A Celebration Of the Sun, And the Earth

April 9, 2009

Author: Michelle Boorstein

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/08/AR2009040803355.html

What would 3rd-century Jewish sage and astronomer Shmuel have thought yesterday at sunrise, watching dozens of young Jews play guitar, dance and pray on the Lincoln Memorial's grand steps, transforming his ancient solar calculations into a chance to sing folk songs and do yoga?

The scene at daybreak was unusual, as is the ritual that prompted it.

Birkat HaChamah, a Jewish blessing service honoring the sun, happens only once every 28 years. It occurs when the sun makes its biannual stop over the equator, the vernal equinox, on the fourth day of the Jewish week -- the same day the Old Testament says God created the sun.

Or to be precise, it's when the vernal equinox occurs according to the calculations of Shmuel (like Madonna, no last name needed). He helped centuries of Jews connect their faith with the natural world but was actually about 11 minutes off in his calculation of the length of a year. That discrepancy has added up over the centuries so the vernal equinox this year actually occurred March 20.

That didn't matter to Jews at the Lincoln Memorial or around the world who awoke before sunrise to celebrate an event so infrequent it transforms in character each time.