tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post2512779873867170912..comments2024-03-28T21:21:02.777-04:00Comments on Divrei Chaim: harry potter, etc.Chaim B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02231811394447584320noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-19369092682960235782007-08-24T14:32:00.000-04:002007-08-24T14:32:00.000-04:00The Harry Potter is series is not the least bit su...The Harry Potter is series is not the least bit superstitious. In fact, the last books indicate that the "prophecy" was actually made true by the villain's decision to treat as such. But of course, you do have to have the suspension of disbelief for the magical component. That, however, is just in fun. If we would start assuring such works, we would have to ban many other works, including the story of Peter Pan and the Mary Poppins series, not to mention nearly all fairy tales. <BR/><BR/> Each work should be considered on the basis of its own merit and the morals espoused. For example, the lesson one can derive from Puss in Boots or Rumpelstilsken is that cheaters do prosper, and lying can help you advance.Ariella's bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09409352047101582583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-18799080585260699912007-08-23T11:23:00.000-04:002007-08-23T11:23:00.000-04:00The magic of Tanach was real according to many Ris...The magic of Tanach was real according to many Rishonim, or certainly perceived as real by pagans. Sorry, Virginia, but by age 5 kids know the tooth fairy doesn't exist and by the time they can read Potter they know fantasy does not correspond to the real world. It is pure escapism enjoyment. <BR/>See Shu"t Igros Moshe Y.D 4:13 at the end of the tshuvah where he brushes off the idea that children take magic seriously, besides which (me speaking, not the tshuvah) technically the issur is only in watching live magic, not reading a book or watching a movie.Chaim B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02231811394447584320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-44129868800690526872007-08-23T10:31:00.000-04:002007-08-23T10:31:00.000-04:00the thought by some that reading books about magic...<I>the thought by some that reading books about magic will lead children astray from frumkeit is simply silly</I><BR/><BR/>Don't get me wrong - I'm a fan of Harry Potter, but I do not think that the aforementioned notion is silly. Exaggerated, perhaps, but not silly. <BR/><BR/>It seems to me that the Torah has set up a network of mitzvos to steer us away from superstitious and magical thinking: <I>al tifnu, chukos ha'goyim, kesamim, meonein, mechashef, nichush, chover chaver, lo sasuru acharei levachem, tamim tihyeh.</I> <BR/><BR/>The Rambam, after discussing the aspect of <I>meonein</I> which prohibits sleight of hand, says: <I>"The harm caused by this is very severe, for it causes things which are absolutely impossible to become possible in the eyes of the fools, women, and children, and conditions their minds to believe impossibilities and to think that they are possible. Understand this."</I> (Sefer ha'Mitzvos, Lav #32) <BR/><BR/>Harry Potter definitely falls into this category, for young children if not adults. Will Harry Potter <I>lead children astray from frumkeit</I>? Probably not. But will it thwart the Torah's primary objective of <I>Tamim Tihyeh Im Adoshem Elokeichem</I> by reinforcing superstitious and magical thinking? Yes.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17762099779174385763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-13897164488948408242007-08-23T09:56:00.000-04:002007-08-23T09:56:00.000-04:00In some ways "A Eries of Unfortunate Events" is da...In some ways "A Eries of Unfortunate Events" is darker than HP, for there are plenty of evil plan afoot that require no wizardry or magical powers to pull off. Of course, as the series is written by a Jew, there are no Xtian themes, and no suggestion that the children's parents' love for them assures their protection. Love is not the almighty force that will surely prevail in that series. But it does prevail also in L'Engele, also a Xtian. Snickett is probably close to Dahl in his presentation of really evil and harmful adults outwitted by children with particular powers of their own. but he has characters that are really black and white. Both Snickett and Rowling stress toward the end of the series that it is not always so clear what is all bad or all good, particularly when the protagonists find themselves in a situation where they may do others harm.Ariella's bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09409352047101582583noreply@blogger.com