Dr. J.H. Hertz (The Pentateuch and the Haftorahs, Soncino Press, London, 1963, pp. 186-7), when interpreting Yaakov’s final words to his beloved son Yosef:

Beraishit 49:22-6

22 Yosef is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain; its branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and hated him; 24 But his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made supple, by the Hands of the Mighty One of Yaakov, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Yisrael, 25 Even by the God of thy father, Who shall Help thee, and by the Almighty, Who shall Bless thee, with Blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 26 The blessings of thy father are mighty beyond the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Yosef, and on the crown of the head of the prince among his brethren.

notes the following (I have added the citations and the underlining):

“Yaakov reserves his softest and most loving accents for Yosef, who united whatever is best and noblest in both Reuven and Yehuda. He is the man of vision (Ibid. 41:38), the man of dreams (Ibid. 37:6-10; 40:12-3, 16-21; 41:25-36) but to this he joins moral and spiritual strength in all the vicissitudes of life. He is the ideal son (Ibid. 37:3), the ideal brother (Ibid. 45:4-11), the ideal servant (Ibid. 39:2-6), the ideal administrator (Ibid. 41:48-9, 55-7; 47:14-26). His character and story have from of old have been held to be typical of the character and story of Yisrael (another application of the principle “Ma’asei Avot Siman LaBanim” [the deeds of the fathers are precursors for the offspring—see “Yaakov is in Need of Reassurance, as Are We All”). Like Yosef, the Jew has been the dreamer of the ages, dreaming Yisrael’s dream of universal justice and peace and brotherhood. Like Yosef, he has everywhere been the helpless victim of the hatred of his step-brethren, hatred that drove him from home and doomed him to Exile. In that Exile, he has, like Yosef, times without number resisted the Great Temptation of disloyalty to the God of his fathers. In the dreams of Yosef, the, sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. It is the stars that bow to him, and not he to the stars. This is characteristic of both Yosef and Yisrael. “Ein Mazal LeYisrael” (there is no planetary influence controlling Yisrael) says Rabbi Yochanan. An Israelite should be ashamed to blame his star, his environment, or any outward circumstance for his moral downfall or religious apostasy. Man is captain of his own soul; and wherever there is a will to Judaism, there is a way to a Jewish life.”

The final lines of R. Hertz’s comments invoke one side of a lengthy debate in the Talmud with respect to the effects of astrology upon Jewish destiny. The opening salvoes in the debate appear below:

Shabbat 156a-b

It was stated. R. Chanina said: The planetary influence gives wisdom, the planetary influence gives wealth, and Yisrael stands under planetary influence. R. Yochanan maintained: Yisrael is immune from planetary influence.

Now, R. Yochanan is consistent with his view, for R. Yochanan said: How do we know that Yisrael is immune from planetary influence? Because it is said, (Yirmiyahu 10:2) “Thus Saith the Lord: ‘Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the nations are dismayed at them”

–they are dismayed, but not Yisrael.

Rav too holds that Yisrael is immune from planetary influence. For Rav Yehuda said in Rav’s name: How do we know that Yisrael is immune from planetary influence? Because it is said, (Beraishit 15:5) “And He (God) Brought him (Avraham) forth from abroad.”  Avraham pleaded before the Holy One, Blessed Be He: “Sovereign of the Universe! (Ibid. 3) ‘One born in mine house is mine heir.’”  “Not so,” He Replied, “(Ibid. 4) ‘but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels.’”  “Sovereign of the Universe!” cried he, “I have looked at my constellation and find that I am not fated to beget child.” “Go forth from (i.e., cease) thy planet (gazing), for Yisrael is free from planetary influence. What is thy calculation? Because Tzedek (Jupiter) stands in the West?  I will turn it back and place it in the East.” And thus it is written, (Yeshayahu 41:2) “Who hath raised up Tzedek from the east? He hath Summoned it for his sake.” (This Talmudic passage does not contend that astrology has no significance, or for that matter might it not affect even members of the Jewish people, but rather that the influence of the stars can be manipulated by God in order that outcomes that have been predicted can be altered in accordance with God’s Master Plan!)

Attributing what happens to an individual over the course of his life to astrological influences in effect was contending that “our stars”, rather than ourselves, are the ones who determine what essentially happens to us. (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar I ii 140-1 “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves…)” It would appear that those Rabbis who claim that Jews are not subservient to planetary influence, suggest that while there may be certain predictable tendencies and trends that impact an individual’s life, he can transcend those at least some of those factors by virtue of his relationship with God via Tora and Mitzvot. RaShI on R. Yochanan’s statement “Ein Mazal LeYisrael” explains: “By means of prayer and merit (earned by the performance of Mitzvot and good deeds), one can change his planetary fate for the good.” Consequently, the case of Avraham was understood by R. Yochanan as one in which the astrologers whom the patriarch consulted were correct in their readings of his horoscope, but they did not and could not account for how he might assume responsibility for his own destiny by through his relationship with God, changing himself and becoming something other than what the planets predicted.

Hertz claims that in addition to R. Yochanan’s understanding of what God Tells Avraham in his quest to have children, Yosef is another case in point where the second of his initial dreams while he was a boy (Beraishit 37:9) represented to him how what the stars, or for that matter, the members of his family, had in store for him could be overridden by his own assertiveness and moral correctness via an ongoing trust in and devotion to God.

In addition to the case of Avraham, the Talmud also presents an example of someone who felt that he was powerless in the face of forces greater than he, perhaps even that God Himself had Decided that he and those like him should be incapable of redeeming themselves and personally opting for a more honorable course of living. Elisha ben Avuya, known as “Acher” (lit. “someone else”; fig. he no longer was the Rabbi and sage who had previously been known as “Elisha”) because of his apostasy, during one of his study sessions with his student R. Meir, who had remained by his teacher’s side even after the latter had rebelled against tradition and observance, explained on at least two different occasions why for him to even consider repentance was futile:

Chagiga 15a

After his apostasy, Acher asked R. Meir (a question), saying to him: “What is the meaning of the verse: (Kohelet 7:14) ‘God hath Made even the one as well as the other’?” He replied: “It means that for everything that God Created, He Created (also) its counterpart. He Created mountains, and Created hills; He Created seas, and Created rivers. Said (Acher) to him: “R. Akiva, thy master, did not explain it thus, but (as follows): He Created righteous, and Created wicked; He Created the Garden of Eden, and Created Gehinom. Everyone has two portions, one in the Garden of Eden and one in Gehinnom. The righteous man, being meritorious, takes his own portions and his fellow’s portion in the Garden of Eden. The wicked man, being guilty, takes his own portion and his fellow’s portion in Gehinom. (Acher argues that being wicked is as immutable as the geographical features of the earth.)

R. Mesharsheya said: “What is the Biblical proof for this? In the case of the righteous, it is written: (Yeshayahu 61:7) ‘Therefore in their land they shall possess double.’ In the case of the wicked it is written: (Yirmiyahu 17:18) “And destroy them with double destruction”…

Our Rabbis taught: Once Acher was riding on a horse on the Shabbat, and R. Meir was walking behind him to learn Tora at his mouth. Said (Acher) to him: “Meir, turn back, for I have already measured by the paces of my horse that thus far extends the Shabbat limit.” He replied: “Thou, too, go back!” (Acher) answered: “Have I not already told thee that I have already heard from behind the Veil: (Yirmiyahu 3:22) ‘Return ye backsliding children’ — except Acher…(He is convinced that a Divine Decree has precluded him from ever returning to God’s Good Graces.)

Many different reasons are offered in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds for things that may have contributed to Acher losing his faith, among them the experiences of his mother when she was pregnant with him, the education that his father gave him, the allure of pagan literature and being exposed to the horrors of Roman persecution. But all people are exposed to competing influences, and it would appear that Acher was attempting to escape personal responsibility for his lifestyle. R. Yochanan and R. Hertz via the examples of Avraham and Yosef, contend that ultimately, it is our own choices within the context of the vagaries of life as we encounter them, that determine who and what we are religiously and morally. It is very much what R. Chanina declared:

Berachot 33b

R. Chanina further said: “Everything is in the hand of heaven except the fear of heaven (which is in our own hands), as it says, (Devarim 10:12) ‘And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God Require of thee but to fear…’”