Dear Rabbi Simon
As if Pesach weren’t stressful enough…Britain is also changing the clocks to “spring forward” an hour to BST during First Seder Night! Trying to find the best halakhic response: Change the clocks before Shabbos? Can I change the time on an electric alarm clock on Yomtov? What about a manual clock?
The easiest way would be to change the clocks before Shabbos – I’d just be an hour early for everything (I’m usually late, so maybe that’s not necessarily a bad thing.)
What do you advise?
Thank you.
Justine Time
Hi Justine
At Kesher we are retaining GMT until Monday night, after yom tov ends. This means that the second seder can start an hour earlier (on the clock) then it would otherwise, and YT ends an hour earlier (7:20pm GMT in London). So we adjust the clocks after Havdalah.
Manipulating most clocks on Yom Tov is prohibited. Certainly this is the case for electronic and digital clocks. Some hi-tech clocks will adjust themselves.(Admittedly sowing some confusion wrt our approach at Kesher.)
Your idea of changing your clocks before Shabbos is an option. Just don’t light yom tov candles while the sun is still shining on Shabbat afternoon!
Have a “good time” on Pesach
Rabbi Rashi Simon