שעון אבולוציה בני אדם
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US Jewry OK with longer daylight savings
Standard time in North America only lasts four months, but American Jews aren't complaining, say there's no real difference
WASHINGTON – While Israelis are up in arms over daylight savings, some six million American Jews live happily with a four month standard time.
Americans will switch over to standard time only on November 7, and daylight savings will be implemented again on March 13.
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The shortened standard time is not restricted to the United States, with Canada and Mexico also lengthening daylight savings until November.
The new law was signed into Congress in 2005 and caught Jewish community leaders off guard, raising concerns over a possible decline in the number of worshipers.
However in reality, community leaders from across the Jewish spectrum said the difference was hardly noticeable.
Reformist Rabbi Ami Hirsch, From Manhattan's upper west side Stephen Wise Synagogue said there was no big difference between daylight savings and standard time, adding that it might have more affect on orthodox worshippers, but must of American Jewry was not orthodox.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld from the orthodox Washington synagogue also claimed his congregation had no particular difficulty with the time difference, noting that only a few days a year the worshippers needed to stay attentive and wait a few minutes before putting on phylacteries.
Habbad representative in Washington, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, who is known as an influential figure on Capitol Hill told Ynet that before the legislation was passed, they managed to reach a compromise and lengthen daylight savings by only one month.
Shemtov noted that daylight savings forced Jews living in the Midwest to pray at 8 am and as a result be late to work.
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