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our own tradition, perhaps we
can learn a lesson from Harry
Potter's headmaster, Dumbledore:
`It is our choices, Harry, that
show what we truly are, far
more than our abilities.'"
But don't think Rowling gets
off that easy. For every Hillel, there
is a Shamai — in this case, Rabbi
Noson Weisz of Aish HaTorah in
Jerusalem.
`Although Dumbledore tells
Harry that it is a person's choices
that tell us who he really is,
Harry's selection of Gryffindor can
hardly be called a choice," Weisz
responds, referring to the house
Harry joins at the Hogwarts
Academy of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. "He was never
attracted to Slytherin."
The rabbi goes on to explain that
Harry eschews Jewish values because
"there is no attempt at redeeming the
evil or transforming it. In a Jewish
fairy tale, the hero would battle for the
soul of Lord Voldemort" — uh, that's
the bad guy — "and attempt to
reclaim it for the good."
But Ruth Fogelman, a British-born
author and lecturer in Jerusalem,
ardently refutes this point, citing
Dumbledore's penchant for giving
second chances.
"He has taken Professor Snape as
Potions Master, after the latter had
been on the Dark Side," she writes
in an e-mail. "He has taken Professor
Lupin as a teacher although he is
aware that he is a werewolf." Now
that's affirmative action. (0y.)
Perhaps this question of identity,
among many others, was settled last
month, when hundreds of academics
and others from as far away as Manila
and Bombay gathered in Orlando,
Fla., for Nimbus 2003, the first inter-
national Harry Potter Symposium.
More than 50 papers were present-
ed, touching on topics ranging from
Harry's transgender characteristics to
technology vs. magic to the foibles of
the wizard legal system.
Amy Miller, an ordained cantor from
Pittsfield, Mass., led a discussion with the
subtitle "What's a nice Jewish boy like
Harry Potter doing in a place like this?"
"I spent a lot of time preparing because
I wanted my sources to be accurate," says
Miller, who organizers recruited from a
Harry Potter online chat group after a
number of rabbis turned them down.
"When I cited Pirkei Avot, I wanted

Victor Wishna is a freelance writer in
New York City. He can be reached at
LetterFromNY@juno. corn.

Come dressed
as your favorite
Potter character
Sunday, as the DSO
hosts a pre-concert
costume contest
at Meadow Brook
Music Festival.

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to
get it right,
down to chap-
ter and verse."
In her 30-minute
talk, which highlight-
ed only aspects of her soon-to-be-pub-
lished paper, she focused on Harry's
neshama, his good soul.
"He grew up without role models,"
the cantor says, "but he's a real mentsh."
Yes, but is he Jewish?
"I think he could be," she permits.
"If only he were
a doctor..."
As with any
talmudic
inquest, clues
can only be dis-
covered deep
within the text
— and Miller
thinks she may
have found one.
In Book III,
The Prisoner of
Azkaban, Harry's
Seen all over: "Harry
aunt-by-marriage
Potter and the Order
comes to dinner.
of the Phoenix," the
latest in IK Rowlings Upon leaving, she
turns to her sis-
megahit series.
ter-in-law:
"Thanks for the nosh, Petunia."
So while Harry Potter may or may
not be Jewish, here lies proof of the
next best thing: a Jewish relative.

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p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, in
"Symphony and the Sorcerer," a
program featuring music from
Harry Potter, The Sorcerer's
Apprentice and other magical
delights. Come dressed as your
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8/ 1

2003

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