"Shoot!" (Q & A)

The Ascent Question & Answer Forum

conducted by Yrachmiel Tilles, Editor of the Ascent Quarterly

Q:

The flight from Tokyo to London is thirty-five hours long. 1) To determine the proper time for the daily prayers, do you use the sunset and sunrise of one city or the other, or somewhere in the middle? I've heard many intriguing arguments, but they can't all be correct! 2) And what if the day is Tisha b'Av? Can a fast be mandatory for 35 hours?

Moshe Hittman / New York
 

A:

This is not an "official" answer, just another opinion for your collection.

1) On the plane, daybreak, sunrise, sunset and nightfall times are established according to the location of the plane. But be careful: these times are all defined from an earth perspective, not a sky one. When you see light from the plane, that doesn't mean there is light yet down on the surface.

2) Anyone who flies from Tokyo to London on Tisha b'Av deserves to fast for 35 hours.


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