Program Reviews

“Inviting Arthur Kurzweil to London to perform magic for our Made in Heaven singles event was the best decision we ever made!

Having a speaker of his caliber caused the event to be inundated with three times the amount of expected attendees.

Everyone who saw him was enthralled with his wit and wisdom and charismatic stage presence. We feel that he gave the entire event a ‘buzz’, a positive vibe which resulted in our most successful event to date.”

– Este Stimler, London England

“How do you introduce Jewish values and ideas into a magic act? You have to experience it to believe that it can be done! Who else could have thought of this but a Master Magician, a Talmudic scholar, and a Jewish Genealogist combined. So where can you find such a marvelous combination? In none other than the Remarkable Extraordinary Fantastic Arthur Kurzweil who works with illusion and sleight of hand, mystery and marvel as he weaves words of wisdom filled with wit into his inimitable magic act. Laughter and diversion set up the audience to learn in a most entertaining way!”

– Peninnah Schram, noted author and storyteller

“Arthur Kurzweil’s show, “Searching for God in a Magic Shop,” is an entertaining and enchanting blend of magic and spirituality. Author, educator, editor, publisher, teacher and magician, Arthur is a contemporary Jewish Renaissance man. In his show, magic opens the door to spiritual enlightenment and reminds us of the profound richness and wisdom of this ancient art. Like a fairy tale wizard, he astonishes with tricks and illusions that lead to deeper truths. This is a wonderful show that should not be missed.”

– Ruth Knafo Setton, Lehigh University

“Arthur Kurzweil’s show was delightfully entertaining. He combines wit, story telling and magic into a presentation that is enjoyed by all. Our students not only enjoyed the performance but also loved having discussions with him both before and after the show. I would highly suggest this for all ages.”

– Rabbi Ely Allen, Director of Hillel of Northern New Jersey

“Arthur Kurzweil’s “Searching for God in a Magic Shop” mesmerized the audience with his wonderful blend of fascinating Torah telling, magic prowess and humor. He was able to take a profound topic and make it intelligible and enjoyable for both youngsters and adults. His interactive presentation has given new meaning to the word Abracadabra and helped all to a better understanding of where and how Judaism and Magic meet. Excellent!”

– Rabbi Ron Isaacs, Temple Sholom, Bridgewater, N.J.

“Arthur Kurzweil’s evening at our Temple proved to be an engaging, entertaining and educational experience. The audience was captivated by his use of prestidigitation to explain Jewish thought and ideology. From the youngest members in our audience to the more senior among us, we all agree that our evening with Arthur was truly magical.”

– Debbie Hercky, Adult Education Temple Sholom, Bridgewater, N.J.

“Arthur Kurzweil’s program, “Searching for God in a Magic Shop”, was wonderful! His usual warm, down-to-earth, menschlich style immediately established a wonderful, warm rapport with all the students. His sensitivity and respect for all the different ways students express and celebrate their Jewishness truly have a meaningful impact on them. I – and the students – were so impressed with the way he so brilliantly and creatively used a dazzling magic show to share with everyone your wisdom on Jewish values. He has a unique, very effective way of engaging the audience with his warm personal style, insights from Jewish texts, and inspiring stories form Jewish tradition and from his own life experience. It is clear from the enthusiastic feedback that students and staff not only loved his presentation, but also learned a great deal.”

– Rabbi Meir Mitelman, Hofstra University Hillel

Arthur Kurzweil performing for Hofstra University’s Hillel

Arthur Kurzweil performed a “magic show” on November 17th, leading us through a unique exploration of both the world of illusions and the treasures of Jewish thought.”

– Ted Merwin, Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life

“I’ve just experienced Arthur Kurzweil’s fascinating performance and it was enchanting! It goes way beyond your typical magic act. A harmonious blend of Torah insight, superb story-telling and deftly-accomplished illusions make for a really magical event. My whole-hearted recommendations for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.”

– Gershon Sabol, Director Partners in Care / Yedei Chesed

“Arthur Kurzweil’s “Searching for God in a Magic Shop” was delightful. His mix of Torah, magic and Jewish wisdom was entertaining, fascinating and informative. Everyone present agreed that this was certainly a very successful program.”

– Lauren Varod, Program Director, Congregation Ohev Shalom/Marlboro Jewish Center, Marlboro, NJ

“Arthur Kurzweil spoke at our Synagogue and he was a tremendous hit! Who ever thought that there could be a “Jewish Magic Show”? And who ever figured that something so entertaining could be so profound, and meaningful?

Arthur is a wonderful performer, and more importantly, a great teacher. Our congregants greatly enjoyed his presentation, and are talking about it long after he left us; his messages will stay with us.”

– Rabbi Michael Katz, Temple Beth Torah, Westbury, New York

“Arthur Kurzweil spoke at our Synagogue and he was a tremendous hit! Who ever thought that there could be a “Jewish Magic Show”? And who ever figured that something so entertaining could be so profound, and meaningful?

Arthur is a wonderful performer, and more importantly, a great teacher. Our congregants greatly enjoyed his presentation, and are talking about it long after he left us; his messages will stay with us.”

– Rabbi Michael Katz, Temple Beth Torah, Westbury, New York

Harry Houdini may have been a rabbi’s son, but many would agree that there’s nothing particularly Jewish about stage magic.

And yet to Arthur Kurzweil, that’s just, well, an illusion.

The author and Jewish educator thinks both magic and Judaism require a faith in the unknown and an inquisitive and open mind. (And that’s not even to mention the Jewish prestidigitators who left their mark on the craft.)

“When I perform magic, the theme is always concerning questions of how the mind works, how do we perceive the world, what does it mean to truly see,” said Kurzweil. “What if our first step in learning how to see, to really see, is to know that we don’t see everything?”

Kurzweil demonstrated his innovative exploration of “eternal Jewish spiritual ideas” at a Jan. 7 program, “Searching for God in a Magic Shop,” at the Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County in Edison.

As Kurzweil performed tricks with a deck of cards, numbers, and postage stamps, he tied each into a discussion about a concept in Torah, Talmud, or Jewish history.

He also presented the audience with an overview of the Jewish influence on stage magic. While Jewish tradition frowns on magic and wizardry, rabbinic law permits sleight of hand as long as the entertainers make no claims about having special powers.

Even the most famous phrase in stage magic — “abracadabra” — has Jewish roots. Kurzweil said the incantation is a corruption of the Aramaic phrase avra k’dabra, meaning “I will create as I speak” and was probably a reference to God’s great “trick” of creating the universe.

And of course there was Houdini, born Ehrich Weiss, the son of a Hungarian rabbi who brought his family to Appleton, Wis. The famed escape artist is “buried in a Jewish cemetery in Queens,” said Kurzweil.

A member of the Society of American Magicians — founded by Houdini — and the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Kurzweil has written for the journal Genii: The Conjurers’ Magazine.

He said he has been interested in magic since his father took him to a store to purchase a costume for his third-grade play and he spotted some magic tricks on the counter.

As a Jewish educator, Kurzweil is the author or editor of 30 books, including The Encyclopedia of Jewish Genealogy, Kabbalah for Dummies, and the recently published On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz, about his friendship with renowned talmudist Adin Steinsaltz.

Kurzweil’s Jewish and magical sides combined as he discussed one of his favorite books, Steinsaltz’s The Thirteen Petalled Rose. As he explained Steinsaltz’s thoughts on the different levels of angels in the four kabalistic worlds and how the mitzvot we do create and energize them, Kurzweil called up Jennine Shpigel, the JCC’s director of Jewish and family programming.

While a copy of the Steinsaltz book — sealed in a plastic bag “to prevent fingerprint smudges” — was being circulated through the audience, Kurzweil asked Shpigel to select a card from a deck he was shuffling. She chose the four of hearts, which Kurzweil held up for the audience to see. He then asked the audience member who had the bag to unseal it and remove the book and shake it. Out dropped the four of hearts.

Eleven-year-old Jacob Siegel of East Brunswick was impressed. “It’s really cool and interesting to find out how magicians do things,” he said. “It’s tempting to try and figure out how they do it.”

For Kurzweil, however, knowing the secret behind a trick or illusion would strip it of its magical properties, just as fully understanding the workings of God would eliminate the need for faith.

“We are told if we study Torah and Talmud everything is in there,” said Kurzweil. “It’s a thoughtful idea. Everything is for the best, but we don’t see everything.”

Feedback for Jewish Adult Education Programs

What can I say? This weekend was just wonderful to say the least. In each of your workshops you engaged all the participants with humor, knowledge and kindness. You are certainly a very special human being. All weekend people came up to me to commend me on such a wonderful program. Many even told me that it’s the best program they ever remember at the synagogue. You made me look very good-thank you very much.”

– Lauren Varod, Program Director, Congregation Ohev Shalom/Marlboro Jewish Center

“Arthur Kurzweil is a superb teacher who imparts his vast knowledge about Kabbalah in a meaningful and understanding manner. He welcomes questions and challenges and responds with warmth and encouragement. The scholar-in-residence weekend at our temple left people clamoring for more. I can’t recommend Arthur highly enough!”

– Harriet Golub, President, Temple B’nai Shalom, East Brunswick, NJ

“Arthur’s visit to Portland was a huge success on many levels. It was an amazing community-building weekend with four congregations and the Jewish Genealogical Society co-sponsoring his visit. Over three days he spoke for over an hour in two services, led Talmud study, gave a Kabbalah lecture, was the honored guest at a Patron Brunch, did his renowned Magic Show and finally led a two part Genealogy workshop.

He is engaging, wise, knowledgeable, kind and generous. He is also a born entertainer and teacher and we felt he could have been here a week and we still would want more! Weeks later the community is still abuzz discussing his teachings and the mitzvah of our congregations coming together to learn. We’re bringing him back.”

– Eliana Fromer, Event Coordinator, P’nai Or of Portland

“Arthur Kurzweil’s presentations are everything you could want from a speaker and more. They are educational, entertaining, moving and meaningful. At our synagogue he has offered lectures, adult education classes, religious school programs, and scholar-in-residence weekends.

He is an extraordinary speaker who appeals to congregants of all ages and backgrounds. Our congregation has been delighted again and again.”

– Alison Bermant Past Chair, Religious School Committee North Shore Synagogue, Syosset, NY

“Arthur Kurzweil captivates audiences with his unique magic. He is a gifted educator to all ages.”

– Alice J.Rudnick, former Scholar-in-Residence, Chairperson, Schenectady Jewish Community Center

“Arthur Kurzweil had our audience mesmerized with his presentation on Jewish genealogy. Kurzweil has a presence that will captivate his audience on any topic, including ‘Talmud and magic!'”

–  Sandy Saada, Assistant Director, Adult Services/Cultural Arts, Jewish Community Center Buffalo, NY

“Arthur Kurzweil is one of the most interesting and engaging speakers I’ve ever heard. I’ve had him as a Scholar In Residence in my two congregations and people couldn’t get enough. Everyone wants to know when he’s coming back. His range of subjects from genealogy to Talmud to theology through magic is breathtaking.”

– Rabbi David Fine, Congregation BIAV (Beth Israel Abraham Voliner), Overland Park, Kansas

Feedback for Searching for God in a Magic Shop

“Mr. Kurzweil gave an wholly entertaining performance with interesting insights into faith.  My audience of children, adults and seniors all enjoyed it on different levels. I have gotten great feedback from the audience.”

– Sara Weinstein, Programming Chair, Brith Shalom Beth Israel Sisterhood, Charleston, SC 

“Mesmerizing! That is how I would put Arthur Kurzweil’s impact on my congregation. From his very first introductory lecture to his final session where he performed a theological magical show, Mr. Kurzweil had the audience rapt attention. What makes Kurzweil’s presence even more valuable, is that while you may think you are being entertained, what you really are doing is coming to grips with the wealth and beauty of Jewish tradition.” 

– Rabbi Marvin Richardson, Jericho Jewish Center

“Arthur Kurzweil’s “Searching for God in a Magic Shop” mesmerized the audience with his wonderful blend of fascinating Torah telling, magic prowess and humor. He was able to take a profound topic and make it intelligible and enjoyable for both youngsters and adults. His interactive presentation has given new meaning to the word Abracadabra and helped all to a better understanding of where and how Judaism and Magic meet. Excellent!”

– Rabbi Ron Isaacs, Temple Sholom, Bridgewater, NJ

“Arthur Kurzweil’s evening at our Temple proved to be an engaging, entertaining and educational experience. The audience was captivated by his use of prestidigitation to explain Jewish thought and ideology. From the youngest members in our audience to the more senior among us, we all agree that our evening with Arthur was truly magical.”

– Debbie, Hercky, Adult Education, Temple Sholom, Bridgewater, NJ

“Mr. Kurzweil was an absolute delight. I am a professional magician and have been professionally trained, yet what Arthur did with us was something rarely seen. He was “edge-of-your-seat” interesting. He was witty. He was endearing. He had a roomful of magicians so caught up in his stories and his personal revelations, that even we were fooled by his magic.”

– Ray Pollard (Myster Ray) President, International Brotherhood of Magicians, Ring 317

“Using his magician’s skills like a golden key, Arthur Kurzweil unlocked the treasure chest of Torah teachings before a captive audience. A thoroughly unique, entertaining and highly informative presentation. Kudos to Mr. Kurzweil for his creativity, charm and chochma.”

– Zipora Reitman, Hillel Advisor, SUNY Rockland

“Arthur Kurzweil’s presentation of Searching for God in a Magic Shop was nothing short of outstanding. Mr. Kurzweil kept our Adult Education audience riveted by his tricks, sprinkled with fascinating stories from the Talmud and Midrash.”

– Rabbi Maurice Simckes Temple Israel of South Merrick, Long Island, NY

“Arthur Kurzweil’s magic show is an enchanting tour of Jewish thought which left us thrilled and amazed.”

– Dr. Ted Merwin, Director of the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life, Assistant Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies, Faculty Advisor to Hillel

“Arthur Kurzweil’s program, “Searching for God in a Magic Shop”, was wonderful! His usual warm, down-to-earth, menschlich style immediately established a wonderful, warm rapport with all the students. His sensitivity and respect for all the different ways students express and celebrate their Jewishness truly have a meaningful impact on them. I – and the students – were so impressed with the way he so brilliantly and creatively used a dazzling magic show to share with everyone your wisdom on Jewish values. He has a unique, very effective way of engaging the audience with his warm personal style, insights from Jewish texts, and inspiring stories form Jewish tradition and from his own life experience. It is clear from the enthusiastic feedback that students and staff not only loved his presentation, but also learned a great deal.”

– Rabbi Meir Mitelman, Hofstra University Hillel

“I’ve just experienced Arthur Kurzweil’s fascinating performance and it was enchanting! It goes way beyond your typical magic act. A harmonious blend of Torah insight, superb story-telling and deftly-accomplished illusions make for a really magical event. My whole-hearted recommendations for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.” 

– Gershon Sabol, Director Partners in Care/Yedei Chesed

“Arthur Kurzweil spoke at our Synagogue and he was a tremendous hit! Who ever thought that there could be a “Jewish Magic Show”? And who ever figured that something so entertaining could be so profound, and meaningful?

Arthur is a wonderful performer, and more importantly, a great teacher. Our congregants greatly enjoyed his presentation, and are talking about it long after he left us; his messages will stay with us.”

– Rabbi Michael Katz, Temple Beth Torah, Westbury, NY

Feedback for “Reading is Magic” Show

“Arthur’s Kurzweil’s Magic show was not only entertaining but informative as well. He very subtly encourages the children to read by connecting the art of magic with the art of reading. We enjoyed having him and I would recommend this program to schools and libraries.”

– Rosalie Brereton, Hoboken Public Library

“Initially, Arthur introduces himself to the assembled children and parents in delightful fashion. He possesses a naturally charismatic and engaging personality, investing the audience in his program virtually from the moment he begins to the conclusion of his final trick.

Arthur presents a wonderful arsenal of illusions and sleight of hand, combining humor and his obvious and stated love of books and libraries with a heavy dose of audience participation. And therein lies one of the most impressive aspects of Arthur and his program. Arthur constantly points to titles that he requests be pre-prepared, and informs the children that a world of magic and wonder can be found within the very room in which his magic is being performed.

While performing, Arthur gustily endorses reading, informing the assemblage how very important it is to both visit and support their local library. While libraries are continually trying to impress this fact upon their patronage, having someone like Arthur do so can really serve to make a difference.

But, Arthur doesn’t stop there. All children like to feel “important.” Arthur successfully indulges this need by soliciting audience participation and making inquiries of the children. When Arthur does elect to bring a child up to the stage, he makes certain to put the child at ease as being in front of 80+ patrons can prove to be intimidating to a youngster. Arthur has the child help him perform the trick and ensures that the child’s cooperation is acknowledged and appreciated by the audience. This serves to make that child feel important and integral to the performance.

At the end of Arthur’s show he conducts a trick wherein a dollar bill is locked within a wooden framework. Once the dollar is freed, Arthur donates it to the library and informs the assembled patrons that there are any number of ways to help support their local libraries, financial donations being but one.

As Arthur was packing up a true indicator of his popularity and that of his performance occurred. The children stripped my collection of books on magic, books about famous magicians, and he was simply overwhelmed by youngsters asking him questions and begging for “just 1 more trick.” Those who pleaded with him included a library staff member!”

– Jamey Feuer, Edgewater Free Public Library

“I would like to recommend Arthur Kurzweil to any group who would like a professional, well-prepared and interesting presenter of magical fun.

He came to my library as part of the 2004 Summer Reading Club, which featured the theme: “Discover New Trails at Your Library.” With his library background, he was able to link his magic tricks so neatly to books and the library that I felt we had a very effective public relations person working for us.

He also alerted me ahead of time to the topics he would cover in his show, so that I was able to bring in library books to display, which he encouraged the audience to check out after the program.

The audience really seemed to enjoy his patter, also and were anxious to participate in the magic tricks.

I would recommend Arthur as one of the most unusual and educational presenters I have ever invited to our library.”

– Carole Bollini, Youth Services Librarian, The Ramsey Public Library, Ramsey, NJ