Birkas HaChama: The Sun Blessing Said Once in 28 Years

Every weekday morning we rise before a sun we barely notice. Birkas HaChama is the bracha that asks us, once in a generation, to notice it the way Adam HaRishon did on the first Wednesday of the world. According to the reckoning of Shmuel in the Gemara, every twenty-eight years the sun completes a great cycle and returns, at the spring equinox, to the precise position and the precise day of the week it occupied at the moment it was hung in the sky. On that Wednesday morning, Klal Yisroel gathers outdoors, lifts its eyes, and says a short blessing over a thing so constant we had stopped seeing it.

For more than two centuries, Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities has helped Jews mark moments of tefillah, gratitude, and spiritual reflection while providing vital support to the needy of Eretz Yisroel. This guide explains when Birkas HaChama is recited, the text of the bracha, its halachic foundations, and how to prepare for this rare mitzvah. Stay with us, and the next opportunity to recite Birkas HaChama will never find you unprepared.

Understanding Birkas HaChamah

Birkas HaChama (literally, the blessing of the sun) is a birchas hare’iyah, a blessing recited upon seeing a particular sight, in this case the sun at the start of its renewed cycle. The bracha itself is brief: Baruch atah Hashem… oseh maaseh bereishis, “Blessed are You, Hashem… who makes the work of Creation.” It is recited only once in twenty-eight years, in the morning, after sunrise (netz hachamah). It is commonly recited in large public gatherings wherever the sun can actually be seen, and women participate in many communities.

The Gemara in Berachos 59b is the source: one who sees the sun bi-tkufasah, at its turning point, recites oseh maaseh bereishis, and Abaye explains that this happens every twenty-eight years when the cycle returns and the equinox of Nissan falls at the start of the fourth day of the week. The Shulchan Aruch codifies this in Orach Chaim 229:2. The blessing belongs to the same family as the bracha on lightning and thunder and on majestic landscapes, but it is set apart by its astronomical trigger and by how seldom it comes — most people will say it two or three times in a lifetime, and many only once. It fits, in the order of Jewish life, among the rare mitzvos that arrive on the calendar’s longest hinges.

The History and Origins of Birkas HaChamah

The blessing is rooted in the Torah’s account of the fourth day of Creation, when Hashem set the me’oros, the luminaries, in the sky to separate day from night and to mark the seasons and the years. Chazal, the Sages who preserved and transmitted the mesorah, fixed a blessing for the moment the sun is understood to return to that original station. The calculation belongs to Shmuel, the Amora renowned for his mastery of the heavens, whose tekufah (seasonal) reckoning divides the solar year into four equal quarters and yields a cycle that closes every twenty-eight years on the same weekday. Abaye, in Berachos 59b, states the rule plainly: the cycle returns, and the equinox of Nissan falls at the eve of the fourth day, the day the sun was created.

The practice was shaped over the generations by the poskim who governed its details. The Rambam explicitly records Birkas HaChama in Hilchos Berachos 10:18, and the later authorities, the Mishnah Berurah foremost among them, set the seder of the day: the bracha itself, surrounded by chapters of Tehillim, the hymn Keil Adon, and Aleinu. There are differences among communities in exactly which praises are added and in what order, and these are noted respectfully as variations in custom, not as disputes over the law. What unites every kehillah is the bracha’s single phrase and its single sky.

The Bracha: Hebrew, Transliteration, Translation

The blessing recited over the sun is the same words said on Hashem’s enduring works of creation:

הַלְלוּיָהּ, הַלְלוּ אֶת יְיָ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם, הַלְלוּהוּ בַּמְּרוֹמִים: הַלְלוּהוּ כָל מַלְאָכָיו, הַלְלוּהוּ כָּל צְבָאָיו: הַלְלוּהוּ שֶׁמֶשׁ וְיָרֵחַ, הַלְלוּהוּ כָּל כּוֹכְבֵי אוֹר: הַלְלוּהוּ שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם, וְהַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל הַשָּׁמָיִם: יְהַלְלוּ אֶת שֵׁם יְיָ, כִּי הוּא צִוָּה וְנִבְרָאוּ: וַיַּעֲמִידֵם לָעַד לְעוֹלָם, חָק נָתַן וְלֹא יַעֲבוֹר:בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, עֹשֵׂה מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית:בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לִזְמַן הַזֶּה:לַמְנַצֵּחַ מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד: הַשָּׁמַיִם מְסַפְּרִים כְּבוֹד אֵל, וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו מַגִּיד הָרָקִיעַ: יוֹם לְיוֹם יַבִּיעַ אֹמֶר, וְלַיְלָה לְלַיְלָה יְחַוֶּה דָּעַת: אֵין אֹמֶר וְאֵין דְּבָרִים, בְּלִי נִשְׁמָע קוֹלָם: בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ יָצָא קַוָּם וּבִקְצֵה תֵבֵל מִלֵּיהֶם, לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ שָׂם אֹהֶל בָּהֶם: וְהוּא כְּחָתָן יֹצֵא מֵחֻפָּתוֹ, יָשִׂישׂ כְּגִבּוֹר לָרוּץ אֹרַח: מִקְצֵה הַשָּׁמַיִם מוֹצָאוֹ, וּתְקוּפָתוֹ עַל קְצוֹתָם, וְאֵין נִסְתָּר מֵחַמָּתוֹ: תּוֹרַת יְיָ תְּמִימָה מְשִׁיבַת נָפֶשׁ, עֵדוּת יְיָ נֶאֱמָנָה מַחְכִּימַת פֶּתִי: פִּקּוּדֵי יְיָ יְשָׁרִים מְשַׂמְּחֵי לֵב, מִצְוַת יְיָ בָּרָה מְאִירַת עֵינָיִם: יִרְאַת יְיָ טְהוֹרָה עוֹמֶדֶת לָעַד, מִשְׁפְּטֵי יְיָ אֱמֶת, צָדְקוּ יַחְדָּו: הַנֶּחֱמָדִים מִזָּהָב וּמִפַּז רָב, וּמְתוּקִים מִדְּבַשׁ וְנֹפֶת צוּפִים: גַּם עַבְדְּךָ נִזְהָר בָּהֶם, בְּשָׁמְרָם עֵקֶב רָב: שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי יָבִין, מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי: גַּם מִזֵּדִים חֲשֹׂךְ עַבְדֶּךָ, אַל יִמְשְׁלוּ בִי, אָז אֵיתָם, וְנִקֵּיתִי מִפֶּשַׁע רָב: יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי פִי וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ, יְיָ צוּרִי וְגֹאֲלִי:שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת, אֶשָּׂא עֵינַי אֶל הֶהָרִים, מֵאַיִן יָבוֹא עֶזְרִי: עֶזְרִי מֵעִם יְיָ, עֹשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ: אַל יִתֵּן לַמּוֹט רַגְלֶךָ, אַל יָנוּם שֹׁמְרֶךָ: הִנֵּה לֹא יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן, שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְיָ שֹׁמְרֶךָ, יְיָ צִלְּךָ עַל יַד יְמִינֶךָ: יוֹמָם הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לֹא יַכֶּכָּה, וְיָרֵחַ בַּלָּיְלָה: יְיָ יִשְׁמָרְךָ מִכָּל רָע, יִשְׁמֹר אֶת נַפְשֶׁךָ: יְיָ יִשְׁמָר צֵאתְךָ וּבוֹאֶךָ, מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם:הַלְלוּיָהּ, הַלְלוּ אֵל בְּקָדְשׁוֹ, הַלְלוּהוּ בִּרְקִיעַ עֻזּוֹ: הַלְלוּהוּ בִּגְבוּרֹתָיו, הַלְלוּהוּ כְּרֹב גֻּדְלוֹ: הַלְלוּהוּ בְּתֵקַע שׁוֹפָר, הַלְלוּהוּ בְּנֵבֶל וְכִנּוֹר: הַלְלוּהוּ בְּתֹף וּמָחוֹל, הַלְלוּהוּ בְּמִנִּים וְעֻגָב: הַלְלוּהוּ בְּצִלְצְלֵי שָׁמַע, הַלְלוּהוּ בְּצִלְצְלֵי תְרוּעָה: כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ הַלְלוּיָהּ:תָּנוּ רַבָּנָן: הָרוֹאֶה חַמָּה בִתְקוּפָתָהּ, אוֹמֵר בָּרוּךְ עוֹשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית. וְאֵימַת הֲוֵי? אָמַר אַבַּיֵי: כָּל כ”ח שְׁנִין, וַהֲדַר מַחֲזוֹר, וְנָפְלָה תְּקוּפַת נִיסָן בְּשַׁבְּתַאי, בְּאוּרְתָּא דִתְלַת, נַגְהֵי אַרְבַּע:לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינֹת מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר: אֱלֹהִים יְחָנֵּנוּ וִיבָרְכֵנוּ, יָאֵר פָּנָיו אִתָּנוּ סֶלָה: לָדַעַת בָּאָרֶץ דַּרְכֶּךָ, בְּכָל גּוֹיִם יְשׁוּעָתֶךָ: יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים אֱלֹהִים, יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם: יִשְׂמְחוּ וִירַנְּנוּ לְאֻמִּים, כִּי תִשְׁפֹּט עַמִּים מִישֹׁר, וּלְאֻמִּים בָּאָרֶץ תַּנְחֵם סֶלָה: יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים אֱלֹהִים, יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם: אֶרֶץ נָתְנָה יְבוּלָהּ, יְבָרְכֵנוּ אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵינוּ: יְבָרְכֵנוּ אֱלֹהִים, וְיִירְאוּ אוֹתוֹ כָּל אַפְסֵי אָרֶץ:עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדוֹן הַכֹּל, לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוֹצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית, שֶׁלֹּא עָשָׂנוּ כְּגוֹיֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת, וְלֹא שָׂמָנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאֲדָמָה, שֶׁלֹּא שָׂם חֶלְקֵנוּ כָּהֶם, וְגוֹרָלֵנוּ כְּכָל הֲמוֹנָם, שֶׁהֵם מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְהֶבֶל וְלָרִיק. וַאֲנַחְנוּ כּוֹרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמוֹדִים לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. שֶׁהוּא נוֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם וְיוֹסֵד אָרֶץ, וּמוֹשַׁב יְקָרוֹ בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל, וּשְׁכִינַת עֻזּוֹ בְּגָבְהֵי מְרוֹמִים. הוּא אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֵין עוֹד, אֱמֶת מַלְכֵּנוּ, אֶפֶס זוּלָתוֹ, כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתוֹ: וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ, כִּי יְיָ הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים, בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת, אֵין עוֹד:וְעַל כֵּן נְקַוֶּה לְּךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, לִרְאוֹת מְהֵרָה בְּתִפְאֶרֶת עֻזֶּךָ, לְהַעֲבִיר גִּלּוּלִים מִן הָאָרֶץ, וְהָאֱלִילִים כָּרוֹת יִכָּרֵתוּן, לְתַקֵּן עוֹלָם בְּמַלְכוּת שַׁדַּי, וְכָל בְּנֵי בָשָׂר יִקְרְאוּ בִשְׁמֶךָ, לְהַפְנוֹת אֵלֶיךָ כָּל רִשְׁעֵי אָרֶץ. יַכִּירוּ וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל, כִּי לְךָ תִּכְרַע כָּל בֶּרֶךְ, תִּשָּׁבַע כָּל לָשׁוֹן. לְפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ יִכְרְעוּ וְיִפֹּלוּ, וְלִכְבוֹד שִׁמְךָ יְקָר יִתֵּנוּ. וִיקַבְּלוּ כֻלָּם עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת עוֹל מַלְכוּתֶךָ, וְתִמְלוֹךְ עֲלֵיהֶם מְהֵרָה לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד. כִּי הַמַּלְכוּת שֶׁלְּךָ הִיא, וּלְעוֹלְמֵי עַד תִּמְלוֹךְ בְּכָבוֹד, כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ: יְיָ יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד: וְנֶאֱמַר: וְהָיָה יְיָ לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה יְיָ אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד:

By widespread minhag the bracha does not stand alone. It is framed by chapters of Tehillim that praise the heavens (among them Tehillim 19, which opens “the heavens declare the glory of G-d,” and Tehillim 148, which calls on sun and moon to praise their Maker), by Keil Adon, and by Aleinu. These additions are a custom of the kehillos and not part of the obligatory bracha; the obligation is the single sentence above, said while the sun is actually visible.

What Birkas HaChamah Means: A Deeper Look

The whole weight of this rare morning rests on a handful of words. Walk into them slowly.

“Oseh maaseh bereishis” — who makes the work of Creation. The verb is present tense. We do not bless Hashem for having made the world once, long ago; we bless Him as the One who makes it, continuously, this morning included. Nefesh HaChaim (Gate I, ch. 2) teaches that creation endures only because Hashem continuously sustains it, and that were His sustaining will withdrawn for even a moment, all of existence would revert to nothing. Birkas HaChama takes that idea and pins it to the most reliable object we know. The sun feels like the very definition of automatic, and the bracha quietly corrects us: even this is being held in being, right now, by a King.

The twenty-eight-year cycle. Why so long? Shmuel’s reckoning closes only when the equinox returns to the same hour and the same weekday it held at Creation, and that alignment takes twenty-eight solar years. The number itself becomes a teacher. A span of twenty-eight years is long enough that a child who said the bracha at his father’s side will say it next as a father; the cycle is built to be inherited. The rarity is not an inconvenience but the point: a wonder we met every morning would stop being a wonder, and Chazal protected this one by letting it ripen for a generation.

Why Wednesday, why Nissan. The luminaries were set in the sky on the fourth day, and the blessing waits for the fourth day to come around in the cycle, so that the seeing and the source line up. Nissan is the month the Torah calls the head of the months, the season of renewal and redemption; the sun returns to its origin in the very weeks when Klal Yisroel relives its own beginnings. The Sfas Emes links Nissan and ha-chodesh with renewal and Jewish beginning, and Birkas HaChama lets the cosmos keep that appointment with us.

The blessing we say with our eyes open. Most brachos respond to something we are about to do or eat. This one responds to something we are asked to see. Standing in a crowd at sunrise, saying six Hebrew words at a star, is an exercise in attention more than in action. The deeper lesson is that gratitude begins in looking — that a Jew is meant to keep his eyes wide enough to catch the gifts that hide inside routine. That is the same muscle that notices a neighbor who is struggling and a family in Eretz Yisroel who cannot make Yom Tov.

The Halacha: When Birkas HaChamah Is Said

The trigger is the morning the cycle turns, and the window within that morning is governed by halacha. The bracha is said after netz hachamah, sunrise, once the sun has risen and is visible. Lechatchilah it should be recited as early as possible after sunrise; the Mishnah Berurah cites a preferred window within the first three halachic hours of the day, and many Acharonim allow reciting it until midday (chatzos). The blessing requires actually seeing the sun, so if the morning is overcast the congregation waits, and if the sun breaks through before the window closes the bracha is then said; because the cloudy-day details vary, the practice should be clarified with a rav before the day arrives.

Both men and women may recite it, and the strong preference is to say it b’rov am, amid a large gathering, outdoors, since “in the multitude of people is the King’s glory.” It is recited standing, facing the sun. Because the alignment lands on a Wednesday, the day’s other tefillos proceed as normal and the bracha and its accompanying praises are slotted in after Shacharis. The most recent Birkas HaChama fell on erev Pesach, 14 Nissan 5769 (April 8, 2009); the next is expected on Wednesday, April 8, 2037. Because the occasion is so rare, communities prepare in advance, and a person who knows he will be unable to join a minyan should still arrange to see the sun and say the bracha on his own.

Birkas HaChama is recited only once in twenty-eight years, in the morning, while the sun is actually visible. Lechatchilah it is said as early as possible after sunrise, within the first three halachic hours; many Acharonim allow it until chatzos. The accepted practice in case of clouds or a late start should be confirmed with a rav before the day arrives.

The Spiritual Power of Tefillah and Tzedakah

The Gemara in Bava Basra 10a teaches that tzedakah brings the redemption near, and, invoking the verse u-tzedakah tatzil mimaves, that tzedakah saves from death. Birkas HaChama is, at its core, an admission that the world and its light are Hashem’s and not ours, and that admission is exactly what makes a person generous. If the sun is a gift, so is the bread on my table, and a gift is meant to be shared.

This is the avodah that Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was built to carry. Rabbi Meir Baal Haness intercedes in Heaven for those who give to the poor of Eretz Yisroel in his memory, and the giver who recognizes Hashem as the Maker of all becomes a partner in sustaining His world. On the morning we bless the sun for its faithful return, we can let our giving be just as faithful, so that the renewal we see in the sky becomes renewal in the homes of widows, orphans, and Torah scholars who depend on it.

Give Tzedakah in the Merit of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness The sun returns to its place because Hashem renews His world each day. Let your tzedakah renew the life of a needy family in Eretz Yisroel, and share in the merit of that renewal.

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About Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, is one of the oldest and most trusted tzedakah organizations serving the poor of Eretz Yisroel, upholding Rabbi Meir Baal Haness’s legacy that those who give to the needy in his memory find heavenly intercession in their time of need.

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Today it distributes funds to Torah scholars, widows, orphans, and needy families throughout Eretz Yisroel, an unbroken chain of compassion that is a zechus for the giver and for the giver’s family.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Birkas HaChamah

What is Birkas HaChama?

Birkas HaChama is a blessing recited over the sun once every twenty-eight years, when the sun is reckoned to return to the position and weekday it held at the moment of Creation. The bracha is oseh maaseh bereishis, and it expresses that Hashem continually makes and sustains the natural world.

When is the next Birkas HaChama?

The most recent occasion fell on erev Pesach in the spring of 2009, and the next is expected on Wednesday, April 8, 2037, since the cycle repeats every twenty-eight years. It is always recited on a Wednesday morning after sunrise.

Why is Birkas HaChama said only every 28 years?

The reckoning of Shmuel, recorded in Berachos 59b, completes only when the equinox of Nissan returns to the same hour and the same day of the week it held at Creation, an alignment that takes twenty-eight solar years. The long interval also protects the wonder, so that the bracha never becomes routine.

Do women say Birkas HaChama?

In many communities women participate in Birkas HaChama, since it is a blessing of praise over something seen rather than a time-bound commandment in the usual sense. As with all such questions of practice, a woman should follow her family’s minhag and her rav’s guidance.

What if it is cloudy on the morning of Birkas HaChama?

The bracha requires actually seeing the sun, so a congregation waits for the sun to appear; if it emerges before the time for the bracha has passed, it is then recited. Because the cloudy-day details vary among the poskim, the practice for that year should be confirmed with a rav.

Twenty-eight years is long enough to raise a family and short enough to feel like a single breath of the world. When the sun returns to its first place, we are asked only to look up and say six words, and in them to remember that the light was never ours to keep, only ours to share. May our giving be as faithful as the sun, and may we merit to truly see the hand of Hashem renewing His world each day.