(no subject)

[mamadeb]

The first Friday after Daylight Savings Time ends is...weird.

As I write this, it is not even 4PM, and I am showered and my meatloaf is cooked, and there is just over a half hour before I light candles.

It just feels so fast and short. So will tomorrow. I doubt I'll have time for a nap tomorrow.

Weird.

Meanwhile, I'm getting the vague idea that there are people celebrating a holiday of some sort out there. There are even some kind souls wish a happy one for everyone. :) I can't be so generous, but I do wish those celebrating this holiday a happy night.

Shabbat Shalom

Comments

Shabbat Shalom

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

I've got mixed feelings about Shabbat starting early. Some weeks, it's what I crave. I can't wait for Shabbat to start. Other weeks, I'm scrambling madly, trying to get everything ready on time.

I do like having more time on Friday night though. Most often that feels better to me than a longer day on Saturday.

Hmm... wonder why?

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Friday nights are nice and relaxing. You can fill them with food and friends.

It took us a while to learn to appreciate the goodness of a long Shabbat with nice long naps and time to do other things.

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Okay, so here's a question, Deb - even though I know you won't be answering it until at least tomorrow night: Let's say Fraser and Ray took you with them up to Inuvik (come on, work with me, here. *g*). The three of you set up housekeeping together, time passes, and before you know it, it's mid-December. The sun sets...and isn't due to rise for another six weeks. Does this mean you keep to the rules for the Sabbath for 1 1/2 months (which would seem ludicrous to me) or do you base the sunrise/sunset on some other geographic location (and if one is allowed to do that, then why does it matter that the sun is going down earlier in the NYC area now?).

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

There's been a lot of rabbinic discusson about this.

The concensus has been that one goes by the nearest Jewish community - whatever they do, you do.

Obviously, my nearest Jewish community is, um. Here. :)

[zsero.livejournal.com]

I keep hearing this, but I really really doubt that it's true. For one thing, I can't think what could possibly be the legal basis for such a decision; it sounds to me like someone just pulled that one out of thin air, and that's not how halacha is decided.

So what would you do? The answer's actually pretty obvious. For the past few weeks the sun has been rising a bit before noon, and setting a bit after noon. As the days got shorter, yesterday the sun rose at 11:59, set at 12:01, and today it didn't rise at all. But it still got light out, because the sun came close to the eastern horizon, even though it didn't poke its head over the line. So consider noon a notional sunrise and sunset. Every day for the next few months, the sun will approach its zenith at noon, but won't actually make it over the horizon. Still, that moment should count as both sunrise and sunset, with a day length of zero. So next Friday, you would light candles at 11:42am, and on Saturday, at about 12:30pm, shabbat would be over, and you could go do whatever it is people do on Saturday afternoons in Inuvik. Maybe go in to work, to make up for having taken Friday off.

In summer, the days get longer and longer; at some point, the sun sets at 11:59pm and rises immediately at 12:01am. The next day, it approaches the western horizon but never actually dips below it. Still, it makes sense to consider midnight a notional sunset followed immediately by a notional sunrise. That's when the sun will approach the horizon, every evening for the next few months. So you would light candles every Friday at 11:42pm, have dinner, daven shacharit and go to sleep. Saturday would be a *long* shabbat, and 'round about 12:30am on Sunday, you could make havdala. Or you could go to sleep earlier, and make havdala when you wake up on Sunday morning.

Simple, really.

[vass]

Shabbat Shalom.