Voldemort Min Hatorah Minayin (Where is Voldemort found in the Torah?)

                The Gemara (Chullin 139a) asks an interesting question; where is Haman seen in the Torah? The answer it gives is in Bereishit when Hashem asks Adam if he ate from the tree that he was instructed not to eat from. Hashem says, “Hamin Ha’eitz hazeh;” is it from this tree? The Hebrew word for “is it from,” hamin, is spelled hey-mem-nun, which is the same as the Hebrew spelling of Haman. The issue is that multiple times throughout the Torah the same three letters are found in reference to the food that the Jews ate in the desert, which was called man. When spelled with a hey in the beginning of the word, which is the prefix for “the,” it’s made up of the same three letters. Why then does the Gemara single out Hashem’s question in Bereishit? The answer can be found through a close reading of both the fourth and seventh book in the Harry Potter series. We find Harry toward the end of the seventh book ready to sacrifice his life in order to kill the horcrux within him and bring Voldemort closer to mortality. However, when he’s hit by Voldemort’s killing curse something happened that no one, but Dumbledore of course, could have expected. Harry didn’t die. The question is why not. Contrary to popular belief, Harry being a horcrux had nothing to do with it. The answer is actually explicitly stated in the chapter King’s Cross.

                “But if Voldemort used the Killing Curse,” Harry started again “and nobody died for me this time—how can I be alive?”

“I think you know,” said Dumbledore. “Think back. Remember what he did, in his ignorance, in his greed and his cruelty.”

 “He took my blood.” said Harry.

“Precisely!” said Dumbledore. “He took your blood and rebuilt his living body with it! Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lily’s protection inside both of you!

He tethered you to life while he lives!”

“He took your blood believing it would strengthen him. He took into his body a tiny part of the enchantment your mother laid upon you when she died for you. His body keeps her sacrifice alive, and while that enchantment survives, so do you.”

                Harry didn’t die because Voldemort taking his blood meant that Harry couldn’t die while Voldemort was alive. Voldemort seemed invincible. He was in control of the ministry, Hogwarts, nearly all of England, and the only one he ever feared was no longer there to stop him. But then he lost everything, and the most frustrating part for him must be how easily avoidable his failure was. Rewinding to the beginning of the fourth we see one of the most important conversations in the series. A conversation that, had it gone differently, could have assured Voldemort’s eternal domination.

                Wormtail told Voldemort in the beginning of the fourth, “It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord.”

“Without Harry Potter?” breathed the second voice softly. “I see…”

Wormtail responded, “If we were to use another witch or wizard — any wizard — the thing could be done so much more quickly!”

However, despite Wormtail’s best efforts, he could not convince Voldemort to change his mind. Voldemort responded to him resoundingly, “I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other.” With that his fate was sealed. Voldemort could have so easily used anyone else’s blood to come back as Wormtail mentioned, but he refused. He had reasons to use Harry, and because he wouldn’t give those reasons up he took Harry’s blood, which, as Dumbledore explained, tied Harry to life as long as Voldemort lived. Voldemort had almost no chance of defeating him. As a side note, when Harry told Dumbledore in the end of the fourth that Voldemort had taken his blood and it was subsequently written, “For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore’s eyes.” That was the gleam of triumph. Upon hearing that Voldemort took Harry’s blood he knew that Voldemort couldn’t kill him.

                So what were Voldemort’s reasons for using only Harry that were so important that he refused to use someone else? The protection in Harry’s blood prevented Voldemort from making contact with him. It wasn’t enough for Voldemort to come back through someone else and then kill Harry; He couldn’t stand that Harry had anything over him- not even protected blood. Additionally, it’s possible that Voldemort understood that without Harry’s blood, he’d meet the same problem trying to kill him as he had the last time. That could have been solved by asking anyone else to kill Harry for him, since Lily’s protection was only from Voldemort himself, but it wasn’t good enough to be one of the most powerful people in the entire word; he needed to have everything over Harry. Perhaps that would rectify the humiliation he suffered at Harry’s hands years prior. Because of his arrogance he tried to eliminate the weakness that he had to Harry’s protection, but in the process he created an enemy that he couldn’t kill. Because of his greed he found himself on the losing end of a duel against Harry, and like that he went from the top of the top to being killed in front of his former subjects. Haman was thinking along the same lines.

Haman was the second in command over 127 nations. He was worshipped by his people, respected by the kingdom, and had more money than he could ever hope to spend. The Gemara (Megillah 15a) says that despite having everything he could have ever wanted, when he saw Mordechai at the king’s gate he thought to himself that nothing he had was worth it. Rashi tells us that Haman sold himself to Mordechai for food years prior when he was poor and had nothing to eat. He was humiliated by seeing his former master, and it wasn’t good enough to be one of the most powerful people in the entire world; he needed to have everything over Mordechai. Perhaps that would rectify the humiliation he suffered at Mordechai’s hands years prior. Because of his greed he tried to wipe Mordechai and all of his people out, Ester exposed him for what he truly was in front of Achashveirosh, and like that he went from the top of the top to being hanged on a gallows in front of his former subjects.

                Haman, who was hanged on the gallows that he intended for Mordechai, and Voldemort, who was killed by the Avada Kedavra that he intended for Harry have one fatal flaw in common. They could have had everything in the world, but the one thing they’d be missing was too much to bear, and they lost everything because of their pursuit. That being said, why would Hashem need to ask Adam if he ate from the tree of knowledge; He obviously knew already? It makes sense that what Hashem said wasn’t a question but an exclamation. Is it from this tree that you ate?! The only tree in the entire garden that I said was off limits! Adam, I gave you everything in the world! You didn’t work, I gave you food, I gave you a wife, you had everything anyone could have asked for but the fruit of one tree, and you couldn’t stand there being one thing in the world that you don’t have! Now you’re going to lose everything. The Gemara wasn’t just asking where the letters of Haman’s name appeared. It was asking where the ideology of Haman was. The idea that you could have everything in the world and lose it because of one small thing you’re missing is the Haman ideology, and it’s the Voldemort ideology. That’s found in Beireishit when Adam was living in paradise and lost it all for the one fruit he couldn’t eat.  

Harry Potter and the Fear of a Name

              

              Taking Hashem’s name in vain is a serious offense that becomes outright forbade in this week’s parsha, Mishpatim. The name of Hashem cannot be used outside the context of blessings, prayers, or reading full verses from the torah. The gemara (Shvuot 39a) discusses the violation of this prohibition and its severity at length. Among the expressions of its severity is the idea that the entire world shook when Hashem said not to take his name and vain, and that the violation is one that is very hard to repent for. These descriptions I’d more likely associate with the prohibition against murder, idolatry, or adultery. Not to treat taking Hashem’s name in vain lightly, but there seem to be worse things out there. Additionally, the combination of the prayers and blessings that we’re supposed to make on an average day has us saying Hashem’s name hundreds of times a day; a mistake is a near guarantee. However, perhaps the frequency of using His name is not the reason to be lenient rather the necessity to be stringent.

                No surprise, I’d like to look in Harry Potter to properly understand the significance of the commandment. Firstly, The Death Eaters in the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, teach us a powerful lesson about using names. They make Voldemort’s name taboo enabling them to locate anyone who uses the name. They reason that anyone who has the nerve to use the Dark Lord’s name has so little respect for him that it’s clear they would be cause for Death Eater concern. They understood that the willingness to speak the name of such a powerful being on such a casual level reflected the lack of honor they had for him. When we refrain from using Hashem’s name, it reflects our perspective of him.

                Secondly, simply hearing the name Voldemort had a surprisingly powerful impact on those who were familiar with his power. Their fear of Voldemort is reflected in their reaction to his name. I think the most powerful expression of this idea is in the end of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry begins saying Voldemort, but he corrects himself to say You-Know-Who. Dumbledore then gave him advice that’s effectively I can personally attest to from life experience. “Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” In our case, when reverence for the thing itself, Hashem, is an ideal strongly emphasized in the torah, following this advice is exactly what we need. It’s not easy to have reverence for someone we can’t see or feel. Knowing that we can do what we want without immediate punishment slowly wares away the sensitivity we feel toward Hashem. What’s the solution? Be careful about his name. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself!

 We see that the more Harry uses Voldemort’s name, the more numb Hermione and even Ron, who group up flinching upon hearing it, became. Eventually their relation to Voldemort become one of such little respect that they were willing to defy him directly in front of his face. We can’t allow that to happen. By being extra careful in situations where Hashem’s name will be used, we can build a proper perspective on how to relate to the thing itself. If Hashem’s name is approached with great caution and care, our relation toward Hashem Himself should be all the more so. Because we say His name literally hundreds of times a day, the commandment that prevents numbness from encroaching on our relationship to Him and observance of His torah becomes of dire importance.

 

 

Harry Potter and a Story Line for the Ages

              If I were to summarize the past few Parshiot- Shmot, Va'era, and Bo, a close attention to detail may make the story a bit more interesting for us. Our story begins as Paroh is taking control of the Jewish people and making life miserable. It was then that he was informed of a prophecy that a boy who had the power to defeat him would be born in the near future. This boy would be capable of freeing the Jewish people. He resorted to murdering the child to guarantee that the prophecy would not be fulfilled, but his very attempt to kill Moshe seemed to create the situation through which Moshe would have the abilities to defeat him. Moshe was born to a mother who had defied Paroh in the past, and three months after his birthday, when Paroh intended on killing him, she defied him yet again. Due to her love and protection, Moshe stayed alive, but was taken far from home to grow up in an environment that would suppress identity as a Jew.

Moshe grew up, for the most part, not understanding who he truly was. He didn’t quite fit in with the Egyptians; once or twice he even found himself in a fight with them, but one fateful day his life changed. He was informed of his true identity and the exceptional potential and responsibility that came along with it. He was shocked at first. He thought he couldn’t possibly live up to the expectations. However, Hashem enabled him to see that it was his destiny and guaranteed his assistance every step of the way. Things weren’t easy for him. He faced struggles not only from Paroh but from necromancers as well. Between them, Datan, and Aviram constantly aiming to make his life difficult, he had met many issues, but it only contributed to his growth as a leader. He faced attempted murder, magic, and even snakes, but his dedication and strength prevailed- with the help of Aharon and Miriam of course.

Paroh, and those who followed him, thought himself immortal, but Hashem looked to prove otherwise. His careful plan was carried out through Moshe, Aharon, Miriam, and various Jews who were committed to him. Attack after attack continued to weaken Paroh’s resolve as well as brought him closer to acknowledge his mortality. Moshe attempted to bring Paroh to remorse at the end of his life. While his attempts were scoffed, it seems that in the final moments of his life he may have realized the mistakes he made that lead to his defeat.

Switch a few of the nouns

Paroh- Voldemort

Jewish People/ Jews- Wizarding World/ Wizard

Moshe- Harry  

Egyptians- Muggles

Hashem- Dumbledore

Necromancers- Malfoy

Datan & Aviram- Crabbe & Goyle

Aharon & Miriam- Ron & Hermione

 

 

 

Harry Potter and the Chanuka Story

The intention of the Greeks on Chanukah was rooted in something much deeper than decrees that Greeks imposed upon us in attempts to conform us to secular, Greek culture. In Al Hanisim, which we say in davening, it says that they attempted to make us forget our knowledge of torah. What’s interesting is that the ban on learning torah was just one decree, yet we set it aside as the over-arching intention of the Greeks. Firstly, what lead us to believe that, despite the additional decrees against the observing of Shabbat and circumcision, their main focus was the attack on torah? Secondly, the Greeks were exceptionally smart. Rambam himself knew and was even influenced by the brilliance of Greek philosophy. How could it be that a nation so intelligent wouldn’t find the torah appealing? Some of the smartest men in history have dedicated their lives to its in depth studies and philosophies. We seemed to be very attracted to their wisdom, but they didn’t appreciate the significance of ours.

Fortunately, the Chanukah story has such a strong parallel with the entire fifth book of Harry Potter that we may be able to understand the Greek mindset by looking in The Order of the Phoenix. First we need to substitute a few roles. Replace the leading force behind the harsh decrees and oppressive conditions put on the Jews with the one who did the same to Hogwarts (Antiochus with Fudge). Replace the second in command who carefully followed the instructions of their leader as well as implemented a few of their own tortures against the Jews with the one who did the same to Hogwarts (Army general with Umbridge). Replace the group of people who were behind the attempt to manipulate the Jews into seeing their opinions as the real truth with the group who was doing the same to the wizarding world (Greeks with the ministry). Replace the Jews who turned on their fellows and joined the opposing force with the students who did the same (Mityavnim with the Inquisitorial Squad). Replace the elderly, brilliant, and dominant leader behind the oppositional Jewish army with the one who played the same role behind Hogwarts’ army (Matityahu son of Yochanan Kohen Gadol with Albus Percifel Wulfric Brian Dumbledore). Replace the strong army leader who led the Jews to victory with the one who did the same for Hogwarts (Yehuda with Harry). Lastly, replace the outnumbered, under experienced Jewish army with the outnumbered, under experienced Hogwarts army (Maccabiim with Dumbledore’s Army). The story behind these characters are nearly identical.

Whenever Umbridge felt a lack of control or a threat to the ministry’s way of thinking, there would be a new decree mandating certain behavior or prohibiting certain actions. The decrees were more than a list of things you couldn’t do. They were designed to instill a sense of complete subservience to the ministry and, by extension, discretization of Dumbledore. There was no validity behind Dumbledore’s claims when the ministry portrayed him as a powerless fool. The Decrees were meant to assure a complete dismissal of any claims of Voldemort’s return. That being said, Fudge was the minister of magic. He wasn’t stupid, despite what almost everything we know about him would indicate. There are disappearances, dark marks, eye-witness testimony, unexplainable deaths, rouge dementors, and things were starting to feel a lot like the last time. Snape showed him that the dark mark had returned to his arm, which can only mean the Dark Lord’s return! How could fudge not see what was right in front of him?

Of course he knew the truth! We even have a few clear glimpses of Fudge being on the border of listening to reason. Dumbledore gives him a very strong speech in the end of the fourth book, and Fudge revealed what was actually going through his head.

-It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of a plea in his voice, “He can’t be back, Dumbledore, he just can’t be…”

That’s not what someone who honestly does not believe that Voldemort had returned sounds like. That’s what someone who knows the truth but is too terrified to admit it sounds like. Fudge remembered the conditions of Voldemort’s last reign of terror. He knew that accepting Voldemort’s return meant accepting a reality that he was absolutely terrified of dealing with. He needed to eliminate all traces of the fact the Voldemort had returned so he could go on living his lie in a state of comfort.

That was exactly the Greek mindset. They obviously recognized the brilliance of the torah! Alexander himself refrained from attacking the Jews because of the respect he had for the Rabbis and their torah. His successors took a different approach. There’s a famous story of R’ Akiva and Tarnus Rufus where TR came to R’ Akiva and asked what was better the creation of man or the creation of god. R’ Akiva responded that the creation of man was better. His proof was that people would prefer to eat a cake over a piece of wheat. R’ Akiva revealed to him that he knew TR wanted to lead him into a trap. He was going to ask why Jews do circumcision if that alters the way god created someone. Hashem puts things into the world and gives us the ability to improve them, but the idea of circumcision is completely against the Greek ideology. The Greeks worshipped physicality. They glorified the human body in its natural state. Sports were played without clothing to show off the perfection of the human body, and their arts reflected the same obsession with physicality. Their gods were simply more powerful humans who looked and acted like normal men and women. That was the reality they knew and loved. The Greeks, like Fudge, were not so blind that they couldn’t see the truth of what was in front of them, but the acceptance of the torah’s reality would be terrifying. Their lives were based on the significance of physicality, and to imagine a god who wasn’t “corporeal” (reference to the fifth intended), and a religion based on spirituality would have shook their entire world. They needed to eliminate all traces of the torah so they could go on living their lie in a state of comfort.

That’s the depth behind the decrees. They didn’t just outlaw Shabbat, circumcision, and torah because it made the Jews too different from them. Their actions were a reflection of a deeper desire to remove torah from the world so they wouldn’t have to face it. The second they gave in to the torah, they’d be accepting a reality that they were absolutely terrified of dealing with.

     

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.