Mazal

Hi,

"R' Chanina said: Mazal makes one wise, mazal makes enriches, and mazal affects Israel.

"R' Yochanan said: There is no mazal for Israel. R' Yochanan follows the view he expressed elsewhere: "How do we know that there is no mazal for Israel? Yirmiyahu 10:2 says, 'So says Gd: Do not learn the ways of the nations, and do not fear the signs of the heavens, for the nations fear them.' The nations fear them; Israel does not.""

(Talmud, Shabbat 156a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Divine Control and Free Will

Hi,

"The evil a person commits generates its own evil, and the good generates its own good…

"This is what Gd desired when He created the world – He wanted one human being to be able to affect another, even to do harm, and even for evil to happen to a person on earth simply because of bad Mazal."

(R’ Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, Emek haNetziv, Sifri Bamidbar 42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Controlled by Mazal

Hi,

There is much to say here - so much so that I will choose to leave it as an open canvas...

"Rava taught: Lifespan, children and livelihood depend not on merit, but on mazal."

(Talmud, Moed Katan 28a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Choosing a vocation

Hi,

Here's a message that seems to be about livelihood. I think it's also about mazal and taking control of one's life, though:

"It's impossible for the world to survive without perfumers and without tanners. Fortunate is one whose trade is in perfume, woe is one whose trade is in tanning."

(Talmud, Kiddushin 82b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai