We interviewed the owner & creator of a new & exciting website about the journey behind the Harry Potter books, Patricio. Our interview is below & don’t forget to check out the site! Enjoy!

1. How is The Harry Potter Journey different from other Harry Potter fansites?

The Harry Potter Journey is different because it shows the story of the books. It isn’t focused on the content of them (like the Harry Potter Lexicon), neither the news of the Potter world (like Mugglenet or The Leaky Cauldron). It is for fans of the books as objects, the story of them and all the people involved with them.

2. How much research went into making the site?

I am doing a lot of research, reading old newspapers and news from 1998, for example. I also got in touch with the people involved to get their testimonies. I read a lot of biographies written about Rowling.

3. What is your favorite book?

I really don’t know. I’d love to say the fifth book, but then I remember the sixth one and it’s great too. And the same for the fourth. I think it will be that trilogy: 4 5 6.

4. If you could meet J.K. Rowling, what would you say to her?

I would hug her and thank her. That’s all I need.

5. Has Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling changed your life? If so, how?

She changed me in a lot of ways, I couldn’t explain it. I would be a different person if it were not for J.K. Rowling.

Thanks, Patricio! And make sure you check out The Harry Potter Journey now & relive the magic!

We were recently given the opportunity to interview Joseph Galliano, the editor of Dear Me- More Letters to my Sixteen Year-Old Self’; a book to which Jo Rowling has contributed and written the foreword. The interview and details of how you can get involved with Dear Me are right here!

We told you earlier, that we had the wonderful opportunity to interview Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg aka “The Harry Potter Rabbi” who teaches Judisum through the words of Jo Rowling’s novels.

IHOR: How does the Harry Potter series relate to Judaism?

Rabbi Rosenberg: While the series scrupulously shies away from organized religion, it leaves ample room for any religion, including Judaism, to find commonalities and identify with it. In this way, while JK Rowling does not force a religious outlook, she makes possible for ethical and religious people to benefit from her writing, especially in promoting the sort of values we all try to instill in our children and students.

A complete answer to this question would actually be the table of contents of Morality for Muggles: From relationships to character traits, from life to death to love, there are so many points upon which HP and Judaism shed similar or complementary light. I wrote my book to illustrate some of these areas of confluence.

IHOR: Can you give us an example on how you teach Judaism through Harry Potter?

Rabbi Rosenberg: Actually, rather than teaching Judaism, which is almost forcing the novels into a pre-conceived pattern, I see myself as teaching values to my students, and filtering them through the twin prisms of the Bible and Harry Potter. Many times both make the same point in their unique ways. If kids see this, they will grow accustomed to seeking out the values implicit in all that they read and relating them to their religious ideals.

One example might be to ask a class to name two guys and a girl who battled insurmountable odds to triumph over evil. The answer will come back: Harry, Ron and Hermione, of course, which is when I say, “How about Moses, Aaron and Miriam, their sister?” That leads to a discussion of what each one of the three, in the Bible and in HP, brings to the trio and how their unique chemistry works. Then, of course, the discussion can range further, asking if the bonds of friendship were ever disturbed by jealousy. It becomes clear that Aaron and Miriam, like Ron, had an episode in which they were tired of playing second fiddle, but ultimately repaired their relationship. To know the nature of true friendship, to understand that it is human to feel jealousy and to learn the lesson that one can repair relationships that one has tarnished are all so important for young people.

Another example might be to examine attitudes towards death. By contrasting Voldemort and Dumbledore’s attitudes kids can grapple with questions like: What is “worse than death?” Is death to be feared and fought or accepted as “the next great adventure?” To see how Dumbledore choreographed his own death, leaving the world on his own terms, and then to compare the Rabbinic account of the death scene of Aaron leaves one with the lesson that, while we cannot defeat death, we have an awful lot to say about how we meet it.

IHOR: Do you use J.K. Rowling’s personal story to teach, as well? If so, how?

Rabbi Rosenberg: I had not, but what a wonderful idea! Her story is inspiring and her journey is as impressive as that of her characters. Thank you for the suggestion!

IHOR: What can we all take away from Harry Potter?

Rabbi Rosenberg: Oh, where to start? Here are just a few:

• that our choices make us who we arethat rules may not be made to be broken, but neither are they made to be observed mindlessly
• that we exercise manners not only to demonstrate respect for others, but to express our true selves
• that an individual’s worth is not determined by heredity or bloodlines
• that we each have a role to play in the epic struggle between good and evil
• that we ignore the power of love at our own peril

IHOR: What’s the biggest lesson one can learn by reading Harry Potter?

Rabbi Rosenberg: That for good to triumph over evil, each of us has to play a part, and we must be ready to look beyond ourselves and sacrifice for those we love.

IHOR: Who is your favorite character and why?

Rabbi Rosenberg: What an impossible question! I will say Remus Lupin, because through him we see most clearly what a true teacher can be. Despite being himself an outsider in society, rather than be bitter, he gives the love to his students that he himself was denied. He takes an interest in the “whole child,” caring for and respecting Harry enough to teach him the Patronus charm. In effect, he thereby gives Harry back a piece of his father, as the Patronus protects in loco parentis–as a father would. Finally, at the end, Lupin is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so that his son will live in a better world.

IHOR: What is your favorite book in the series and why?

Rabbi Rosenberg: Another impossible question to answer–like choosing a favorite child.

If you put my back to the wall, I’ll have to say HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, because it foreshadows the ultimate resolution of the challenge that lies at the center of Harry’s life. His real challenge is not defeating Voldemort, but coming to grips with the death of his parents, and his ways of dealing with their loss become more sophisticated and mature as the series develops. We first see him longing for them as he gazes into the Mirror of Erised, but he is taught by Dumbledore that such pursuits bring neither truth nor wisdom. The photo album Hagrid gives him is a more helpful support. But it is at the end of the third book that we finally get a hint of the true answer. When Harry discovers that it is he–not his father–who cast the Patronus that saved both him and Sirius from the Dementors, we realize that the way he is to overcome the loss of his father is to become his father and continue his work, ultimately becoming to others the father he never had. This theme reaches its climax in the final book, as Harry, shorn of all his substitute father figures, defeats Voldemort and becomes the father of all present, as they all seek a word from him or a touch of his hand.

IHOR: If you could tell J.K. Rowling something, what would it be and why?

Rabbi Rosenberg: I would ask her: How did you get so much so right? How did you come by the uncanny understanding of people that can have us laughing and crying, sometimes at the same time? How did you develop the perfect balance between humor and drama? How did you understand so much about good and evil, life and death, love and loss? How did you write a series that mesmerizes kids, but can speak eloquently to adults, as well? What a gift!

IHOR: Where can we learn more about you and your book?

Rabbi Rosenberg: You might check out the book’s Facebook page or you can find it on Amazon.

IHOR: What advise do you have for aspiring authors?

Rabbi Rosenberg: Do your homework; pay your dues; invest the perspiration; write, write, write, but realize that you are doing this to have a body of work ready when your break comes, because after all is said and done, it’s when God sees to it that the right set of eyes sees your manuscript that good things will happen.

IHOR: Has Jo Rowling changed your life? If so, how?

Rabbi Rosenberg: Quite simply, she has made me an author. Oh, I had written many articles before, but it was only when my passion for Bible was twinned with a passion for her universe that the result drew the attention of a publisher, who knew I had a book in me before I knew it myself. If I have the privilege of writing further books, it will be on the strength of the reception accorded this one, which she inspired. How can I say thank you sufficiently for the gift of being able to express this crucial side of myself?

Thank you very much, Rabbi for taking the time to be interviewed by us!
We truly appreciate your words of wisdom!

As promised, photos from the awards ceremony were added to the gallery! Doesn’t Jo look beautiful!

[x020]- Public Appearances > 2011 > Receiving An Award From Edinburgh University

We will be conducting an exclusive interview with

“The Harry Potter Rabbi”

[mentioned previously on our site here]. Please summit your questions as comments on this post. Thanks!

I added three pictures from my meeting with Jo on October 19, 2007. One is with the crew from Leaky and the rest are with Jo.

Sorry for the delay in posting this. A few days ago, I got bit by a spider and had to go to the ER for the horrible pain it was causing me. Stupid spider! Sorry, Aragog. Anyway, i’m fine now and my report is now on the site! Check it out HERE! I hope you enjoy it!

An in depth report of my one-on-one meeting with J.K. Rowling is coming very soon. I’m just putting the finishing touches on it. I shall have it to you sometime today. A picture of me and Jo is already in our gallery for your viewing pleasure. There are more pictures to come, as well. As soon as I get home, I will scan in the other photos from that night. Check back soon for our exclusive report! You will only find this at INOR.com!