Although there may be an argument to make about summer solstice, apparently there is mention of blessing the winter solstice:
http://www.globalyeshiva.com/forum/topics/on-the-talmud-dialecticsON THE TALMUD & DIALECTICS: The early prophets and Sages made it compulsory to bless G-d over many different occasions (e.g. when seeing comets, or experiencing earthquakes; when seeing lightning or hearing thunder, etc.). These blessings are mentioned in the compendium of Oral Laws compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince in 189 CE and known as the Mishna. Likewise, in the Tosefta (Berakhoth 7:6), a sequel to the Mishna compiled by Rabbi Hiyya, a disciple of Judah the Prince, we find the following teaching:
“He that sees the sun and the moon, as also the stars and the signs of the zodiac, he is required to say: ‘Blessed [art thou, O Lo-rd our G-d, King of the universe] who maketh genesis.’ “
This teaching was explained later by Rabbi Yohanan Napaha (the blacksmith), a disciple of Rabbi Judah the Prince, who also compiled a major work known as the Palestinian Talmud. His work is intended to explain the difficult matters found in our collection of Oral Laws. Wherefore, he writes in Tractate Berakhoth 9:2 in the Palestinian Talmud:
“He that sees the sun DURING ITS SEASON (Heb. der. “tekufah”), and the moon [in its fullness] and the firmament in its purity, he is required to say ‘Blessed [art Thou, O Lo-rd our G-d, King of the universe], who maketh genesis.’
Still, even with this explanation, it wasn’t clear what was meant by the words “during its season.” Another disciple of Rabbi Yohanan, named Rabbi Huna, explained it to mean the “seasonal changes caused by the earth’s rotation around the sun every 365 days.” As it is known, the seasonal changes are the result of the sun and its proximity to the earth, which are four seasons – Spring equinox, Summer solstice, Autumnal equinox and Winter solstice – each of which seasons repeat themselves with exact precision at the same time each solar year.
Therefore, Rabbi Huna (Palestinian Talmud, Berakhoth 9:2) explained “during its season” in the following way: “[That which you say here (i.e. about the necessity of making a blessing over the sun) is referring to the rainy season alone, after three days [of downpour]. This happens to be that which is written (Job 37:21): ‘As for this time, they see not the bright light in the heavens, but a wind blows and cleanses them.’” Meaning, Rabbi Huna requires making a blessing over the sun each year during the winter solstice, when rain is prevalent in the Land of Israel.
In subsequent years to this teaching, in the generation that followed Rabbi Huna, an exceptional man of learning came along, whose name was Abaye, and he explained “during its season” to mean “at the end of its cycle,” just as we find the word “tekufah” (i.e. season) used elsewhere in the sense of a “span or period of time,” as in Exodus 34:22: “And thou shalt observe… the feast of ingathering (i.e. Sukkoth) at the year’s end.” (Heb. תקופת השנה = tekufath hashanah). Seeing that the word “tekufah” is used in the Talmud when referring to the blessing made over the sun, Abaye reasons that it might also apply to the sun’s circuit. That is, when it completes a 28 year orbit around the universe, a cycle that repeats itself once in every 28 years. However, since “tekufah” can also refer to seasonal changes caused by the sun, he therefore requires having both conditions, i.e., (1) the sun’s completion of its orbit, and (2) a seasonal change affected by the sun, saying in the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhoth 59b):
“[They make the blessing] every twenty-eight years, when the cycle repeats itself, and the season happens to fall in Nisan (i.e. Spring equinox), during the hour of Shabtai (Saturn), that is to say, at nightfall on the third day of the week (Tuesday) when the fourth day (Wednesday) actually ushers in.”
Here, Abaye, requires making the blessing over the sun on a Wednesday (i.e. Tuesday night), just as when the sun and moon, planets and stars, were all created on a Wednesday of the week (cf. Gen. 1:14-19), and to do so only in the first hour of the night after the sun sets, when the earth is then governed by the astral influences of the planet Saturn (Heb. Shabtai), just as it was when G-d first created the great and lesser lights in the sky during the first hour of the evening of that weekday, on the 28th of Elul, some 5771 years ago, when the influences of Saturn prevailed. Although one does not see the sun at night, the sense here of saying, “He that sees the sun, etc.” (Palestinian Talmud, ibid.) is rather, “He that considers the sun’s position, etc.” – even though he does not actually see it when he blesses over it. Maimonides, however, in his Code of Jewish Law (Mishne Torah, Hilkoth Berakhoth 10:18) actually requires making the blessing over the sun during the day, when he can see the sun, as does the Shulhan Arukh (Orah Hayyim, section 229:2). This, however, was not a requisite in Rabbi Shimon Kiara’s “Halakhoth Gedoloth” (Hilkoth Berakhoth ha-meqomoth). Neither does the author of “Halakhoth Gedoloth” decide in this case, one way or the other, whether he is in favour of Rabbi Huna’s opinion or in favor of Abaye’s opinion, or of both, leaving the matter open to interpretation. It is to be noted here that Haga’oth Maimoni brings down Rabbi Huna’s opinion as Halacha in Hilkoth Berakhoth, chapter 10 letter ayin.
Topic: Summer solstice- Opportunity for Beracha to be said. (Read 6043 times)