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Above the Stars: Trusting in He Who Controls the Mazel

by Ram ben Ze’ev


Above the Stars: Trusting in He Who Controls the Mazel
Above the Stars: Trusting in He Who Controls the Mazel

The Holy Zohar, in Pinchas 11, opens a window into one of the most misunderstood truths in human history: the meaning of מזל (mazal). To the nations, mazal has long been seen as fate — the blind sway of constellations, the random chance of what we call “luck.” From the ancient astrologers of Babylon to the modern horoscopes that clutter our media, the same error repeats itself: the belief that the stars rule over man.


But Yisrael was never meant to live under the tyranny of the stars. Before Sinai, even our ancestors were bound to mazal as fate. Avraham himself looked to the heavens and saw that the stars declared he would remain childless. Yet G-D took him outside and lifted him above the stars, teaching him — and us — that the Jewish soul is not chained to fate. “Look toward the heavens,” He said, “and count the stars, if you can.” Avraham was shown that he was bound not to the stars, but to the One who commands them.



Here lies the great distinction. There are two levels of mazal. The lower mazal is what the nations see: astrology, chance, fate. The higher mazal is the ceaseless shefa (שפע, Divine flow) from G-D, the life-stream that sustains all creation. The stars do not govern this flow — they are governed by it. And once Torah was given, Yisrael was raised to live not under mazal as fate, but under mazal as Divine flow.


The Holy Zohar warns, however, that this elevation is not automatic. One who lives by Torah and mitzvot rises above the constellations, but one who abandons Torah returns to their sway. To live without Torah is to live once more by chance, hoping for luck, fearing misfortune. To live with Torah is to live with certainty, knowing that our lives are directed by He who controls the stars.


Today, the world still chases after luck. Politicians consult polls as if numbers rule destiny, businessmen pursue fortune as if wealth is random, and individuals glance at horoscopes to see what tomorrow may bring. But luck is an illusion. The stars may shine, but they are servants of the One who set them in motion. The true mazal — the flow of Divine energy — is in the hands of G-D alone.



For Yisrael, the choice is always before us. Will we live under the sway of mazal as the nations see it, or will we lift our eyes higher, above the stars, to the true mazal that flows from G-D? The answer is written in our daily lives: when we cling to Torah, we live above the constellations. When we trust in G-D, we no longer fear chance, for we are bound to the Source of life itself.


Avraham’s lesson is eternal. He who controls the stars is the One we serve. Trust in Him, and the stars will serve you. Trust in luck, and you will fall beneath them.


רבונו של עולם, זכני לדבוק בתורתך ולבטוח תמיד בך, מעלה אותי מעל הכוכבים והמזלות, לחיות מחובר לשפע חייך ולדעת שכל דרכי מונהגות בידך לבדך


Master of the Universe, grant me the merit to cling to Your Torah and to trust always in You, lifting me above the stars and constellations, to live connected to the flow of Your life, and to know that all my paths are guided by Your hand alone.


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