English | Dvar Tora ∙ Vaera

Parashat Hashavua. 


My Shabbat Drasha : What is the difference between magic and
religion? 


Judaism is not only about the transcendence and belief, but we
belong to a people. The group is a key component of Judaism as a
religion. Magical belief can manifest itself in rites and
involves appeal to the supernatural. But as the sociologist Emile
Durkheim explains: “magic does not bind its followers to one
another and unite them in a single group living the same life. A
church of magic does not exist.”