More Sundays, less stress

I have lived most of my adult life in Israel and there are really only two things I miss about the American Diaspora: One is Tropicana orange juice - can someone please tell me why we can't get a good, sweet half gallon of the stuff at a reasonable price? After all they grow the oranges right here - and the other is Sunday. 

I was reminded of this last night when, while leafing through an old copy (May 13th) of The Jerusalem Post, I ran across an article entitled Israel needs time off suggesting that the advent of Sunday as a day off would reduce the stress in Israeli society. 

Is there an Anglo in Israel who has not said or thought the same thing?  

I even remember a few years ago when someone wanted to start a movement to get the Knesset to formally change the workweek so families could take Sundays off. Nothing happened.

The Post opinion piece mentioned all the usual advantages that people talk about when they talk about taking Sunday off:  time for families and recreation, leading perhaps to more Shabbat observance, a day for religious kids to sleep in and most important a time for personal solitude, to reflect and ponder and not as on Shabbat at the expense of time spent with family and community. The argument that many businesses already give their employees Fridays off doesn't cut it because, in most cases, the kids are still in school, and besides, a large percentage of the population needs to prepare for Shabbat on Friday afternoon so that long stretch of open-ended time Sunday is not on offer.

I've often thought that life's frantic pace here in Israel, particularly exhibited in the driving culture, is because we are all so stressed for time. With work and family obligations, errands and chores, it's difficult to eke out time for recreation, for personal reflection or for quality time with family or friends. So we shave off as many minutes as we can to rush home to be with our kids or spouses, to take care of that errand or to sneak in that exercise session or art class we need to stay sane. 

And the best place to save those precious minutes is to shave them off your travel time. So when the driver cuts in front of you or honks his horn when you pause at a green or yellow light he does it because he thinks you're taking time away from his kids, or friends. You're literally stealing what is a most precious commodity, his time.

With the advent of Sunday as a day off that may well change. That consistent leisure opportunity will afford us the time we need and want to spend doing the things we love to do with the people we love to do them with. That will free us to work more efficiently and for more hours during the weekday, increase productivity, reduce stress and live more balanced, more enjoyable lives.

It's obvious why observant Israelis, particularly those who hail from America or Europe where Sunday is a day off like this idea. But why has it not caught on with the intelligentsia, the elite of Israel society who run the country and make the laws? After all, they take their lead from the US or Europe, looking to those societies as models of advanced civilization. It seems to me they should favor a Sunday free initiative if for no other reason than because that is what Europe does.

So I continue to wait for some politician or other leadership type to make a run at changing the system of the workweek and for the record, I would be happy to get involved. But I don't know how the system works here. I don't understand how things get done or how things get changed. Heck, I can't even find a good carton of orange juice.