No other gods
I don’t like wishing people good luck because I don’t believe in luck. I know it’s just a phrase and people might not mean literally that a random fortunate outcome should transpire, nevertheless, I don’t like to say it.
I also don’t like to ascribe things to bad luck. Rationally, I’d rather believe in a God who is in control and cares and be bothered by the question of why good things happen to bad people rather than believe that God created us and has left us subject to random processes. Such belief might explain why bad things happen to good people but it leaves us wondering why God doesn’t care – and that’s a worse conclusion.
Believing in luck is a type of idolatry. Like all idolatry, it is a mistaken attribution of power. In the case of luck, it attributes the success or failure of our endeavors to nothing.
It’s better to wish people Hatzlacha – that God should bless your endeavors with the success you hope from them. In short – may God bless you.
Sometime this week, when you want to wish someone success, instead of saying Good Luck, saying B’Hatzlacha or may God bless you, and mean it!
Set your intention for the day by reciting The Aseret Affirmation: Ten for Ten first thing in the morning.
Wishing you safety and strength,
Nitzan Bergman