שמות, פרק כ״ב, פסוק י״ז

The Biblical worldview wages an absolute and uncompromising battle against sorcery, treating it as a direct rebellion against the divine order and an extension of idolatry. In stark contrast to the cultures of the Ancient Near East, which differentiated between various types of magic and even permitted some, the Israelite perspective entirely rejects the legitimacy of any magical practice. It is viewed as an invalid attempt to influence the will of God, who alone rules the world [קאסוטו]. The Hebrew terminology for a sorceress hints at the nature of the crime; it is rooted either in the concept of hiding and covering, reflecting how dark arts are practiced in secrecy [שד״ל], or in the concept of falsehood, highlighting the deception in claiming to control the forces of creation [רש״ר הירש]. Commentators emphasize that this severe prohibition specifically targets those who perform tangible acts intended to alter reality, rather than those who merely perform illusions or sleight of hand [תורה תמימה, רלב״ג, ביאור יש״ר].

Although the law is formulated in the feminine, the primary approach among commentators is that it applies equally to men. The feminine phrasing reflects the historical and social reality of the era, in which women were far more frequently engaged in witchcraft [אבן עזרא, רש״י, רלב״ג, קאסוטו]. Beyond mere sociology, certain magical rituals, such as necromancy in graveyards, specifically required a female presence [רבנו בחיי, צאינה וראינה]. On a deeper, mystical level, some explain that the forces of witchcraft draw from a realm of impurity that is Kabbalistically associated with the feminine, while the male merely provides the speech [רקנאטי]. Alternatively, the sorceress is seen as attempting to fill a personal spiritual void by tapping into lowly spiritual forces [פרדס יוסף].

When dictating the punishment for this crime, the text departs from its standard legal phrasing. Instead of the usual mandate that the transgressor "shall be put to death," the instruction is an active command not to let her live. This linguistic shift has generated several complementary interpretations. First, it serves to amplify the severity of the crime, adding a negative command to the positive obligation of executing the criminal. This emphasizes the immense danger the sorceress poses to society by defiling God's name, sowing chaos, and misleading the masses [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך, רש״ר הירש, ביאור יש״ר]. It acts as a stern warning to judges not to ignore her, as doing so would unnaturally grant her life [גור אריה, דברי דוד], and cautions against showing her misplaced pity simply because she is a woman [הכתב והקבלה]. Second, the phrasing demands active pursuit. Because witches typically hid in caves and darkness, the law commands society not to despair or be lazy, but to actively hunt them down and eradicate them from the world [רשב״ם, שד״ל]. Third, the absence of a specified method of execution led some to argue that she may be killed by any means necessary. The fear is that if society waits to bring her before an official court or tries to execute her through a specific method, she might use her dark forces to escape. Therefore, she must be outsmarted and killed immediately using whatever means are available [הטור הארוך, פענח רזא, בכור שור, חזקוני]. Nevertheless, other commentators firmly stress that despite this unusual language, the execution must still be carried out exclusively by an authorized court, with the Talmud establishing stoning as the prescribed method [רש״י, מזרחי, תורה תמימה].

At the root of this prohibition is the Talmudic definition of sorcerers as those who "deny the heavenly entourage." A fundamental debate exists regarding what this denial entails. Some maintain that sorcery possesses genuine power to alter the laws of nature by illicitly connecting and mixing upper spiritual forces, akin to the prohibition of creating forbidden mixtures, which is why it is banned [רבנו בחיי בשם הרמב״ן]. Conversely, others argue that magic holds no independent power whatsoever beyond God's decree. In this view, the prohibition stems entirely from the sheer audacity and rebellious intent of attempting to bypass the Creator's will [רבנו בחיי בשם רבנו חננאל].

The placement of this law within the broader legal code is highly deliberate. It immediately follows the laws regarding the seduction of a virgin, reflecting the tragic reality that people often turn to the dark arts to satisfy their lust [אבן עזרא, חזקוני, מלבי״ם]. Immediately afterward comes the prohibition against bestiality, hinting at the practices of witches who would transform women into animals or use beasts for their rituals [קיצור בעל הטורים, פענח רזא, הדר זקנים]. Ultimately, its proximity to the prohibition of sacrificing to idols reveals a deep, intertwined relationship between sexual immorality, sorcery, and pagan worship. This dark triad is perfectly embodied by the wicked Balaam, whose actions seamlessly combined illicit relations with an animal, witchcraft, and idolatry into a single, profound rebellion against God [פני דוד, אלשיך].