Who doesn’t love a good magic trick, especially when the joke’s on you?

Photos: Naftoli Goldgrab

From spontaneous sleight of hand as he strolls through the park looking for volunteers, to upscale dinner parties and even post-game performances for national sports teams, Shlomo Levinger has made what looks like hocus pocus into an art form filled with shocks and surprises. After all, who doesn’t love a good magic trick, especially when the joke’s on you?

Walking into Manhattan’s Bryant Park on a sunny summer day, Shlomo Levinger accosts a high-spirited group of five college-age boys. “Hey, I’m doing some magic for a video,” he tells them. “Would you like to see?”

These guys turn out to be tourists from Ireland. Most of them are wearing something green, and they have those charming, lilting accents. Having a stranger approach them and offer free entertainment sounds like a great add-on to their New York jaunt. “Sure, sure!” they say.

Shlomo asks for a volunteer, and a guy named Finn steps up. Shlomo asks if he’s a rightie or a leftie, and has him clench one hand and relax the other. Now he produces a black Sharpie. “You know these pens, right?” he says. “They’re permanent! The ink stays on forever.”

He proceeds to draw a little X on Finn’s palm. Then he takes his finger and rubs it against the mark, and — imagine! — the whole X lifts off like a sticker. Then he suddenly seems to shake it off. Where did it go?

“Look at the back of your hand,” he tells Finn. Finn lifts his hand, turns it over, and there’s the X! Even better, when Finn rubs it, it refuses to come off, just like a real Sharpie mark. The boys break into a chorus of “Wow!” “Insane!”

None of us spectators has any idea how he did it.

“Another one?” Shlomo says.

They’re pumped and enthusiastically agree. Shlomo asks Finn to take his cell phone, scroll through his contacts, and stop at one, without showing him. “Now lock your phone and turn it away from me,” he says. “Look at me.” Finn meets his eyes.

“I’ve never met you, right? I have no idea who your friends are. But I’m going to read your mind and tell you who your friend is. I’m thinking of letters…. ABCDEF…. Is the first letter an R?”

No one answers. “I’m going to say the name, and at the same time I want you to show everyone your phone,” Shlomo says. “Ready? One, two, three….”

He calls out, “Richie Maren!” at the very same moment Finn turns his phone to show contact information for Richie Maren. The boys explode with incredulity and laughter. Shlomo has made their day, leaving them with a buoyant sense of bonhomie. He says goodbye, not before giving each a hearty handshake and sharing his business card.

Twenty-eight year old Shlomo has an affable, casual presence that puts his audience at ease. Today he’s clad in a white polo shirt, black pants, and sneakers, and while he wears a black kippah, no one seems put off by it. As of yet, he says he hasn’t encountered any overt anti-Semitism, and in fact hopes to counteract negative views of Jews precisely by interacting with non-Jews and showing them a positive experience.

“My job is to connect with people,” he says. “When people see magic going on, they come over and congregate.”

We continue walking through the park, which has a magic of its own. Artistically landscaped flowers and bushes border the canopies of leafy trees, and the fairytale feel is heightened by a carousel with flashing colored lights, spinning and tooting its music. There are kiosk cafés with tables scattered through the park so that people can eat their lunches or just relax.

But Shlomo isn’t relaxing. He’s busy scoping out potential customers for more street magic, which his brother and videographer Dave will film. The clips attract millions of views, and have brought him to the notice of some very high-profile clients.