Harry Potter and the Final Reckoning

I really liked book number seven of the Harry Potter series. I couldn’t put it down. I read it at every opportunity I had and enjoyed each moment of it. Every time I picked up the book to read it, I was filled with anticipation and pleasure. Some words I read quickly and with vigor while others I read slowly so as to savor them. There is no way to describe my love for the book, my longing for it when we were apart.

And that scares me.

I once heard told that when we die and reach the world of truth, G-d will ask us why we didn’t do more mitzvos. We will offer whatever excuses we made to ourselves while we were alive.

“I was too tired,” we will say.

“I didn’t have enough time,” we will complain.

At this point G-d will show us “video clips” of points in our life when we were in identical situations yet still managed to do something we wanted to do. Times when we were tired but pushed ourselves to wake up so that we could catch a vacation plane. Or situations where we were short on time but still managed to make time for something we wanted. Which is where Harry Potter comes in…

I don’t spend enough time learning Torah right now. I want to, I make plans to, but I am perpetually distracted, discouraged from pursuing it. I like learning, I really do. I’m someone who knows how to learn and enjoys it when he makes time for it. But when it comes down to it, when I have that spare half an hour, my first thought never involves picking up a sefer or going to a shiur.

So when G-d comes to me and says, “Nu, you had time for Harry Potter”, I will have no answer. Because it is true. I make time for the things I enjoy. Although I like learning, there are other things I enjoy more. Learning just falls by the wayside. When G-d asks me that fateful question, the only answer I will have is that I liked Harry Potter more.

And that answer is not good enough.

Something has got to change.

OH MY Simchas

Well, it looks like only simchas decided to update the organization of the site and their trademark purple and white color scheme. It is about frickin' time. Only problem is, I don't think the new layout and colors are any better. The previous layout was cluttery and unintuitive and it looks like they did a fairly good job at making sure that was not improved at all. It is still hard as all heck to navigate (if heck was a busy city filled with aggressive drivers, one way streets and pedestrians who stepped off the curb without a moments notice). There are five levels of navigation (count 'em!) and the search bar jumps from the middle of the page to the top, depending on what area of the site you are in. I don't know who they hired to do this redesign but I think they should ask for their money back. I do feel like it is running a bit faster though, so that makes me happy. Not that I spend that much time on OS at all... I mean I'm a guy... and guys don't browse only simchas... ever... not even when their best friend gets engaged... right?