The word mazel – the thing people yell at weddings like it’s a magic spell – doesn’t actually mean “luck.” It comes from nun-zayin-lamed, meaning “to flow,” which should already tell you this isn’t about cosmic dice rolls. It’s about divine influence, not randomness.
Chazal weren’t running a casino; they saw mazel as a spiritual system of influence. The Gemara in Shabbos (156a) debates whether yesh mazel l’Yisrael – are Jews actually affected by celestial forces? The Rambam waved it off as nonsense, but Rabbeinu Bachye, Ibn Ezra, and others took it seriously. Hashem set up the stars as a kind of cosmic middleware, delivering influence to the world below. But here’s the kicker: it’s not absolute. Hashem runs the show, meaning He can override, patch, and rewrite the script.
One Gemara says life, children, and parnassah are locked in by mazalot. Another says ein mazel l’Yisrael – Jews don’t do mazel. Which one is it? The mefarshim explain: Jews have mazel, but they’re not stuck with it. Through tefillah, teshuva, and other spiritual upgrades, they can rewrite the code.
So, mazel isn’t just luck. It’s divine influence – with a built-in override, if you know how to use it.
