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Birkat Hachama ("Blessing for the Sun") refers to a Jewish blessing that is recited in appreciation of the Sun once every twenty-eight years, when the vernal equinox as calculated by tradition falls on a Tuesday at sundown.
With around 40 people turning up early on a Wednesday morning - Wellington NZ was one of the first places in the world to experience this rare Mitzvah! |
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From the Rabbi: Pesach 2009 message |
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The Jewish calendar is very interesting and full of variety. We have a different celebration nearly every month. Every household is aware of the fact that the menu has to be changed and that something new must be prepared each time. As a reminder, this includes latkes and doughnuts on Chanukah, fruit cake on Tu Bishvat, hamantashan on Purim and we are now exchanging recipes for Pesach kneidlach!
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Ask the Rabbi: What is Birkat Hachama? |
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I recently received an e-mail with the following question:
Could you please let me know if the Jewish Community Centre in Webb Street is organising something about Birkat Hahammeh (Bless the Sun)? Is it popular amongst the Jewish people to celebrate this day?
A: This is a very rare mitzvah and one can only do it once or twice in his/her lifetime. The reason is as follows:
The Rabbis of the Talmud tell us that once every twenty eight years, the sun returns to the same place, at the same time of day and the same day of the week as the moment of its creation. (Berakhot 59a). This event will always fall on a Wednesday because the sun was made on the fourth day of creation. This confluence of events, a restaging of the heavens as they were at the beginning of time, was not a moment to be overlooked in the rabbinic imagination, so they bid us to celebrate this re-enactment of the creation of the sun every twenty eight years.
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From the Rabbi: Rosh Hodesh a New Beginning |
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Whilst sitting in my office and writing these lines, our thoughts are with the soldiers and the people of Israel – both in the south and in the north. They were under fire.  Jewish history teaches us that regardless of the difficulties that face us, we as a people must maintain our optimism and look to a better future. We are all united in our prayers for the people of Israel and I believe we must overtly show our solidarity.
In one of the midrashim the fate of the people of Israel is compared to the monthly cycle of the moon. As we know, at the beginning of the every Hebrew month the moon is hardly visible. It then begins to increase in size and strength until on the 15th of the month when it reaches its zenith. After the 15th it once again wanes and disappears completely.
This pattern is pertinent to the history of our people. At times the Jewish nation has been shrouded in darkness but it has always (regardless of time or place) found renewed strength - like the moon. |
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This month I would like to share with you some questions that Rabbis all over the world have been asked. The following have been taken from a popular website of questions to the Rabbi.
Q1 An elderly woman, living near a Jewish Community for sixty years, never walked to the Shule and didn’t participate in any Jewish function. In her good years she did well in business but recently she lost a lot of money and became ill. Her neighbour phoned Jewish Care of the Aged to ask them to take care of her. What should they do?
Q2 A non-Jewish young man approached the Rabbi. He introduced himself and said “My father has just died and his last request was to be buried as a Jew. I knew that he was a Jew but he never participated in any Jewish activity and I can’t afford to pay the Chevra Kadisha”. What should the Chevra Kadisha do?
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