Israel: Everyone else gets Sunday off…

Kobi Oz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Israelis need Sundays off, said Kobi Oz. Most of us work at least part of the day on Friday, and that leaves only Saturday, our holy day of Shabbat, for us to do all the things we can’t get done during the workweek. That means that instead of a quiet day of prayer and reflection, Shabbat is a frenzy of “shopping, errands, trips, cultural events, and other activities.” Then it’s back to the office again on Sunday.

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Adopting the traditional two-day weekend would bring Israel into sync with the rest of the world, improving our stance in international business. Sports, too, would profit, as kids could play games on Sundays. But the main benefit would be religious. Shabbat could become a “quiet, family oriented” day, as it was intended to be. Even those of us who are not Orthodox would surely enjoy “an ecological Shabbat, where cars take a voluntary day off and our citizens go back to gracing the city with their feet and bicycles.”

The prime minister has finally formed a committee to study the two-day weekend. “I pray” that the committee will not focus solely on money issues, on the income that would be lost by an extra day off. How, after all, can we put a price on something that is “good for our soul”?