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    This year we have an opportunity to do a very special mitzvah that only presents itself once every twenty-eight years: the mitzvah of birchat hachama. As we have discussed before, this is the bracha that is made when the sun, moon and the constellations all line up the same way that they did when they were created. The Torah tells us that Creation began on Sunday, the first day. On the fourth day, Wednesday, the sun, moon and other luminaries were created. As the solar year is 365_ days long, it takes twenty-eight years for the sun to be in the exact same position at the same time of day, on the same day of the week as it was when it was created. This time around, the opportunity to perform the mitzvah of birchat hachama takes place on April 8th, which just happens to be Erev Pesach. We will examine some of the halachot and customs of this mitzvah.

    The Shulchan Aruch writes that one who sees the sun in the same position that it was in during the time of creation should say in the morning the bracha of “oseh ma’aseh bereishit” translated as “Who makes the work of creation.” The question arises what the Shulchan Aruch meant when he said that the bracha should be recited in the morning. We know that there is a custom of zerizim makdimmin la’mitzvot which means that in order to show our love for mitzvot we try to perform them at the earliest time possible, which in this case is sunrise. However, there is another concept of rov am hadarat melech. This translates literally as, “the glory of the King is the multitude of people” but what it means is that when there are more people performing a particular mitzvah, it brings more glory to God. Does zerizim makdimmin la’mitzvot dictate that birchat hachama should take place at the earliest possible moment or does rov am hadarat melech say that the mitzvah should wait until after shacharit when more people are available?

    This question is discussed by many halachic authorities, most notably the Magen Avraham, Rabbi Avraham Gombiner (1633-1683 CE) in his comments on the Shulchan Aruch. He first quotes the Maharil, Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin (1365-1427 C.E.) who in the year 1421 instructed that the people should be woken before sunrise so that they could recite birchat hachama at the first opportunity, namely, sunrise. The Maharil apparently felt that it is better to fulfill the precept of being quick to do a mitzvah, even if it means that it comes at the expense of not being able to add to the glorification of God’s name with a larger number of people. However, the Magen Avraham then quotes others who say that the congregation should be gathered after shacharit to recite birchat hachama. The prevalent custom today is that the congregation begins shacharit early enough to say shemoneh esrei at sunrise, a practice known as vatikkin, and then recites birchat hachama immediately afterwards.

    There is much controversy about the procedure on a cloudy day. No one wants to miss a mitzvah that only comes about once every twenty-eight years. While the basic understanding of the mitzvah is that the blessing must be recited with the sun in view, there are those who are lenient. These halachic authorities maintain that birchat hachama is unlike other brachot on physical phenomena, such as the brachot on a mountain or lighting, where we are recognizing the majesty of God’s creation and therefore have to see the object of the bracha. Birchat hachama is a bracha that is made when the sun returns to its original spot at the time of creation and therefore the sun does not have to be seen. The knowledge that it has reached the proper place in its orbit and the fact that benefit is derived from the sun even on a cloudy day is enough to recite the bracha. This position was taken by the Rabbi Meir Asch (1670-1744 C.E.) in his work Teshuvos Panim Me’irot. He writes that in the year 1729 it was cloudy and he was hesitant to recite the full bracha in deference to the authorities that maintain that the sun must be seen. He therefore instructed that the bracha be said with the use of Hashem’s name. He was covering his bases, so to speak, by saying the blessing in a lower form and not entering into the possibility of using God’s name in vain. Indeed, the common custom is to follow the ruling of the Panim Me’irot. If it is so cloudy that the sun is not visible, we wait until chatzot, the halachic midday, and then recite the bracha without the name of Hashem. If however, one can see the lines of the sun behind the clouds, one may say the full birchat hachama.

    We have had an interesting glimpse into the underlying principles that drive the final halacha of birchat hachama. As with all matters of halacha, please be sure to consult your own halachic authority for a definitive ruling.