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Ask the Rabbi: answers from Project Genesis rabbis
When will we next recite the blessing on the sun (birchas ha-chamah)?
Birchas ha-chamah is recited every 28 years, after sunrise on the first Wednesday of spring. It was last recited on April 8, 1981, and will next be recited in the spring of 2009.
What is the blessing on the sun? And why is it only recited every 28 years?
There is a 28 year cycle when the Sun and Earth are positioned to each other exactly as they were at the time of Creation. Whether or not we know the precise moment that this occured, we continue to commemorate this event.