Turning Back the Clock: A Wake-up Call for Our Spirits

By Nina Fondiller Woldin

Every autumn, we go through the same minor collective ritual: turning the clocks back, enjoying that brief “extra” hour of sleep, and immediately complaining about it getting pitch black by 5:00 PM. We treat daylight saving time like a minor bureaucratic headache or an annoyance to our internal biological clocks.

But in Jewish tradition, this seasonal shift hits a lot deeper. Judaism has a completely different philosophy of time—one that actively rejects the idea that a ticking mechanical grid rules our lives.

Modern society treats time like a rigid resource to maximize for economic productivity. We try to bend daylight to our will. But Jewish time is organic, tied straight to the universe. The day doesn’t start at midnight; it begins at sundown. Holidays follow the moon, and prayers follow the sun.

Modern society treats time like a rigid resource to maximize for economic productivity. We try to bend daylight to our will.

When the modern clock shifts in winter, it forces us to actually notice the sun again. It’s a reminder that we’re part of a grander, natural cycle. The Italian sage Sforno pointed out that when the Jewish people left Egypt and were commanded to set up their own calendar, it was the ultimate act of liberation. Slaves don’t control their days; their time belongs to someone else. Choosing how we mark time is what makes us free.

For the secular world, changing the clock just alters a schedule. For anyone keeping halacha (Jewish law), it completely reshapes daily life.

Suddenly, Shabbat starts agonizingly early. That means Friday afternoon vanishes into a frantic sprint to cook, clean, and light candles before 4:30 PM.

On the flip side, the winter clock change is actually a massive relief for morning prayers (Shacharit). The Amidah prayer is anchored to the sunrise. If we stayed on permanent daylight saving time all winter, the sun wouldn’t rise in some places until 8:30 or 9:00 AM. It would be impossible for anyone with a normal corporate job to pray with a community (minyan) before heading to the office. Standard time brings sunrise earlier, keeping our spiritual lives tethered to the reality of the physical world.

There’s a well-known Chasidic story about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, who a student once found staring intently out the window right at dawn. When asked why he watched the sunrise every single day, the rabbi replied: “Because the world is being renewed again. I just want to greet it properly.”

Winter brings long, dark nights, and most people meet the season with dread. But it’s worth remembering how Genesis describes creation: “there was evening and there was morning.” The night always comes first. Just like the earth needs winter to reset, our souls need the slower, darker rhythm of standard time to recharge.

So as we click through our digital displays and wind back our watches this season, it’s worth taking a second to look out the window. It’s not just about gaining an hour of sleep—it’s a chance to stop, look at a changing world, and actually greet it.

Nina is the Managing Director of Chai Mitzvah, and has worked in Jewish education for decades, creating student materials and programs for all ages, pre-K – adult. Her work has been published by Behrman House, Ktav, Kar Ben Publishing, Addison Wesley, and Grolier. She created one of the first online Jewish education resource centers, Yourpage.org, which became part of Jewish National Fund’s website in 2003.