Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (July 05/02) - Twenty-four hours of daylight may pose a problem for some who can't sleep in the light, but when the sun doesn't set, certain religions have to adjust.

Many religions require morning, afternoon and evening prayers based on the position of the sun.

Ruben Sabel has always dreamt about visiting the North to see the midnight sun, but as an Orthodox Jew the all-night sunlight poses some unique problems for daily prayers. - Terry Halifax/NNSL photo

Ruben Sabel is an Orthodox Jew originally from San Francisco, but now lives in New York City, NY. He's wanted to come North to see the midnight sun for years and made inquiries about daily prayers with theologians before he came to Inuvik.

"I've been planning this trip for a long time and I asked around many years ago," Sabel said.

"The first prayer has to be in the first quarter of the day," Sabel said. "If the sun doesn't rise or set, midnight would be considered the beginning of the day."

Also, in the Jewish faith, morning prayers have to be said by the middle of the day, which is 2:55 p.m. and then afternoon prayers begin an hour later. That doesn't pose a problem.

"The question is, what do you do for night-time prayers, when there is no night," he asks. "Night-time prayers can be said in the last one-and-one-quarter hours of the day."

Solar standard time

He calculates the evening prayer as evening being 9:30 solar standard time, which he says is equivalent to 12:25 a.m. MST.

"In a place where there is no night, the last one and a quarter hours of the day is considered night-time."

While there is no sunrise here in part of the winter, Sabel said the morning prayers would be at the first hint of light.

"Morning prayers would be held at the first light up until the middle of the day," he said. "Afternoon prayers would start 15 minutes past solar noon."

The prayer times are calculated by the high point and a low point of the sun every day, but what if you're standing where there is no light?

"Here the sun almost rises in the winter and it almost sets in the summer," he said. "If you are exactly at the North or South Pole, the times of prayer would correspond with the times of prayer in Jerusalem."

On the Jewish Sabbath, no work is done between sunset on Friday evening until sunset on Saturday evening.

One can begin evening prayers at 12:25 a.m.

"The Friday night meal should be eaten before dawn, and dawn would be considered 2:55 a.m.," Sabel said.

The Sabbath traditionally ends on Saturday night at sunset, so he will end his Sabbath at 2:55 the following day.

Abdulla Mohammed is a Muslim. He said the Muslim religion says five prayers each day, with the morning prayer at sunrise, and prayers at mid-day, sunset, night-time and then just before bed.

The Northern Muslims have an easier solution to the sunrise and sunset of the North.

"We take the prayer times from Edmonton, because it is the closest Muslim city," Mohammed said.

"According to some scholar, we take our prayer times from the nearest city that has a regular day and night and adjust our prayer times accordingly."

There is one full month in every year in which fasting is prescribed for Muslims all over the world. The month of Ramadhan is a lunar month, so it keeps changing around the year in relation to the solar months.

Fasting begins everywhere at the first appearance of dawn, and ends with sunset.

During Ramadhan, Muslims here also begin the fast based on Edmonton calendar.