Rosh Hashanah and Mazal: Can You Change Your Fate?

Simcha asks: “I understand that Judaism teaches that a person’s fate—livelihood, health, and so on—depends on mazal. But why is that? And how can someone actually change their mazal on Rosh Hashanah? Thank you in advance.”

Hello, Simcha, and thank you for your questions.

Our sages teach that every soul enters this world with a particular life path, known as mazal. Certain circumstances are determined even before a person is born, while one crucial area remains in their own hands: the choice between good and evil.

The Gemara describes this idea:

“The angel appointed over conception, whose name is Laylah, takes a drop and places it before Hashem, saying: Master of the Universe, what will become of this drop? Will it be strong or weak, wise or foolish, rich or poor? But whether it will be wicked or righteous—he does not say” (Niddah 16b).

Rava similarly teaches: “Life, children, and livelihood do not depend on merit; rather, they depend on mazal” (Moed Katan 28a). The holy Zohar (Part III, 134a) goes even further, stating: “Everything depends on mazal, even a Torah scroll in the Ark!”

So if so much is determined by mazal, an obvious question follows: Can it ever be changed?

Why Does a Person Have a Particular Mazal?

The explanation for mazal is connected to the reason a soul descends into this world.

According to Kabbalistic teachings about reincarnation, a soul may need to face particular challenges connected to its actions in a previous lifetime. For example, someone who was wealthy and looked down on the poor, or someone who was wise and became arrogant about their intelligence, may return to this world under very different circumstances in order to correct that flaw.

From this perspective, mazal is not random. It is determined from Heaven according to what is most beneficial for the soul’s correction, giving it the circumstances it needs to repair what is lacking and ultimately merit the World to Come in its fullness.

Based on this, it might seem that a person is powerless to change their mazal. Yet the Gemara teaches something that appears to say exactly the opposite: “Israel is not subject to mazal” (Shabbat 156a).

Rashi explains that through prayer and merit, a person’s mazal can change for the better. Our sages similarly taught: “Three things nullify a harsh decree: prayer, charity, and repentance” (Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 2:1, 65b).

Can a Heavenly Decree Really Change?

We find a striking example in Tanakh in the story of King Hezekiah. The prophet informed Hezekiah that he was going to die. His fate appeared to have been sealed, yet after Hezekiah prayed tearfully to Hashem, another 15 years were added to his life (II Kings 20:6).

The Gemara also relates stories of righteous people who escaped death through acts of charity despite what had apparently been decreed for them. One famous example involves Rabbi Akiva’s daughter (Shabbat 156b).

There is no contradiction between the idea that certain things depend on mazal and the idea that mazal can change. As Tosafot explain: “It depends on mazal... Nevertheless, through great merit, mazal can be changed” (Shabbat 156a).

The Rashba likewise explains that the Jewish people are not ultimately bound by the constellations:

“Nevertheless, it is in the hands of Israel, as our rabbis of blessed memory said: Israel is not subject to mazal. For Israel is Hashem’s portion, the lot of His inheritance, and they are not handed over to the constellations of heaven, because they are above the constellations.”

He connects this idea to the verse, “Do not be frightened by the signs of heaven, though the nations are frightened by them” (Jeremiah 10), explaining that a person who distances themselves from Hashem may become subject to the natural order represented by mazal. Regarding the righteous, however, Tehillim says: “Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me” (23:4) (Responsa of the Rashba, Part I, Responsum 19).

How Can You Change Your Mazal?

Although a Jew’s initial mazal is determined before their soul descends into this world, they have the power to change it through teshuvah, prayer, charity, and acts of kindness. Through these, a person can merit Divine providence that transcends mazal.

According to the Kabbalistic explanation, teshuvah repairs and refines the soul itself. As a person changes spiritually, they may no longer require the same circumstances that were originally necessary for their correction. Their mazal can therefore change along with their spiritual state.

Still, we should not think of changing mazal in black-and-white terms, as though either everything changes or nothing does.

There are many degrees of change. Sometimes a person may experience a dramatic transformation, from poverty to wealth or from illness to health. In other cases, the change may be less visible but still deeply significant. Someone destined to experience severe hardship may experience a lesser hardship instead. A marriage that was meant to be delayed for many years may come sooner. A person whose life was meant to be shorter may be granted additional years.

Hezekiah is a powerful example. He did not live to an extremely old age, but he was granted another 15 years of life beyond what had been decreed.

The lesson is that every positive spiritual change can improve a person’s mazal, whether dramatically or in ways they may never fully recognize. No prayer, act of teshuvah, or act of kindness goes to waste.

When a person does what is required both spiritually and practically—through prayer together with the appropriate effort guided by the Torah—they can trust that they are receiving the greatest abundance their soul’s correction allows them to receive in this world.

Why Is Rosh Hashanah Especially Powerful?

This brings us to your second question.

A person’s initial destiny is determined before birth. These are the starting conditions and general framework of their life. But further changes can take place each Rosh Hashanah, both within the boundaries of their mazal and even beyond them.

Our sages teach that Rosh Hashanah is a time of judgment when a person’s life and circumstances for the coming year are determined (Rosh Hashanah 16a). It is therefore an especially significant time to seek greater blessing in areas such as life and livelihood.

That is why this period calls for increased prayer, teshuvah, charity, and good deeds. These are not merely customs surrounding the holiday; they are ways a person can change spiritually and ask Hashem for a better decree for the coming year.

And while Rosh Hashanah offers a particularly powerful opportunity, change is not limited to one day of the year. The gates of teshuvah are always open. As Rambam teaches, teshuvah and crying out to Hashem are especially effective during the Ten Days of Repentance, when they are accepted immediately (Hilchot Teshuvah 2:6).

A person may enter Rosh Hashanah with a particular mazal, but they are not powerless before it. Through sincere teshuvah, prayer, charity, and meaningful change, they can ask Hashem not only for a good year, but for a different path than the one that may otherwise have awaited them.