Many people enjoy the magical feeling that permeates Shabbat, but members of West Orange’s Congregation Ohr Torah brought the experience to a new level when they hosted the very first shabbaton featuring Orthodox Jewish magicians during Parshat Naso, June 2-3. Rabbi Marc Spivak described his youth director, Avi Hoffman, as the founder of a WhatsApp group of Orthodox magicians and a very talented magician himself. With the majority of the group’s members living in the tri-state area, it seemed like a logical idea to host a shabbaton where the group members could get to know one another and spend time together beyond video calls.

Hoffman said: “It began several years ago with a small group of friends who were all frum magicians. As we met more frum magicians, we added them to our circle, which has grown significantly. Every so often I’ll meet someone who will introduce himself. We will play some Jewish geography, and it’ll turn out that he’s one of the magicians in my group. It’s a really remarkable community that is literally one of a kind.”

The WhatsApp group was started in February 2020, just before COVID shut everything down. The group was able to meet on Zoom several times a week and created a sense of community and shared magic, helping each other get through the isolation of the lockdown without the opportunity to perform or even interact with their neighbors or friends. While most of the magicians hail from the New York/NewJersey area, there are members from Florida, Arizona, California, Missouri and farther afield (South Africa, Israel and Argentina). There aren’t any female magicians in the group yet, but it’s only a matter of time. One magician has a daughter who is honing her craft, and may soon join the group of nearly 70 members.

Some members who joined the group as teens have gone on to become high-profile magicians. Hoffman noted: “One key example is Shlomo Levinger, who is one of the most sought-after magicians in the frum world and has also performed for international celebrities.” The group is a true sense of a community—they coach each other, help out, and sometimes serve as an employment source.

Planning for the shabbaton began over the winter, as Hoffman began fleshing out a distant dream that he didn’t think could or would happen. A brief mention of the idea to Rabbi Spivak and the dream went from concept to reality. Thinking that maybe two or three magicians would come, Hoffman was overjoyed with the response.

The shabbaton came shortly after Hoffman’s 15th anniversary of being involved with magic. A friend taught him his first card trick when the pair of 13-year-olds stayed up all night on Shavuot. That card trick was the start of something that has taken him around the world and introduced him to amazing people. As a full-time semicha student at RIETS and a part-time youth leader, Hoffman doesn’t have as much time to practice his art as he would like. Admitting that his formal rabbinical studies are winding down, he is looking forward to creating and practicing magic tricks.

The Ohr Torah youth were accustomed to seeing Hoffman perform magic, but were in awe of seeing additional magicians performing their craft and signature pieces together. Hoffman added that the adults were often more thrilled with the magicians than their children were, and often laughed twice as much.

A total of eight magicians took part in the event, with five attending with their wives and families, and a couple of accomplished magicians who happened to be teenagers. Six families jumped at the chance to host the guests, starting with Rabbi Spivak, a major magic enthusiast. As youth director, Hoffman also had to work to accommodate 15 extra children in the youth groups, but it was worth the effort to see this dream become a reality.

The magicians also fully participated in other parts of synagogue life. Several of the magicians are also rabbis; they davened from the amud, gave shiurim and fully integrated into the community while showing congregants another facet of their lives. During the transition from the kiddush to the luncheon, magician Chaim Gitelis, from Long Island, entertained those waiting.

Rabbi Spivak noted that the Shabbat “was amazing. It was incredible to see how the magicians played off one another and shared tricks of the trade (literally). It was heartwarming to see how the congregation reacted to the performances at the lunch where the magicians went table to table to entertain the approximately 100 guests.”

The opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather and take the children to a local park for more entertainment was a huge benefit, but Hoffman may plan a follow-up event during the winter season. “There were so many tricks that couldn’t be done [without violating Shabbat]. A long Motzei Shabbat, with the opportunity to have a Saturday night program would be great, and local communities would also be able to participate and get in on the action.”

The one disappointment of the event? With so much taking place on Shabbat, they don’t have pictures of the many wonderful things that went on.

For more information about the magician’s group, contact Avi Hoffman at [email protected]

Deborah Melman is a staff writer at The Jewish Link.