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A Moment in Time: “When Losing an Hour Inspires Holiness”

[additional-authors]
March 12, 2026

Dear all,

That time change. That one hour we lose each spring. At least in the fall we gain something back. But this one…

“Why is it so dark?” my kids asked, rubbing their eyes.

I launched into a dissertation about daylight savings time. But the truth is Ineeded an explanation too—one that spoke not to my foggy brain, but to the feeling of losing an hour of sleep.

We made breakfast and turned on extra lights to push back the morning shadows. My kids yawned, and it struck me:

We lose time all too easily. An hour here, a moment there—regardless of what the clock says.

So the real question isn’t about changing the clocks.

It’s about how we use the time we have.

Am I spending time, wasting time, or investing time?

I don’t want to miss those yawns.

I don’t want to miss the dark shadows giving way to the light of the people I love.

I don’t want to miss the wonder in a child’s question—especially when it isn’t a childish one.

I don’t want to lose an hour. I don’t want to lose even a moment in time that could hold the holiness of life.

As Ecclesiastes teaches:

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”

With love and Shalom,

Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro

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