Is magic real?

It is a cop out to say "machlokes".

No, magic is not real, and people who believe it is real are foolish and superstitious.

That is the position of Rambam, in Hilchos Avodah Zarah, perek 11:

טז  [טו] הַמְּכַשֵּׁף, חַיָּב סְקֵלָה:  וְהוּא, שֶׁעָשָׂה מַעֲשֶׂה כְּשָׁפִים; אֲבָל הָאוֹחֵז אֶת הָעֵינַיִם, וְהוּא שֶׁיֵּרָאֶה שֶׁעָשָׂה וְהוּא לֹא עָשָׂה--לוֹקֶה מַכַּת מַרְדּוּת, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא עָשָׂה.  וְזֶה שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר בִּמְכַשֵּׁף בִּכְלַל "לֹא-יִמָּצֵא בְךָ" (דברים יח,י), לָאו שֶׁנִּתַּן לְאַזְהָרַת מִיתַת בֵּית דִּין הוּא, וְאֵין לוֹקִין עָלָיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "מְכַשֵּׁפָה, לֹא תְחַיֶּה" (שמות כב,יז).

יז  [טז] וּדְבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ--כֻּלָּן, דִּבְרֵי שֶׁקֶר וְכָזָב הֶן; וְהֶן שֶׁהִטְעוּ בָּהֶן עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הַקַּדְמוֹנִים לְגוֹיֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּנָּהוּ אַחֲרֵיהֶן.  וְאֵין רָאוּי לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, שְׁהֶן חֲכָמִים מְחֻכָּמִים, לְהִמָּשֵׁךְ בַּהֲבָלִים אֵלּוּ, וְלֹא לְהַעֲלוֹת עַל הַלֵּב שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶן תְּעָלָה:  שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "כִּי לֹא-נַחַשׁ בְּיַעֲקֹב, וְלֹא-קֶסֶם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל" (במדבר כג,כג), וְנֶאֱמָר "כִּי הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה יוֹרֵשׁ אוֹתָם--אֶל-מְעֹנְנִים וְאֶל-קֹסְמִים, יִשְׁמָעוּ; וְאַתָּה--לֹא כֵן, נָתַן לְךָ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ" (דברים יח,יד).

יח  כָּל הַמַּאֲמִין בִּדְבָרִים אֵלּוּ, וְכַיּוֹצֶא בָּהֶן, וּמְחַשֵּׁב בְּלִבּוֹ שְׁהֶן אֱמֶת וְדִבְרֵי חָכְמָה, אֲבָל הַתּוֹרָה אָסְרָה אוֹתָן--אֵינוּ אֵלָא מִן הַסְּכָלִים וּמֵחַסְרֵי הַדַּעַת, וּבִכְלַל הַנָּשִׁים וְהַקְּטַנִּים שְׁאֵין דַּעְתָּן שְׁלֵמָה.  אֲבָל בַּעֲלֵי הַחָכְמָה וּתְמִימֵי הַדַּעַת, יֵדְעוּ בִּרְאָיוֹת בְּרוּרוֹת--שֶׁכָּל אֵלּוּ הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁאָסְרָה תּוֹרָה, אֵינָן דִּבְרֵי חָכְמָה, אֵלָא תֹּהוּ וְהֶבֶל שֶׁנִּמְשְׁכוּ בָּהֶן חַסְרֵי הַדַּעַת, וְנָטְשׁוּ כָּל דַּרְכֵי הָאֱמֶת בִּגְלָלָן.  וּמִפְּנֵי זֶה אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה, כְּשֶׁהִזְהִירָה עַל כָּל אֵלּוּ הַהֲבָלִים, "תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה, עִם ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ" (דברים יח,יג). 

(Although if all magic is not real, then we need to grapple with just how Rambam distinguishes between maaseh kishuf and achizas einayim.)

But the important quote is in [18]: "Anyone who believes in these things or the like, and thinks in his heart that they are true and matters of wisdom, but that the Torah prohibited them to us -- he is only of the fools and those who lack intelligence, and is grouped among the women and children whose intellect is not complete. But those of wisdom and straightforward intelligence know, with clear proofs -- that all these things which the Torah prohibited are not matters of widsom, but rather confusion and nonsense after which are drawn those who lack intellect, and who abandon the ways of truth because of them. And for this reason the Torah said, when it warned about these nonsenses, "simple shall you be with Hashem your God"

And yet the "frum" position nowadays seems to be that of course magic is real, or at least that it was real back in the day; and that Christians, Buddhists, and various other idols have power (chas veshalom) but just that we should avoid them because they are evil powers. This strikes me not just as foolishness, but possibly violations of the ikkarei emunah, as well as a belief in idolatry, even though we do not worship it.

In Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 179:6, we read:

"One who was stung by a scorpion, it is permitted to mutter an incantation over it, and even on Shabbat. And even though this action will not help at all, since he is in danger, they permitted it, in order that his mind not be torn up about it."

That is, as Rav Yosef Karo writes, there are psychological considerations at play, but of course muttering incantations is silly and superstitious, and would not work.

The Gra takes exception to this, and argues against the Rambam:

"And even though...: The Rambam; and so does he write in his commentary to the Mishna in the fourth perek of Avodah Zarah. However, all those who came after him argued with him, for behold, many incantations are stated in the gemara. And he was drawn after philosophy, and therefore wrote that magic, names, incantations, demons, and amulets are all falsehood. But they already hit him on his head-pate. For behold, we find many incidents in the gemara which make use of names and magic. E.g., "She uttered a charm and bound the boat, etc." (Shabbat 81b; Chullin 105b). And in the end of perek Arba Misos, and in the Yerushalmi there ... {J: he gives a bunch of cases of this} ... and many like this. And they said {in the end of perek Arba Misos, Chulin 7b), why are they called Keshafim, etc.?


And the Torah testified {regarding the magicians in Egypt} "and they were serpents!" And see the Zohar there. And so too, amulets, in many places; and incantations are to many to count. And the philosophy diverted him to explain the gemaras allegorically {??}, and take them out of their simple meaning. And forfend that I don't believe in them, of them, and their multitudes {??}. Rather, all of them are just as their simple meaning indicated. Except that there is in them {additionally} deeper pnimiyus. Not the pnimiyus of the philosophers which are chitzoniyus, but rather the pnimiyus of the baalei ha`emet {meaning kabbalists}."

Did Chazal believe in magic? Indeed, we could reinterpret these countless gemaras allegorically, but the Gra seems correct to me, that the are meant literally. In terms of arguments about pnimiyus, my inclination is that both Gra and medieval Jewish philosophers read later ideas into the text, but that these ideas are not really the ideas of Chazal. We should not reinterpret Chazal so that they maintain precisely our positions.

What then? I do think that we can say that Chazal believed in magic, but that they were wrong. And that we should know better nowadays. And there there is sound precedent for differing from Chazal in non-halachic matters, even though we should part ways here even if there weren't.

From xkcd, "The Data So Far":

The alt text, which appears when you hover over the image there: "But THIS guy, he might be for real!"

(This post an offshoot of the discussion about Yoga in this other parshablog post.)