Strip away the medieval slander and a real tradition of Jewish magic emerges—one that undefined Trachtenberg traced from the Bible through the Talmud and into the folk practices of medieval Ashkenazi Jews. The Torah itself bans certain forms of sorcery (Exodus 22:17), which tells us something important: the biblical authors believed magic was real and effective. They just believed Jews should not practice certain kinds of it.
The Talmud draws a crucial distinction. "Black" magic—using demons, manipulating nature through forbidden means—was prohibited. But "white" magic—invoking God's names, using sacred words for healing, wearing protective amulets—occupied a gray area that most rabbis tolerated or even endorsed. The Sefer Hasidim, composed in 13th-century Germany by Judah the Pious and his circle, is packed with magical practices: how to detect a witch, how to break a spell, how to use divine names for protection.
Medieval Jewish authorities wrestled endlessly with the boundaries. Eleazar of Worms, the great 13th-century mystic, recorded elaborate angel-summoning techniques and name-based magic in works like Sefer Raziel and Hochmat HaNefesh (the vital soul). The Ma'aseh Book, a popular collection of Jewish folk tales, included stories of magic rings that could transform a person into a werewolf. Even the legal codes acknowledged the reality of magical power—the question was never whether magic worked, but whether a given practice crossed the line into forbidden territory.
By the 17th century, some authorities tried to close the door entirely. undefined HaLevi declared flatly: "The Torah forbade only the magic of ancient times; nowadays there is no more magic in the world, but it is all vanity." But the folk tradition told a different story. Ordinary Jews continued to use amulets, recite protective psalms, and invoke angelic names well into the modern era—practices rooted in a magical worldview that the rabbis could regulate but never fully suppress.