Birkat HaChamah

When the sun returns to the same position, at the same time of the week, that it occupied at the time of its creation, we recite a special blessing. This mitzvah was last performed on April 8, 2009. Its next occurrence will be, G-d willing, April 8, 2037....

Nearly all life is fueled by sunlight. It bathes us with its sustaining rays, causing flora to grow and providing oxygen for all fauna. Some may call this nature. We will gather and declare otherwise...

An illustrated explanation of why we make this blessing once every 28 years. Engaging, informative and entertaining.

Every twenty-eighth year in the springtime, Jews gather in public to recite The Blessing of the Sun--one of the rarest and least-known practices in Judaism.

Question: I understand that the blessing on the sun is to be recited every 28 years in a cycle that begins with the creation of the universe. If so, why is 5769—this years' Jewish year—not divisible by 28? Response: You are correct, if you divide 5769 by ...

Just as He placed the sun exactly where it needs to be-a little closer and our world would burn, a little further and we would freeze, so, too, He created each of us perfectly. Acceptance of our own essence is a hallmark of recovery.

From the perspective of Kabbalah, we will examine the inner meaning of the custom of the blessing of the sun and reflect upon its relevance within the framework of current events in the world today.

“The Lord G-d is a sun and a shield.” “The Jewish people are likened to the moon.” The union between man and G-d is formed when a person makes himself a “small luminary,” a reflection of G-d.

Some mitzvahs are done daily, weekly, or annually. But there are some that happen so seldom that many of us are lucky if we experience them even once or twice over the course of our lives.

Birchas Hachama — the Blessing of the Sun at 770 in 1981.