Food for Thought

"According to Madam Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scars than almost anything else.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Ron needed special treatment after being touched by the tentacles of a brain in the Department of Mysteries.

This sentiment echoes a statement from Masekhet Yoma 29b, הרהורי עבירה קשים מעבירה, which claims that thoughts of sin are in some way more serious than the actual act of sinning. It is not enough to avoid the actual sin--one must be concerned with the spiritual damage that can be caused by the (obssessive?) thoughts of sin.  Why do you think this might be?  This is a statement which, if misunderstood, can lead to unhealthy attitudes of inadequacy on the part of people struggling with their self control.

Here is one collection of explanations of the idea, from the Kipa site.

What do you think a healthy attitude towards such thoughts should be?

                                                        

Introducing..

MORE--ality for Muggles

Since the publication of Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter (Ktav, 2011), I've been trying to figure out what published authors do.  After extensive research, I've discovered that they struggle heroically to free some small sliver of time from their official jobs to be able to network, publicize and generally push their new literary child. There are good old fashioned book signings and speaking engagements--check, social media like a facebook page --check, and the continuing search for new markets. But one friend, who is also a successful author of many children's books, suggested starting my own blog. 

The idea has grown on me.

Whenever I listen to Harry Potter on CD in the car, voiced by the inimitable Jim Dale, I find myself coming up with this or that nugget that might have gone into the book and--who knows--would fit nicely into a sequel. Why not try them out on friends as a blog post?  

And every now and then, a Harry Potter related story surfaces in the media which sets my mind racing and which I'd love to share.  What better forum than a blog?

If I look too closely before leaping, I'll remain forever on the verge.  There are too many reasons not to blog.  I choose to ignore them.

I look forward to your comments, just as I so appreciated your kind reception to the book's initial publication.