Moses again cautions the Israelites not to be enticed to follow the beliefs of the peoples of the land of Canaan, into which they are entering. This includes faith in sorcery and wizardry, and reliance on constellations to guide them in personal matters. An incident related by the Sages illustrates this concept: The children of Israel are not subject to the control of the celestial bodies.

“For these nations from whom you are taking possession heed soothsayers and sorcerers; but you, not so did the Lord your God give to you” (Deuteronomy 18:14).

There was an incident involving Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yohanan, who were sitting at the Tiberias city gate. There were two astrologers there, who saw two Jews going out to work. Those two astrologers said: Those two men are going out to work, but they will not reach their destination; a snake will bite them. Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yohanan heard this. What did they do? They sat at the city gate to find out if those two people entered their destination city to perform their labor. They did enter, and Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yohanan saw them.

Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yohanan said to the astrologers: Didn’t you say that these two people will go out but will not reach their destination, as a snake will bite them? The astrologers said to them: Yes. Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yohanan said to them: They went out in peace and reached their destination in peace. The astrologers looked at those two men. The astrologers said to them: Tell us, what did you do today? The men told them: We did not do anything special; we did what we are accustomed to doing: We recited Shema and we prayed. The astrologers said to them: You are Jews; the pronouncements of astrologers do not affect you, because you are Jews. The midrash concludes: That is the meaning of what is written: “But you, not so did the Lord your God give to you” [i.e., the Jewish people are not affected by the constellations]. (Tanĥuma, Shofetim)