Shlomo Levinger (born ) is an American magician and mentalist. He has performed internationally and for major-league baseball teams, and also posts videos of his performances online.

Life and career

Levinger grew up in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. He was a baseball fan and he studied at Yeshiva Ketana of Queens and Tiferes Moshe for elementary school, followed by Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim for high school. His interest in magic began after he watched an online video of a magician performing card tricks. From then on, he continuously practiced magic as his skills progressed. After graduating high school he studied in Chofetz Chaim in Israel, after which he returned to the United States and attended the Yeshiva of Waterbury. Levinger began his career by performing

street magic Street magic falls into two genres; traditional street performance and guerrilla magic. Traditional street performance The first definition of street magic refers to a traditional form of magic performance – that of busking. In this, the m ...

in New York City and posting videos of these performances online. At the age of 17, he started performing at small events, with his first paid gig being a

Chanuka Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

party where he earned $50. He continued to perform at various events throughout his time at yeshiva. Levinger's career advanced in 2021 after baseball player

Mike Trout Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is an 11-time Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star, three-time American League (A ...

started following him on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. Initially skeptical, Levinger soon realized it was Trout's official account and sent him a message. Trout expressed interest in seeing Levinger perform live, leading to a special performance in late August 2021. Levinger entertained Trout,

Justin Upton Justin Irvin Upton (born August 25, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Nicknamed "J-Up", he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Los Angel ...

, Dexter Fowler, Alex Cobb and

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees. Rizzo was selected by ...

in the

Angel Stadium Angel Stadium is a ballpark in Anaheim, California, United States. Since its opening in 1966, it has been the home venue of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), who relocated from Los Angeles to Anaheim following the 1965 seas ...

players' parking lot after a game against the

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

. The hour-long set, posted on YouTube, went viral and attracted attention from other baseball players, including

Alex Bregman Alexander David Bregman (born March 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros. As a high school sophomore at Albu ...

, who requested live performances. Levinger has performed at several charity events, including those for Joe Smith and Walker Buehler. He performed for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in their clubhouse during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in March 2024 and then for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in March 2025. His performances have also included appearances for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

, the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Kris Bryant Kristopher Lee Bryant (born January 4, 1992), nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball designated hitter, outfielder, and third baseman for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the ...

Donovan Mitchell Donovan Vernell Mitchell Jr. (born September 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Spida", he was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NBA ...

Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator, media host, and attorney. He writes columns for Creators Syndicate, ''Newsweek'', and ''Ami Magazine'', an ...

, and companies such as

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and

ABC Audio ABC Audio is a radio syndicator, radio network and digital audio network in the United States. It is under the ownership of The Walt Disney Company, parent company of American Broadcasting Company (ABC), with satellite distribution being handle ...

. Additionally, he has also performed at various international events. Levinger married Shani Roth in April 2022, and they live in

Far Rockaway, New York Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...

. He is an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

and always performs wearing a

yarmulke A (plural: ''kippot''), , or is a brimless Jewish skullcap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered. It is the most common type of head-covering worn by men in ...

and tzitzis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levinger, Shlomo Living people American magicians Jewish American entertainers American Orthodox Jews People from Far Rockaway, Queens