Passover At Hogwarts: Jewish Fascination With Harry Potter Goes Way Back
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Riding on the coattails of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a new Harry Potter-themed haggadah is coming out this week.
But Jewish spinoffs of all things Harry Potter are nothing new.
The author of the new haggadah, Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, has used Harry Potter to teach Torah for years. While the later books were still coming out, he ran a book club at SAR Academy in Riverdale for middle school students to write their own chapters for the series.
Dov Krulwich, a computer scientist in Israel, wrote “Harry Potter and Torah,”.
Fellow member of the tribe Dinah Bucholz wrote “The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook,” a guide to the delicacies enjoyed by wizards from the Leaky Cauldron to Hogwarts. The cookbook includes recipes for Kreacher’s French Onion Soup and Pumpkin Pasties among others.
In 2014, J.K. Rowling confirmed via Twitter that there were Jews at Hogwarts, including a certain Ravenclaw named Anthony Goldstein. In “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Porpentina and Queenie Goldstein, two of Anthony’s relatives, make an appearance, as well.
Contact Shira Hanau at hanau@forward.com
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