We are learning Mishnah 11 in the seventh chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin, the final Mishnah in the chapter. The Mishnah continues to detail the transgressions listed earlier in Mishnah 4, and here the transgression of a sorcerer - one who performs magic and witchcraft - is discussed.
The text of the Mishnah:
"Mechashef ha'oseh ma'aseh chayav, velo ha'ochez et ha'einayim" - The Mishnah distinguishes between two types of practitioners:
"Ha'oseh ma'aseh": One who performs actual witchcraft, harnessing the forces of impurity and actively using them. This is the prohibition that carries the penalty of stoning.
"Ha'ochez et ha'einayim": One who does not perform an actual deed but rather misleads people with sleight of hand and tricks. The literal translation of the phrase is that he grabs and holds the eyes of the onlookers, meaning he deceives their senses.
Magicians today:
Modern-day magicians all operate through optical illusions, tricks, and sleight of hand, and therefore they are not liable to stoning for witchcraft. Nevertheless, ideally, this is prohibited. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt"l discussed this in a responsum, and many magicians who work at events, parties, and hotels on Chol HaMoed rely on his lenient ruling. The conditions of this allowance are that the magician must explicitly admit that he is not actually performing magic but only using sleight of hand, and he must even explain and show how a trick is done, so that it is clear to the audience that there is no act of witchcraft involved whatsoever.
The words of Rabbi Akiva:
The Mishnah continues and teaches that two people can perform an action that looks exactly the same, yet one is liable and the other is exempt: "Rabbi Akiva omer mishum Rabbi Yehoshua: Shenayim loketin kishu'in, echad loket patur ve'echad loket chayav" - Rabbi Akiva says in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua that two people can gather cucumbers, one gathering them and being exempt, and the other gathering them and being liable. Both gathered the cucumbers and caused them to disappear, yet their halachic status differs:
One who performs a deed - liable: Someone who used actual witchcraft to cause the disappearance is a sorcerer and is liable.
One who creates an illusion - exempt: Someone who merely used sleight of hand, such as hiding the cucumber in his sleeve, is exempt, since he did not perform an act of witchcraft at all.
The approach of the Rambam:
The Rambam writes in a famous and controversial formulation that there is no reality to witchcraft at all, and everything is merely an illusion, deceit, and a trick of the eye. According to his words, it is difficult to understand our Mishnah, which differentiates between one who performs an actual deed and one who merely creates an illusion.
Indeed, many commentators raise this difficulty against the Rambam, as many Gemaras and statements of the Sages indicate that there is a tangible reality to matters of witchcraft. Therefore, the words of the Rambam remain a matter that requires further study: how to explain his intent, how to learn the Mishnah according to his approach, and how to understand his words in general.