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How To Celebrate A Meteor Shower The Jewish Way

Cinco de Mayo and the Sabbath won’t be the only celebrations going down on the night of Friday, May 5 — science nerds will also have a chance to rejoice as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower grants us with its peak performance.

Other than just staring at the sky, what’s a good Jew to do?

Like most things in Judaism, there’s a blessing for that.

When witnessing a meteor shower, one can say the blessing one would use for other natural sources of wonder and inspiration: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, oseh ma’aseh bereishit — Blessed are you, Lord Our God, King of the universe, who makes the work of creation.

Laura E. Adkins is the Forward’s contributing network editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @Laura_E_Adkins.

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