Tomorrow Jews around the world will undertake the once-in-28-years mitzva of Birkat Hachama - thanking G-d for the sun as it returns to the position it occupied when it was created.
To mark this rare occasion, Lubavitch of Edgware will bring together Jews from across the capital to observe the mitzva of Birkat Hachama at London's historic Kenwood House.
This won’t just be a gathering restricted to Jews in London. The London gathering will be beamed live around the world as part of a live broadcast uniting Jewish communities from East to West.
The live broadcast will begin in Christchurch, New Zealand, which will one of the first Jewish communities in the world to say the blessing at 20:00 GMT.
"To be the first to bless the sun is quite a privilege," says Sara Goldstein, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of New Zealand.
The broadcast will progress from New Zealand round the globe through different time zones stopping off at seven locations, including Brisbane, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, London, New York, Coloarado, and finally Honolulu in Hawaii.
The London event will take place in the morning at 8am (BST) in the grounds of Kenwood House, a former stately home dating back to the 17th century located on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. The ceremony has been organised with the help of the Iveagh Bequest and Harvey Goldsmith.
Large crowds are anticipated for this novel event which falls in a Hakhel year - a year of Jewish unity.
"We have permission for up to 200 people to participate in the ceremony," says Rabbi Levi Sudak, director of Lubavitch of Edgware. “The live broadcast is exciting as it gives us the opportunity to join with tens of thousands of other Jews worldwide to bless G-d for his kindness and wonders.”
