lev's hair

lev's hair
Originally uploaded by nostalgist

So according to rabbinic tradition every 28 years the sun is in the same position as it was on the day of creation and people get up very early in the morning to say a special prayer. A lot of the yeshivas here have been having special sessions on the significance of the occasion, including one - a Rabbi Ganot - who claimed that although "many questions remain over the thesis of a certain Polish priest named Copernicus....anyone who believes in the new system is not considered a heretic." So after 500 years or so the Copernican heresy is still being debated in Meah Shearim. Ha'aretz interviewed a Prof. Ariel Cohen at Hebrew University who seemed irritated about the whole thing and said, "Birchat Hachama is an embarrassing tradition, testifying to a complete, blatant and intentional disconnect from modern science." Well, yes. But it was a beautiful morning. The sun rose - it always rises. Jeremy got up early and went over to the promenade. And Lev's hair caught the sunlight on the way back from our picnic a little later that day.