Are there people who by Torah & Rabbinic standards considered to be unlucky, always having bad luck?
Are there actual remedies for bad luck?
Answer:
The Talmud in several places assumes that people have “mazal,” which refers both to personal dispositions and to issues such as wealth.
Even according to the Talmudic statement whereby “there is no mazal for Israel,” commentaries explain that this means a person is able to change his “mazal” by means of prayer, and not that he doesn’t have an inherent “mazal.” The Sages write that the change in the names of Avraham and Sarah brought a change in their “mazal,” and that the reason why those around Daniel trembled was because their “mazal” knew what even they didn’t know.
Because we don’t understand much about this idea, we are usually best off attributing our successes to our own initiative and action together with Divine assistance, and our failures to our own mistakes and the lack of Divine assistance.
Best wishes and good luck!
