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Permanent Daylight Saving Proposal an
Inconvenience for Orthodox Communities
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
W ith the phrase “Jewish Standard Time”
— which suggests a (stereotyped) pro-
pensity to show up to an event 15
minutes late — Jews have long been the butt of jokes
about being on our own timeline.

With the introduction of a congressional bill to
make daylight saving time permanent, Orthodox
Jews are pushing back, and jokes about Jewish time
being different from secular schedules suddenly have
a great deal of truth to them.

On March 15, the Senate passed the Sunshine
Protection Act, which, beginning in 2023, would end
the biannual practice of changing one’s clocks twice
a year and instead make DST a year-round affair.

Supporters cite a reduction in seasonal depression and
more sunlight in the evening to allow children to safely
play outside as possible benefits of permanent DST.

The bill has yet to be voted on in the House of
Representatives, and President Joe Biden has not
publicly voiced support for it.

The Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America,
or Orthodox Union, and Rabbinical Council of
America, however, have been swift in voicing dissent.

A March 21 letter from the OU Advocacy Center to
the House argued that permanent DST would force
children to wait outside for a school bus or commute
to school in the dark; year-round DST has adverse
effects on sleep, the letter argued.

Nathan Diament, the OU executive director of Public
Policy and Advocacy, argued that the greatest adverse
effect on Jewish communities would be on the later shift
in prayer times needed to accommodate DST.

“If you observe the halachot that say, you can’t say
the morning prayers until after sunrise, that’s poten-
tially very disruptive in terms of people that need to
get to work, and so on,” he said.

In places such as Cleveland and Cincinnati, close
to the Central and Eastern time zone, sunrise may
not be until 9 or 9:30 a.m., when employees may be
required to be at their desks.

In Philadelphia, flush to the East Coast, the time
change is not as drastic. For Rabbi Nesanel Cadle
of Knesset Hasefer of Yardley, the change would be
possible, but unwelcome.

“I’m not going to go protest or something, but it is a
substantial inconvenience for the frum community,”
he said. “Obviously, that wasn’t something that the
government are clued into, and I don’t know what can
be done about it.”
On Shabbat, DST is a “plus” for Cadle and his
congregants, as a later start time means less rushing
home from work early to prepare for the Sabbath.

In the summer, however, Shabbat would not start
12 APRIL 7, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Permanent daylight saving time would inconvenience Jewish prayer times, Orthodox leaders said.

Courtesy of The Good Brigade/Getty Images
until after 8 p.m. some nights, a deterrent for con-
gregants with younger family members from being a
guest at Shabbat dinners.

“It would just be too late for most of the people,”
Cadle said.

The genesis of Jewish discord with the secular cal-
endar comes from the tradition of following a Jewish
calendar, which conceives of time a little differently
than secular calendars, said Rabbi Michael Davies of
Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

“We deal with a 24-hour day where it’s broken
down into 24 hours, 60 minutes, etc.,” Davies said.

“In the Jewish context, we actually divide the day into
day and night, specifically, meaning it’s still going to
be 24 hours, but in a day, light and dark are actually
the break-ups.”
Within each delineation of day and night, there
can be essentially 12 additional equal divisions,
Davies explains, similar to hours, that determine
when certain halachic activities must be fulfilled.

When days are shorter, an “hour” of Jewish day
time could be as little as 50 or 55 minutes, rather than
the full 60 minutes. Conversely, on longer nights, a
Jewish “hour” could be longer than 60 minutes.

A form of Jewish DST also takes place in Israel,
where the strategic time changes after Purim and
before Yom Kippur to shave an hour off fasting days.

As a solution to secular timing woes in the U.S.,
OU proposed permanent standard time, which pro-
ponents argue is better for one’s circadian rhythm,
and would eliminate the dangers of early-morning
commutes. On an individual level, there are a few leniencies
Jews are willing to take to dodge the brunt of DST’s
inconveniences. According to Davies, Jews — depending on their
denomination and comfort in bending the rules — can
start morning prayers or light Shabbat candles half an
hour early or start evening prayers a little later.

“You can’t take it that much earlier,” Davies said.

“There’s a certain particular time that’s referenced as
the earliest time one can take in Shabbat because it has
to be, in some form or fashion, already the evening.”
But why bother with the technicalities at all? Saying
prayers and completing rituals at specific times fulfill
mitzvot, which is said by rabbis to have soul-elevat-
ing qualities. Whether saying prayers a few minutes
earlier or later than required is less soul-elevating is
partly up to the individual, Davies said.

But Jewish ritual and spirituality is, on some
level, inextricable from the functional components
of prayer: “There’s a practical element that we under-
stand — again, we don’t fully understand how it
connects — but we believe it connects to that soul-el-
evating factor through following the structures and
the strictures of the halachic process.” JE
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com



COMMUNITY NEWS
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia mobilizes
financial and volunteer resources to address the
communities’ most critical priorities locally, in Israel and
around the world.

Keeping Hope Alive:
Jewish Federation Leadership
Travels to the Poland-Ukraine Border
O Courtesy of Jewish Federation of GreaterPhiladelphia
n March 20, the Jewish Federation of Greater
“We were haunted by signs for Polish towns, like Majdanek
Philadelphia’s CEO and President Michael Balaban
and Treblinka, places where our people were tortured and
and board Co-Chair Gail Norry traveled to the
gassed.” Poland-Ukraine border, where more than two million are
Even after returning to Greater Philadelphia on March
pouring in to seek safety and shelter.

23, the heartbreaking stories Balaban and Norry heard from
The two were part of a small delegation of leaders from
survivors remained clear in their minds.

Jewish Federations across the nation to participate in this
One such account was that of a mother and her 15-year-old
mission to assist Ukrainian refugees and gain firsthand
daughter who spent a few days in hiding before making it to
knowledge of the situation on the ground in order to spread
the border. The mother shared how she had to “prepare” her
awareness back at home.

daughter for what to do if she didn’t make it out alive.

Throughout their visit, Balaban and Norry met with agency
“They literally broke into a shelter and slept on a dirty floor
partners who are providing lifesaving services and bore wit-
without electricity, any kind of running water or toilets,”
Jewish Federation of Greater
ness to the immense suffering and pain of these displaced Philadelphia CEO and President Michael Norry described.

Balaban and board Co-Chair Gail Norry
people. Balaban and Norry met with agencies that are using funds
“The level of emotional trauma is unimaginable,” Balaban saw Israel’s flag at the Ukraine/Poland
from the Jewish Federation to help people like this mother
border. recounted. “These are incredibly resilient people. They have
and daughter. Agencies include the American Jewish Joint
survived the unimaginable, and to be put through this again in their lifetime, I can’t Distribution Committee, The Jewish Agency for Israel, World ORT and United Hatzalah.

even put into words.”
“It’s both heartbreaking to see but wonderful to know that through our partners
Balaban and Norry arrived in Poland with a determination to help and 600 we are caring for them,” Balaban explained. “The scope of the refugee crisis is
pounds of supplies for refugees, including food, hygienic products and toys. The ref- immense, but one that we cannot and will not turn away from.”
ugee camps were predominantly occupied by women, children, the elderly and peo-
This mission was part of the Jewish Federations of North America’s ongoing
ple with disabilities, since most men have been banned from leaving the country.

efforts to provide relief aid to the Ukrainian Jewish community, an estimated
“Michael had the best idea to bring some Barbie dolls and stuffed animals, and I 200,000 Jews, that has been affected by the war.

had some chocolates,” Norry explained. “Just to be able to hand a little girl a Barbie
Across the nation, Federations have launched a national Ukraine Emergency
doll and put a smile on her face was something I’ll never forget.”
Response Fund to secure the local community and its institutions, provide tempo-
Poland’s own tragic Jewish history reverberated as they met Holocaust survivors, rary housing, and help Jews make aliyah to Israel, among other goals. As of March
such as a 97-year-old woman who had to flee her home once again. Balaban and 31, the donations have already exceeded $40 million.

Norry also felt their own family histories as they traveled through the country.

“We really had the opportunity to see, unfortunately, the worst of humanity, but
“The drive to the border went through our grandparents’ Poland, once home also the best in the work that we’re doing through our partners,” Norry reflected.

to the largest and most vibrant Jewish community in the world,” Balaban said. “Our dollars are literally saving lives.”
Help keep hope alive for Ukrainian
Jewish refugees. Make a gift at
jewishphilly.org/emergency JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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