[Fwd: Re: thanks.....]

[Kame'a Media <media...>]

michpat wrote:
> 
>> good luck, or as they say in Yiddish - mit gut mazel.
> michael
>
With all due respect, Michael, "they" (if you mean native speakers) do
not say "mit gut mazl". 

In Yiddish, you either have "mazl" or you do not. 
If someone is unlucky, it is not said of him that he has "shlakht mazl" 
(sic/lit: bad luck).  It is said that "er hot nit keyn mazl" (he has no
luck).
 Someone could be said to have a "shvartzn mazl", that is, to be  so
freakin' lucky, he must have a pact with the devil"-- lit: "black luck).

"Mazl", while meaning "luck" is a secondary meaning.  
It's primary  meaning is "stars" or "constellation",  in the
astrological sense.

What you want to say, Michael, is:
"zol zayn mit mazl" (Lit: "Let it be with luck" or "good luck"!) 
or:
"zol zayn in a mazldikn sho"  (May it come to pass at a favorable/lucky
hour).

Wolf Krakowski