The boy who lived again, and again, and again

Harry Potter hysteria went up this past week, with ridiculous numbers of "pot"heads rushing to theaters to see the first part of the final chapter of the epic saga. I too was part of the rush to see the beginning of the end for "the boy who lived," and was not disappointed. Incredible effects, brilliant cinematography and a good plot line made for a great movie.

One thing I noticed while watching however, was the simplicity of the plot. Harry Potter is, at its most basic, a simple story of racism. Instead of the color of one's skin being the symbol for prejudice, the ability to use magic is instead. Voldemort (or rather, he who shall not be named) is simply a glorified white supremacist, a Nazi, a KKK member. All while missing his nose.

Voldemort develops a following of those who do not believe the "other" group is worthy of equal rights. They form an exclusive group to work together to terrorize the non-believers, and to make the lives miserable of all who do not agree with or act like them.

Harry is an exact representation of a freedom fighter. He, the underdog, the one who should have been dead before he even got started, is the only one who can vanquish the evil of prejudice. He, the young man, holds all the power. He is, of course, depicted as bold, brave, fearless, and most of all modest, all while standing up against great danger and fear to defend what he thinks is right.

J.K. Rowling is very talented at crafting a story. She didn't, however, make up the idea. In fact, she wasn't even born when the idea was first used. People have been being killed and tortured for their differences since before anyone can remember, and J.K. Rowling is simply talented enough to write about it and make an excruciating amount of money from it.

Everyone who has bought into the HP phenomenon now has a social obligation. Yeah, that's right. Rowling tricked you. Now that she has you addicted, you have the obligation to be the next Harry Potter. No, race isn't as big of an issue today, although some races are just as abused. This connects much more to the obligation to stand up. Stand up against those who seek to destroy the dreams and hopes of others. Stand up for those who may have no idea that they are oppressed, but simply know that they are suffering. You don't need to wave a wand to create magic. Magic can appear in our daily actions, our weekly behavior, and our yearly commitment to doing what is right to benefit the community as a whole.

It may sound as though this is a giant tangent from the Harry Potter topic that was going on earlier. It really isn't. The story, as creative as it is, boils down simply to even the most famous book of our generation contains the same ideas that have been plaguing us for centuries, and it is our job, as this current movement to fix them.

May we have strength as we do so.

My lasting legacy

This past weekend, I attended NFTY Northern's Fall Kallah. At the even, six of the best teen leaders Judaism has to offer led a program asking what we wanted our legacy to be. We discussed what the word meant and even some ways to attain one.

As much as I hate to say it, I won't be in NFTY forever. The end of the road is near for me. I will, at some point not too far away, have to leave the organization and move forward with my life. I will move on, as will NFTY. While this is happening, though, I am thinking of what I will leave to it? Will I be remembered for the hours I put into the organization? Will I even want to be?

My biggest legacy came, I believe, at Summmer kallah in August. At the event, after one of my services that I had written and led, I had two participants come up to me and say that they wanted to become RCVPs because I had inspired them. They wanted to follow in my footsteps and do what I had been doing for over a year.

Inspiration is the place where I want to leave my legacy. It is my job to help those leaders come up behind me and take my place when I can no longer lead myself. It is my duty to give my heart and soul to the members of my region to hopefully show them how much I care about them, about the movement, and about Judaism as a whole, in the hopes of creating an environment that will foster their growth to be the next leaders.

I also believe that it is my job to fix the problems that I see. We are, as it is commonly explained, a movement, and therefore are constantly looking to move our organization forward in a positive direction. We must continue to grow and develop ourselves so that we do not become stale. I want to make the changes that I see necessary to the motion of our movement so that it can be a stronger, healthier, more vibrant youth group for those to come. This is not making change just for the sake of making change. It is, rather, the ability to look at the way in which we conduct ourselves and improve the areas that we see need a little work. I want to be able to look back and say I did what was best for NFTY and helped it reach its best.

To those NFTY freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, I hope you see how much passion I have for our organization. I hope you see how much I want to do well for it, and for all of you. And I hope you see that I will need someone to be there for NFTY when I can't anymore. Let it be you.

To those NFTY seniors, it is our time to be the transitional leaders. We need to lead, and let others do so. We need to stand up and be in front, yet also have the ability to train our successor. And we need to continue to put everything we have into the youth group we have always loved.