Jewish worshipper during blessing of the sun prayer

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish worshipper uses special glasses during the special "Blessing of the Sun" prayer at sunrise in the Israeli coastal city of Ashdod.

Devout Jews around the world on Wednesday observed a ritual performed only once every 28-years, saying their morning prayers under the open sky in the "blessing of the sun", called the Birkat Hachamah in Hebrew.

(AP Photo / April 8, 2009)