Dear Rabbi Simon
Can you please explain the difference, in Jewish thought, between luck and hatzlahah?
Leib
Dear Leib
Thank you for your interesting (though slightly amorphous) question.
“Luck” in the sense of happenstance is the subject of controversy in Jewish thought, as many authorities are of the view that all human affairs are subject to continuous and specific divine providence. Ie, there is no such thing as happenstance. This is one understanding of the expression hashgahah peratit. (Rambam, however, would seem not to be among them. See Ramban to Gen. 18:19, “For I have loved him [Avraham]”. Ditto for Ralbag. Rabbi Dr. J David Bleich has written extensively on this. See his book, With Perfect Faith.) הצלחה, success, is the term often used to express the favourable consequences of Divine providence. Whereas “luck” suggests pure chance, hatzlahah implies that Hashem will bring about success. This is seen, for example, with regard to the biblical Yosef, about whom the Torah says (Gen. 39:3), “and whatever he did Hashem made succeed through him” (ה’ הצליח בידו).
I hope these brief lines can serve as an introduction to this intriguing philosophical subject.
Best wishes
Rabbi Rashi Simon