Bless sun April 8 in rarest event of Jewish calendar

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2009-04-01T00:00:00

Scores of Portland residents will gather at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, at the Maimonides Jewish Day School to perform the rarest event on the Jewish calendar: They will gather together, peer upward toward the sun, and recite a blessing known as “the Blessing of the Sun.”

Local participants will join millions of others across the globe who will perform the outdoor blessing ritual at synagogues, schools, beaches, public parks and private homes. This year’s worldwide ceremony, which occurs only once every 28 years, is expected to be the most diverse and best-attended in recorded history. Two Portland synagogues, Congregation Beis Menachem and Congregation Kesser Israel, together with many individuals, will gather to recite this blessing.

The highly anticipated ritual—called Birkat Hachamah in Hebrew—is performed only once each 28 years, on a specific Wednesday morning in the spring when it is calculated that the sun returns to the same position in the sky it occupied at the same time of the week as it was at the time of creation, 5,769 years ago.

The focus of the service is to thank G-d for “reenacting the works of creation,” and includes a brief selection of Psalms and other texts. A second blessing expresses one’s gratitude for having “granted us life, preserved us and enabled us to reach this moment.”

During the program, Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm of Chabad of Oregon and Rabbi Kenneth Brodkin of Congregation Kesser Israel will discuss the significance of this event.

“More Jews in more places will participate in this rare opportunity than ever before,” said Wilhelm. “From Jerusalem to New York, Prague to Portland, this unique ritual will connect people in always remembering the Divine miracles of daily existence.”

The last time that this blessing occurred was in 1981.

“The world has changed drastically since the last time this blessing on the sun was recited,” said Wilhelm, citing the creation of the World Wide Web and the break-up of the Soviet Union as examples. “But blessing G-d for His natural wonders reminds us to reflect on the miracles and blessings in our daily lives, to focus on the fact that G-d continues to sustain our universe.”

“The Birchas HaChama is a unique opportunity which our Sages established for us to recognize and internalize the wonders of G-d’s creation,” said Brodkin.

This year, the Blessing of the Sun will be performed on the morning before the first Passover Seder. While there is no overt ritual connection between the blessing and Passover—in fact, this is only the second time in over six centuries that the Blessing of the Sun has coincided with the eve of Passover—the rabbis will talk about the connection between the two. Additionally, Chabad will facilitate people’s final opportunity to prepare for Passover by disposing of leavened foods or selling them for the duration of the holiday, which this year runs from April 8 to April 16.

For more information, contact Rabbi Motti Wilhelm at 503-381-7119 or email JLI@ChabadOregon.com.