An American rabbi has released a "Harry Potter" themed guide to celebrating Passover, entitled “The (Unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah.” Having been released earlier this month, the book, which uses the characters of the fantasy series in various formats, has already proven itself to be popular in countries throughout the world, with coping already being sold in the thousands. The book has also proven popular on social media.
The book came from a rabbi who was a known fan of the series
The book was developed by Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, who is known for his having a fondness towards the "Harry Potter" franchise, having once made news for developing a "Harry Potter" inspired writing club for elementary school-aged children back in 2001.
Rabbi Rosenberg serves as the spiritual leader of Congregation Etz Chaim of Kew Gardens Hills, New York, and is also known for working in the field of education, also serving as a Judaic Studies educator and a JudeoTech Integrator at SAR Academy in Riverdale, New York.
According to a statement from Rabbi Rosenberg, a comparison could be made between the "Harry Potter" books and the story of Exodus. Reportedly, the recent release of the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" was the inspiration to develop a "Harry Potter" themed book.
What do we know about the content of the book so far?
As mentioned in the title, the book is a "Haggadah," which is a book or text that is to be used as a companion for the Passover Seder.
The book, which has passages in both English and Hebrew, had been officially released earlier this March, with the Passover holiday starting this April.
The book contains songs based around the "Harry Potter" characters that are meant to be sung in the style of traditional Passover songs. One example is a song based on "Chad Gadya," which focuses on the character of Lily Potter.
The book also compares characters from the series to the "Harry Potter" characters. In one example, one passage quotes from the Book of Proverbs how it is wrong to take pleasure in seeing our enemies punished and references the Jewish belief that God scolded the angels for rejoicing over the death of the Pharaoh from the Passover story.
The book then makes a comparison to how Dumbledore was aware that Draco Malfoy was being groomed by Voldemort, but acted in a way to prevent him from acting out this plan, rather than outright killing him, even for his safety.
A Facebook page developed to promote the book claims over 2,000 copies have already been sold, and that the book is in demand throughout the world, including countries like Israel, Australia, and Canada.
