EXOD633 Why such a severe punishment for obvious chicanery? The Talmud explains that the concept of a witch, by definition, attributes all actions and successes to a power other than God. Sanhedrin 67b Thus, according to the Torah, witchcraft is of abhorrent to the Jews, for the same reason that idol worship is so objectionable in Judaism: it gives ultimate power in the universe to something other than God.