how to say “good luck” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

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בְּהַצְלָחָה!

How to go about wishing someone well varies from language to language and from culture to culture.

 In English, we say good luck – wishing the person good fortune, that the stars line up for them, that they find a four-leaf clover.

 In Hebrew, we say בְּהַצְלָחָה
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– literally, with success.
A variation of that wish found in more religious circles is בְּרָכָה וְהַצְלָחָה
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 – blessing and success. This likely derives from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s staple wish to those in his personal audience, ברכה והצלחה בְּכָל הָעִנְיָנִים
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 – blessing and success in all (the) matters.

 I believe Hebrew’s choice of בהצלחה reflects a more proactive orientation than that of the English good luck – that Jewish/Israeli culture emphasizes the role of the individual’s power to shape their destiny as at least equal to the power of external forces, even divine ones. I think wishing someone הצלחה
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 – success – is more encouraging than wishing them good luck.

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