At the end of our interview with Lior Suchard, I asked if he could perform a “trick” on me. To my delight, he agreed.
From the second Suchard made eye contact with me to begin his trick, I was struck by a powerful, overwhelming feeling. It was like I was being pulled by a strong force, almost as if I were being controlled, though not really. I was completely drawn in and couldn’t look away.
He said, “Think of a character – anyone. Dead or alive, real or imaginary – and type it into Google on your phone.”
Trying to outsmart him, I picked a random image of SpongeBob and showed it to my editor, David Brinn, who gave me a slight smile and said, “That’s a good one.”
Suchard then asked me a series of questions that seemed completely unrelated to the character I had chosen. Finally, he told me to open my Instagram. I was confused but complied.
“Search for my name,” he instructed. Still unsure about how this related to the trick, I did as he asked. He then told me to read his bio out loud. I was stunned when I saw it: “Always think positive thoughts, especially when you are thinking of SpongeBob.” Everyone’s jaw dropped.
My mind raced with possibilities, but none made sense. At first, I thought maybe the Wi-Fi in Suchard’s home had somehow transmitted my thoughts because I looked up the picture on my phone. But he never checked his own phone, so how could he have known? And when did he have the time to change his bio? I was completely dumbfounded.
My mind was blown
If that weren’t enough to blow my mind (and it definitely was), he then asked me, David, and photographer Marc Israel Sellem to provide him with a random series of numbers. After collecting them, we all added them up in our phone calculators and collectively revealed a seemingly random number: 97241227.
We waited silently but then watched in amazement as he drew slashes between the numbers: 9/7/24 – the date we were at his house. Then he pointed out the time: 12:27 – the exact time at that moment.
Again, we were all stunned. How could all those random numbers perfectly match the date and time? If we had waited even a minute longer or altered our numbers in any way, it wouldn’t have worked. This time I didn’t even try to come up with explanations. There was no way he could have influenced our numbers or controlled our minds.
Being part of his tricks felt like experiencing real magic. Each trick amazed everyone in the room, completely captivating us. I kept thinking of different ways he could have done it, but none made sense. The experience was so mind-blowing that I couldn’t come up with a clear answer. It was not only intriguing but also a testament to Lior Suchard’s talents – and a reminder that sometimes the magic lies within the mystery itself.
The writer is an intern at The Jerusalem Post.