A Jewish Blessing of the Sun at Jerusalem's Western Wall

[Washington Post] Howard Schneider - On Wednesday morning, tens of thousands of Jews gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for Birkat HaChamah, the Blessing of the Sun. The crowd spilled out onto walkways overlooking the Western Wall and onto the rooftops of nearby hotels and buildings. According to Jewish tradition, the sun completes a "large cycle" every 28 years, bringing it to the same spot on the same day at the same time as it was when God created it. The sun blessing is a special event for Jews, said Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth. "Everyone gets a chance to experience it only three or four times."


2009-04-10 06:00:00

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