Va'eira

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharoah and did as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharoah and his officials, and it became a serpent. Then Pharoah called in his wise men and sorcerers; and the magicians of Egypt wrought the same with their magics. Each threw down his staff and it became a serpent. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs. - Ex 7:10-12

There is no such thing as magic!

- Vernon Dursley

Setting aside any Freudian interpretations we might be tempted to offer, this battle of magics from the book of Exodus, between the leaders of Israel and the royal sorcerers of Egypt, leads us into the fascinating field of magic within Judaism. The majority rabbinical view of magic seems to be: "It works, but don't do it. Also, it doesn't work on Jews. At least... not as effectively."

Soothsaying especially seems to be a dud field for der Yidden. As Rabbi Yochanan says, "there is no fortune for the Jews" (Shabbath 156a). Whilst the gentiles live and die by Kepler's laws of planetary motion, Jews are supposedly privy to special treatment from God, Who personally handpicks the destinies of the Chosen People.

Of particular note in all of this is the minority opinion held by the Rambam. He writes:

All the above matters are falsehood and lies with which the original idolaters deceived the gentile nations in order to lead them after them... Whoever believes in [occult arts] of this nature and, in his heart, thinks that they are true and words of wisdom, but are forbidden by the Torah, is foolish and feebleminded. He is considered like women and children who have underdeveloped intellects. - Avodat Kochavim 11:16

Let's ignore the blatant racism and sexism, and note the full impact of what the Rambam - one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of all time - is saying: every person who believes in magic or witchcraft or sorcery or soothsaying of any description, is "foolish and feebleminded", and has an "underdeveloped intellect". This seemingly includes almost every major figure in religious Judaism today.

There is a psychological phenomenon called cognitive dissonance. It's the discomfort we feel when we hold multiple incompatible beliefs simultaneously. Usually, there's a fairly simple out. We redefine terminology, shift the goalposts a little, find a workaround, and return to business as usual. But how do we deal with a contradiction as stark as this:

1) Rambam is amazing.

2) My Rebbe/Rosh Yeshiva/Sect Leader is amazing.

3) Rambam thinks my Rebbe/Rosh Yeshiva/Sect Leader is retarded.

I cannot see an out for the religious thinker, short of redefining concepts like "true". This seems, to my confessedly unlearned mind, like an intellectual checkmate. Remember, we don't need a conclusive answer. We don't even need a particularly convincing answer. We merely need to find an answer that's juuuust plausible enough to alleviate our cognitive dissonance.

But even with such generous rules of engagement, I was unable to find a solution. How about you?