Curiosity Plays a Sunny Role

BY ALEXA GIOVANELLO • DAILY RECORD

One of the rarest events on the Jewish calendar will take place next week when the sun returns to the same spot in the sky it occupied at the time of creation, according to the Chabad Center of Northwest New Jersey, which will celebrate the event.

“Because this celebration is something so unique, it gets people’s curiosity up and it’s really something special,” said Rabbi Mordechai Baumgarten, who has been the program director at the Chabad Center since 2000.

People will gather at the Center on April 8, at 7 a.m., to take part in what is called Birkat Hachamah or “the Blessing of the Sun.” Millions more around the world will participate in the celebration that will include a reciting of morning prayers, Baumgarten said.

He said every 28 years, the sun returns to the same position in the sky it occupied at the time of creation, on a specific Wednesday morning in the spring.

The Birkat Hachamah is recited to mark this event.

The focus of the service is to thank God for “re-enacting the works of creation,” and includes a brief selection of Psalms and other texts.

The actual blessing and accompanying prayers, with some words from the rabbi, take about 15 minutes.

“I am absolutely excited about this event. I don’t know any other observances that occur once in every 28 years. Just that fact itself makes this historic and exciting,” Baumgarten said.

“I remember this 28 years ago when I was a child in South Africa, but this time it takes on a whole new meaning,” he said. “It’s a time to be thankful and think about the natural order of things as we come to looks at things this miraculous.”

The Chabad Center is located at One Torah Way in Rockaway Township. For more information, visit www.OneTorahWay.org, which is dedicated to informing viewers of Birkat Hachamah.

On the morning of April 8, live webcasts of the ceremonies from around the world — from New Zealand to Hawaii — will also be available on the Web site.