Yotzer ohr (Creator of light), also known as Birkat yotzer (the yotzer blessing) or Birkat Yotzer Or, is the first of the two blessings recited before the Shema during Shacharit, the morning religious services of Judaism.
.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵנוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חשֶׁךְ, עֹשֶֹה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא אֶת הַכֹּל... בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ, יוֹצֵר הַמְּאוֹרוֹת
Translation: Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe, who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates all things... Blessed are you, LORD, who forms light.
According to a Midrash, Adam and Eve were the first people to recite this blessing when they were in the Garden of Eden.[1]
Judaism recognizes that the sun is central to life. It is the sun that provides light that is needed for all life on earth, and Birkat Yotzer Or is a blessing thanking God for the sun.[2]