A new law under development in the Russian Duma has drawn the attention of the country’s far-flung Jewish community with its promise of abolishing Daylight Savings Time. Even Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary, has gotten in on the debate, telling legislators that it would be a wise move.
“The abolishment of Daylight Savings Time in Russia will have a significant impact on the Jews in Russia,” he told the parliament.
Proposed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a speech last year, the law would scrap Daylight Savings Time altogether, and, in a bid to strengthen regional economies, reduce the country’s 11 time zones to nine.
But many Jewish community members are pointing out the law would have some unintended benefits for them. During the summer months, days are so long that the weekly holy day of Shabbat ends after midnight in many locations, and Passover festivities – which begin next week – typically have to begin late at night.
The religious aspects of the debate mirror arguments made in the United States during the second term of President George W. Bush.
Before the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which extended Daylight Savings Time by one month, Jewish groups pointed out that the proposed extensions would place an undue burden on people who needed to participate in morning prayer services – which begin after sunrise – before going to work.
In the end, many American Jews made arrangements to pray in the workplace or near work after the provisions of the 2005 law took effect two years later.
In Russia, the proposed time law is expected to be voted on the coming days. Daylight Savings Time began there 20 years ago after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
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