A MATTER OF TIME

A Matter of Time 

Should We Abolish the Biannual Clock Change? 

Ita Yankovich

Next month, millions will lose a coveted hour of sleep due to daylight saving time. A recent YouGov poll reveals that 62% of Americans are fed up with the twice-yearly ritual of changing their clocks. While they agree it’s time to end the practice, the big question remains: How should we fix it? 

“Time is relative,” Albert Einstein famously said. In the case of daylight saving time, this concept is strikingly relevant. The ongoing debate about whether adjusting the clocks truly aligns with our natural rhythms raises an important question: Is this practice still necessary, or has it become an outdated relic of a different era?

Currently, we adjust our clocks twice a year. In March, we “spring forward,” setting the clocks ahead by one hour to better use natural daylight, resulting in longer evenings and up to 15 hours of sunlight. In November, we “fall back,” returning to standard time. This biannual shift in time has been a part of our routine for decades, but questions have emerged about whether it’s truly beneficial in modern society.

One alternative to the current system is establishing permanent daylight saving time (DST), which would keep the longer evenings year-round, offering more daylight after work hours but with darker mornings. Another option is permanent standard time, which would give us earlier sunrises and sunsets year-round, potentially better aligning with our natural body clocks and the changing seasons.

However, these changes are not just about adjusting sleep schedules. They raise important questions for many communities, particularly for frum Jews. How would permanent DST or standard time affect our daily routines, our davening times, and the way we follow the calendar? What would it mean for the timing of davening, Shabbos, and other observances? These are just some of the considerations that must be carefully examined when thinking about the future of daylight saving time.”

Shedding Light on the History of DST

Despite popular belief, DST wasn’t intended for farmers; it was introduced as an economic measure during World War I. The German Empire adopted DST to conserve fuel, and the U.S. followed suit with a federal mandate in 1918. After the war, the policy was repealed but reintroduced in 1966 with the Uniform Time Act to standardize time across the country. The transportation industry, in particular, advocated for this change to avoid confusion caused by varying state rules that disrupted travel schedules. Since then, DST has been extended several times, most recently in 2005 with the Energy Policy Act. 

In 2023, the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, which would make DST permanent. The bill is currently stalled in Congress, as it failed to pass the House, where representatives from various states remain divided on the issue.

One group that isn’t conflicted on the issue is the medical community, which, by and large, does not support DST. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, the National Sleep Foundation, and the Sleep Research Society have long called for this movement’s abolition, citing research linking the practice to serious health risks. These include an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes, mood disturbances, cognitive impairments, higher rates of car accidents, and disruptions to sleep patterns. Their preferred solution is permanent standard time.

What Time is Shacharis?

Is DST good for us? The answer depends on factors such as location, profession, and age. If the Sunshine Protection Act passes and DST becomes permanent, 17 major cities, including South Bend and Detroit, will experience neitz hachamah (sunrise) after 8 a.m. on more than 100 winter mornings. This could necessitate work schedule adjustments to join Shacharis with a minyan, as the Amidah should ideally be recited after sunrise. Additionally, winter fast days would end an hour later than usual. On the flip side, a later zman would help alleviate the stress and pressure in the winter months to make Shabbos at 4 p.m. 

Director of the Rabbinical Alliance of America’s Halacha Commission and Editor of TorahMusings.com, Rabbi Gil Student, expressed significant concern about the negative impact on morning davening times with permanent DST. In an article published in The Jewish Press, Rabbi Student outlined the challenges that would arise, particularly for those who attend early minyanim. His 6:15 a.m. commuter minyan starts later for about two weeks a year when sunrise is later.  “Permanent DST would force us to be late for about two months a year rather than just two weeks. This would significantly affect the employment status of many people,” he wrote.

Permanent standard time would create a different set of challenges. Rabbi Student explained that under this system, individuals would need to leave work earlier on Fridays for half the year to accommodate the earlier zman. Early summer sunrises would push Shacharis to much earlier times. For example, on June 7, 2025, the latest time for Krias Shema in New York City would be 8:09 a.m. – a difficult adjustment for many who rely on the weekend for rest.

Rav of Washington Heights Congregation (“The Bridge Shul”) and Rabbinic Coordinator for OU Kosher, Rabbi Yaakov Hoffman, believes that permanent standard time is more in tune with the body’s natural circadian rhythm, with midday closer to 12 p.m. than the 1 p.m. shift under DST. Rabbi Hoffman believes that eliminating DST would alleviate the difficulties that arise with late meals for families with young children. Earlier spring and summer sunsets would better align with the timing of the Pesach seder and Tishah B’Av, which stretch late into the night. Rabbi Hoffman also suggests that permanent standard time would improve sleep quality and boost energy, enhancing our ability to perform mitzvos.   

Race against the Clock

Agudath Israel of America has been advocating against permanent DST since the 1960s, a position that Rabbi A.D. Motzen, the organization’s National Director of Government Affairs, explains. This stance is grounded in a 1971 responsa from Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, who addressed the challenges of permanent DST and stressed the importance of opposing it. Rav Moshe described the measure as a “gezeirah mamash al hatefila l‘yirei  Hashem Yisborach ” and called on the community to take action to prevent such legislation from passing.

In the past, Agudath Israel has worked at both the state and federal levels to limit the expansion of DST, most recently in 2022. Rabbi Motzen highlights the potential impact on minyanim and the difficulty Orthodox men may face in arriving at work on time if DST becomes permanent. There is also the concern for children who would have to walk to yeshivah or wait at bus stops in the dark, which raises significant safety issues.

The Agudah has advocated for religious accommodations for Jewish employees for decades and receives hundreds of calls each year from individuals seeking guidance on labor laws regarding time off for Shabbos or the chagim. They maintain that eliminating DST would actually reduce issues for Jewish workers, particularly when it comes to morning davening.

Even though the law protects Jewish employees from religious discrimination, Rabbi Student warns that there are still challenges. “Sure, motivated people can get religious accommodations,” he says, “but they might not be the office favorites, which can hurt their careers.” Employers may also hesitate to hire people who must leave early on Fridays for half the year. “It’s illegal discrimination, but soft discrimination is real,” he says. “This could be tough for frum young people looking for jobs.”

While Rabbi Student acknowledges some minor benefits to permanent standard time, he believes the negatives outweigh them. “The current system could use some fine-tuning,” he admits, “but getting rid of the clock change altogether would bring real challenges for observant Jews. The country’s divided on which time should be permanent, but we’re hoping the status quo stays in place and no major changes are made.”

 The Time Difference

The Orthodox Union and Rabbinical Council of America have voiced their opposition of the Sunshine Protection Act, but as we can see from Rabbi Student, Rabbi Hoffman, and the Agudath Israel of America, there is no clear consensus on the matter. This is because the debate over the biannual clock change is more than just a matter of adjusting clocks—it impacts Jewish religious practices and professional lives. While the practice was introduced to save energy, its modern consequences include everything from zmanei tefillah to employment issues. Rabbi Student’s insights show that religious observance isn’t the only concern—navigating career paths becomes harder, too.

This issue isn’t just one for us to tackle. Various groups, like the American Medical Association (AMA), National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the airline industry, farmers, and others, are weighing in on the debate. With so many different perspectives, the question of whether a permanent time system should be adopted is more complex than it might seem. Whether it involves tweaking the current system or making a more significant change, one thing is clear: how we manage time affects our personal lives, professional opportunities, and our ability to practice religion. For now, we can only hope that the status quo remains in place to avoid facing even bigger challenges in the future.

Stop the Clock: Surprising Facts about DST

• While most of the U.S. observes DST, certain areas choose not to. Hawaii, most of Arizona (except for parts of the Navajo Nation), and several U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands remain on standard time year-round. 
• About 70 countries observe DST nationwide or in certain regions. Most African and Asian countries, including India, China, and Japan, do not. 
• In 1999, the time change thwarted plans for a terrorist bombing in Israel. The West Bank was on DST, while Israel had just switched back to standard time. The changeover confused the terrorists who had set timers on bombs. As the bombs were being planted, they detonated one hour too early, killing the three terrorists who planted them instead of the intended targets – two busloads of innocent Israelis. 
• Studies suggest that DST might be linked to a decrease in crime rates due to increased daylight hours in the evening.
• Candy lobbyists in the 80s pressured the Senate to push back DST because losing an hour of daylight in the fall presented a problem for their industry. Back then, DST traditionally ended on the last Sunday in October, making it a problem for the biggest candy day of the year, Halloween.  According to some reports, lobbyists even placed tiny candy pumpkins on the seats of everyone in the Senate as a way to persuade them.  

Time System Cheat Sheet

Current Daylight Saving Time: This option keeps the system as it is, with clocks changing twice a year, once in March and once in November, switching between standard time and DST.

Permanent Daylight Savings Time: The “spring forward” time would remain in place year-round, offering a later sunrise and longer daylight hours with a later sunset.

Permanent Standard Time: This would result in earlier sunrises and sunsets and potentially better alignment with natural sleep patterns.