What does Mazel Tov mean?

Answer 1

It literally means "good luck", but it's used for "congratulations".

Going way back, it's interesting to notice that the constellations, particularly those of the zodiac,

are known in Hebrew as the "mah-zah-LOTE", singular "mah-ZAHL". It's pretty clear that way back

in the day, when you wished someone "mazal tov", you were wishing him "good constellations",

or "good horoscope".

Answer 2

"mah-ZAHL TOV" is a Hebrew phrase, used to convey the same meaning where,

in English, one would say "Good Luck" or "Congratulations".

"TOV" in Hebrew means "Good", so with the phrase "mazal tov", one is wishing

upon the recipient "good mazal", in the sense of good luck or good fortune. But

"mazal" is an interesting way to say it.

In the King James translation of Psalms, there is a reference to the Creator as the one

" ... who bringest forth the Mazzeroth ... ". That strange word is one of the many cases

where King James' committee of scholars decided to keep the Hebrew word, instead of

trying to translate it (just as they did with the Hebrew words Adam, Abraham, Sarah,

Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Israel, Daniel, Satan, Behemoth, David,

Michael, Elijah, Joel, Gabriel ... but that's another story).

"Mazzeroth" is equivalent to the Hebrew word "mazallot", plural for "constellations"

of the stars. The Creator ".. bringest forth the Mazzeroth .." when he causes the sky

to rotate so that the constellations appear in their correct places and times.

And when you wish someone "good mazal", you literally wish him "good constellations",

or good Astrology, good horoscope, etc. No different at all from good luck.

Astrology was never part of Judaism, and was actively frowned upon, since it purports

to substitute other forces for Gcd's will. But you can't keep the simple folks down,

popular superstitions die hard, and the Jewish wish for a "good horoscope" lives on

even in our times. Mazal tov !

Answer 3

This is the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew phrase Mazal Tov (מזל טוב) which means "congratulations." It literally means "good luck" but it's not used in that way.