|
April 17, 2009
Marking a rare event
Lower Mainland Jews bless the sun April 8.
DEENA LEVENSTEIN
The community-wide birkat hachama (blessing of the sun) last Wednesday, April 8, at Douglas Park in Vancouver, was attended by approximately 150 people who seemed to represent the full spectrum of Jews living in Vancouver. This was despite the fact that it took place the day before Passover and that the most important part of the ceremony – saying the actual blessing – couldn't be performed because the clouds blocked the sun from view.
Birkat hachama is based on calculations, many of which can be found in the Talmud, which conclude that every 28 years the sun is in the same position relative to the Earth that it was on the day the sun was created. In honor of the day, Rabbi Shmuel Yeshayahu of the Ohel Ya'akov Community Kollel decided to organize a community event and received endorsement from almost all the major shuls and Jewish schools in the city.
Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt of Schara Tzedeck gave the introduction to the ceremony. He explained some of the basic ideas behind this mitzvah, receiving a laugh when he said about the sun, "I can almost guarantee you, though, that right now it's not there." People gazed up at the cloudy Vancouver sky and thought he was referring to the lack of visibility. What he was referring to, however, was the fact that the tradition holds that the sun is in the correct place at six o'clock on Tuesday evening, Jerusalem time, but we wait until daytime hours on Wednesday here in order to say the blessing. This turns out to be around 24 hours late.
Rabbi Avraham Feigelstock, rosh Kollel of the Community Kollel, led the short ceremony, saying that since he'd seen the sun earlier, he would say the blessing with God's name and have in mind the participants who hadn't seen it.
Elsewhere in British Columbia, some community members were luckier. Chabad of Downtown gathered half an hour earlier – at 8 a.m. – and they got a glimpse of the sun. In White Rock, a group organized by the Centre for Judaism also lucked out. A third Chabad group gathered at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, where, it is reported by a participant, they had no such luck.
This custom is an opportunity to give thanks to God for creation. Rosenblatt explained that, in Judaism, we show appreciation every day for our life here on earth, through blessings on everything from food to lightening, even certain bodily functions. But, he said, "Most of us haven't had the opportunity to travel up into space and to appreciate the celestial mechanics and how they impact us."
This instance was also an opportunity to become more aware of the importance Judaism places on nature. Larry Groberman, who drove from New Westminster to join the Douglas Park ceremony, said, "I'm a flower child at heart, so celebrating the return of the sun and that kind of thing works for me."
But this is not a unique custom in Judaism. Jews show appreciation to God for the moon every month. We make a blessing on the fruit trees in Nisan (the month of Passover). And anyone who attended synagogue over the first days of Passover got to say a lengthy blessing over the summer dew.
"Judaism has a lot to say about nature," said Yeshayahu. He later added, "God acts through nature."
The event brought the community together. Rabbi Ilan Acoca said that all the rabbis meet once in a while, as part of the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, to discuss issues such as poverty and education. On April 8, many community members – not just the rabbis – got together to perform the religious ceremony.
"Many times the community gets united over tragedy.... Thank God we had an opportunity this year to be united when miracles happened, not only when difficult things happen," said Yeshayahu. He added, "We got the Reform and Conservative and basically all the shuls, Or Shalom, everybody actually helped out, e-mailed and educated the public about it.
"We were able to get people together to participate. It was great seeing people from all spectrums of the community there.... It definitely had a great impact on the community."
Yeshayahu concluded. "We should definitely put more effort to make more stuff together, the whole community together. [That even] religious activities like birkat hachama could be done together, it's very powerful."
For a detailed explanation of the birkat hachama calculations, visit www.blogmidrash.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/birkat-hachama-systematic-explanation.
Deena Levenstein is a freelance writer from Toronto, Jerusalem and now Vancouver. You can read her blog at www.deenascreations.com.
^TOP
|
