four sons in the hagada.

 

Harry Potter and the Three Crowns

Shavuot, the holiday celebrating our receiving of the Torah, is approaching. Much like the Jews in the desert, who, in the fifty days between leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah, went from the highest level of impurity to the highest level of holiness, we too are supposed to be improving ourselves and preparing. The question is which direction we are supposed to be heading. It's one thing to sit and learn for an hour. It's another thing to sit and learn all day, but with Torah it's more than just learning. The goal is to make it a part of our lives and fully emulate what it teaches. To do that takes more than preparation; it takes knowing the proper mindset with which to learn. Three of the most powerful things that god gave the Jewish people were the three crowns: Keter Kehuna (crown of priesthood), Keter Malchut (crown of kingship), and the Keter Torah (crown of Torah). To understand how to be someone who properly accepts the Torah, perhaps it would help to get a better understanding of the three crowns.

To understand the crowns, I'd like to compare them to three other exceptionally powerful objects: The invisibility cloak, the Elder wand, and the resurrection stone (also known as the deathly Hallows). These three objects, like the crowns, can be used to improve almost every element of one's life, but can also be very dangerous in the hands of those who don't know how to use them. First is the invisibility cloak. It's a gift and a privilege. It enables the wearer to do what no one else can do, go where no one else can go, and most importantly, it's passed down from father to son. Those who do not directly descend from Ignotus Peveral, will never be the rightful master. Similarly, being a priest is a gift and a privilege. The do the services of god that no one else can do. They go into areas of holiness that no one else can go to. And it too is completely contingent on the family line. Those who do not directly descend from Aaron will never be a Kohen. Second is the Elder Wand. It's an object of unrivaled power. It enables the user to grant himself nearly every one of his hearts deepest desires. However, as Voldemort found out, it does not work for just anyone. It, like all wands, will only yield results to one whom it was passed down to willingly or to one who conquered it from its previous owner. Similarly, Kingship grants you unmatched power. A king can acquire for himself nearly anything in existence. But, as seen numerous times throughout Tanach, kingship is only had by one whom it was willingly passed down to or who one conquered it from the previous owner.

Lastly, and I believe to be most exceptionally, the resurrection stone. It's the only deathly Hallow that does not need to be born into, passed down to, or won. Anyone could ideally be the rightful owner. But as Dumbledore explains, it takes one in a million (and there probably aren't a million wizards in existence). Its proper utilization is rare because, as Dumbledore explains, only one who intends to use it not for his own selfish reasons, but with the intention of enabling himself to help others can be its true master. A Jew who chooses to spend his or her time learning Torah knows what it feels like to be one in a million in spite of the fact that it is the crown that is available to anyone. It says in Pirkei Avot that one who studies with the intention of (not only studying, but) teaching, is given the means to study and teach. One who studies with the intention to practice, is given the means to study, teach, observe, and practice. Clearly, a proper and full utilization of the Torah (like the stone) is only reached when the intention is not only to use it to improve one's self, rather to help others, spread its goodness, and learn from it the acts of kindness we should be doing. Hopefully the time we have before Shavuot can be used to prepare to receive the Torah in a way which we can use it to enhance the lives of those around us and not just ourselves. Then, by Shavuot, we can accept the Torah in a way that will truly change our lives.

And for those who have difficulty staying awake during davening after a full night of learning, let's think back to the fourth book. Harry stayed awake all night before the second task learning things of the upmost importance, but because of his appreciation for the significance of the moment, he was still able to perform exceptionally the following morning. Chag Sameach.