HARRY POTTER AND PIRKE AVOT : SENIOR SEMINAR
Pirke Avot, written around 200 CE, is often mistakenly called the Chapter of the Fathers. A better translation would be The Book of Principles. It’s a concise treasury of ethics and wisdom similar to the Analects of Confucius or the Manual of Epictetus.
The Book of Principles weaves together spiritual values, ideas of right conduct, and respect for others. The sages who are quoted sought to identify principles which would imbue lives and relationships with a sense of purpose and meaning.
As a backdrop to our discussions about values, we will be exploring some of the stories and events in the Harry Potter series. Some of the topics will be: the soul; good and evil; friendship; the hero; and the role of teachers and study. In addition to handouts from Pirke Avot we shall reading selections from When a Jew Seeks Wisdom by Seymour Rossel.
By making the teachings of Pirke Avot accessible we hope that our students can later apply its wisdom to their own life decisions.
