Q&A: Luck
Luck
Question
There are Jewish laws that are based on assumptions that are not necessarily correct. For example, the Talmud at the beginning of Tractate Ketubot and elsewhere discusses matters such as “his field has been flooded” and “your luck caused it,” and so on. My question is: if today it is understood in the scientific world that there is no such thing as good luck or bad luck, and such phenomena can be explained in terms of statistics and the like, does that mean those Jewish laws change accordingly?
Answer
If it is clear that the Jewish law in question is based on an error, then if the error was there from the outset (already when the law was established), it is void. But what seems clear to you is not always actually clear. It is worth asking and consulting beforehand. It is also worth checking whether the Jewish law is really based on those errors (it is possible that you are mistaken in your understanding of the law). For example, regarding “your luck caused it,” relying on luck is not necessarily mysticism. Sometimes it is an expression for a chance event, and therefore if it happened to you, it is your problem. The term used is “your luck caused it.” So too, for example, with a spring or “luck” in the Talmudic passage about a presumption established after three occurrences in Tractate Yevamot (regarding a woman whose three husbands died). But if you have an explanation, then of course there is no reason to attribute the matter to luck even in that sense.
But Maimonides did in fact take the position of nullifying those concerns: (Responsa, Blau. Reiah)??