Jewish blessing, thanking God for creating the sun. Recited once every 28 years.
Birkat Hachama
Sunrise in Bel-Air, California on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, the date of Birkat Hachama
Official name
Hebrew: ברכת החמה (Birkat Hachammah or Birkas Hachoma).
Translation: "Blessing of the Sun"
Observed by
Jews
Type
Jewish
Significance
Traditionally, the coincidence of the Sun's return to its location during the Creation of the world at the time of the week at which it was created
Observances
Recitation of blessing, along with various Sun-related biblical texts, while outdoors and in the presence of the Sun
Begins
Wednesday April 8th, every 28 years, dawn
Ends
Third hour of the day
Frequency
every 28 years (next occurrence: April 8, 2037)
Birkat Hachama (Hebrew: ברכת החמה, "Blessing of the Sun") refers to a rare Jewish blessing that is recited to the Creator, thanking God for creating the sun. The blessing is recited when the Sun completes its cycle every 28 years on a Tuesday at sundown. Jewish tradition says that when the Sun completes this cycle, it has returned to its position when the world was created. Because the blessing needs to be said when the Sun is visible, the blessing is postponed to the following day, on Wednesday morning.
According to Judaism, the Sun has a 28-year solar cycle known as machzor gadol (מחזור גדול, "the great cycle"). A solar year is estimated as 365.25 days and the "Blessing of the Sun", being said at the beginning of this cycle, is thus recited every 10,227 (28 times 365.25) days. The last time that it was recited was on April 8, 2009 (14 Nisan 5769 on the Hebrew calendar.[1])
From an astronomical point of view, there is nothing special to these dates; e.g. the Sun, Moon, planets and stars will not be aligned in any specific pattern.[2] The text of the blessing itself is as follows:
ברוך אתה ה' אלהינו מלך העולם עושה מעשה בראשית
Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the Universe who made the works of creation.[3]
^This coincided with the day before the Jewish Holiday of Passover (Hebrew: פסח).
^Schamroth, Dr. Julian; et al. "Calculating the Date of Birkat Hachamah". Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
^Klein, Isaac, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, Ktav Publishing House, 1979, page 268.
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