We have looked at some wonderful musicals in this year’s series…St. Luke’s on Broadway. One of my favorite shows is Fiddler on the Roof which we included in the series a year or two ago. I had the opportunity to be in Fiddler and to meet my wife, Cindy, many years ago in Tulsa. Cindy played Tzeitel, the oldest daughter of Tevye who marries Motel, the tailor. I was Motel and every night in the show we were married under a canopy in a traditional Jewish wedding. Interestingly enough, we were married ten months later at Boston Ave. United Methodist Church. In the show, we ended the wedding each night with the traditional breaking of a glass and then everyone shouts Mazel Tov which loosely translated means “congratulations.”
I did some research on the phrase and discovered that Mazel Tov can also be translated as “Good Luck.” The word Mazel can mean luck or fortune and Tov is the Hebrew word for good. An even more literal translation from the Talmud for the word, Mazel, is a “drip from above” or the rabbi would tell you the context has to do with blessings that trickle down from above.
I must admit when I think of the words “trickle down” I am reminded of the economic policies of the Reagan administration which critics dubbed “trickle-down economics”. The idea was if you cut taxes for the wealthy they will take the savings and invest it in their businesses along with the hiring of more people from the middle and lower classes. So, the benefits to the wealthy “trickle down” to others.
We can debate whether that truly happens but I am convinced that blessings do trickle down from above. God pours out his blessings on us and without a doubt everyone does benefit from this trickle-down activity. So, it seems to me when we hear the phrase Mazel Tov it means congratulations on your good fortune…..congratulations on the blessings that have been poured out on you.
In the musical, White Christmas, Bob Long talked about the song, Count Your Blessings. How have you been blessed today? Can you tally them up and give thanks for all of them? Sometimes they are too numerous to count. They aren’t just trickling down from above. It is more like a deluge. God loves us and wants to bless us. How fortunate are we. Mazel Tov! Congratulations on your blessings.
Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
