Q&A: Witchcraft and Magic
Witchcraft and Magic
Question
Hello Rabbi,
What is the scope of the prohibitions on witchcraft, magic, and the like? I heard that some of the medieval authorities (Rishonim) explain that there is nothing real to it and it is all sleight of hand, but then it is not clear why it is forbidden. And what about demons and all the laws about pairs in tractate Pesachim?
Is there any problem with watching/doing card tricks or things done by mentalists like Lior Suchard and the like?
Answer
The medieval authorities (Rishonim) disagree whether these things have real substance but are nevertheless forbidden (the prohibition being to resort to powers of the "other side"), or whether they have no substance at all and the prohibition is against being foolish (this is Maimonides' view). Rabbi Yaakov Hillel (head of the kabbalists' Yeshivat Nahar Shalom in Jerusalem) discussed all this at great length in his responsum Vayeshev HaYam; see there at length.
The halakhic decisors wrote that when the magician tells you explicitly that these are only tricks, there is no issue. And that seems obvious on logical grounds.
As for pairs and demons, it seems to me that someone who is not concerned about them has what to rely on, chiefly Maimonides. And in fact, if you think there is nothing real to it, then perhaps there is even a prohibition in being concerned about all this.
Discussion on Answer
Either in a library or in a database.
The command against foolishness is explicit in Maimonides in the law of "You shall be wholehearted with the Lord your God" and what follows from it. And indeed, there is some awkwardness in the fact that there are separate commands about caution regarding different kinds of foolishness.
Necessarily, it is not talking about foolishness in the plain sense, but about "foolishness" as a halakhic concept, just as there is no prohibition on killing in general but only on "murder."
See here.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/daf-yomi-54
And it really requires analysis how, for example, Rav Pappa said (in the chapter Arvei Pesachim) that "Joseph the demon" spoke with him, and there are many similar passages in the Talmud. Was it a hallucination??? And in general, where is the line between witchcraft and divination and those things they were concerned about in Talmudic times, like pairs and the like? And see Rashba in the book Minchat Kenaot, who also labored over this issue.
Isn't it strange to command against foolishness? Where do we find similar things in the Torah? And why is each prohibition counted separately? That seems forced. Where can I find the responsum Vayeshev HaYam?