Daylight Savings Proposal Creates Religious Conflict For Jews

The Orthodox Jewish Institute for Public Affairs issued a release yesterday opposing the provision in the pending federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 that would extend Daylight Savings Time by two months. The time shift would be extended to run from early March to late November. The Orthodox Union is concerned that pushing sunrise back to 8:00 AM or later in some parts of the country will create religious problems for Orthodox Jews. The time for morning prayers (Shacharit service) is tied to sunrise time. In some places, this will make it impossible for individuals to say those prayers before their workday begins. Similar issues already arise in mid-winter months when sunrise is late.