Halacha in the Far North

At what time should one pray the morning, afternoon and evening prayers when in the Northern Baltic states when the sun doesn’t set (summer) and when it doesn’t rise (winter)?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question!

As you note, there are place where the sun never sets in the summer and never rises in the winter. This includes Finland, Norway, Alaska, Siberia, and others.

Before we get into specifics, it is worth mentioning that we strongly recommend avoiding such places in order to avoid the many halachic uncertainties.

There are two primary opinions on how one is to conduct oneself in such places.

One such opinion is to follow the Shabbos and prayer times in the place that one came from. According to this approach, one who lives in Jerusalem and is in the North Pole for Shabbos would follow Jerusalem times (for both Shabbos and daily prayers). As an aside, it is worth pointing out that one who is from New York and one who is from Jerusalem will be praying and observing Shabbos at different times!

According to another view, one is to declare 6:00 am as sunrise and 6:00 pm as sunset. According to this approach, women would light candles Friday afternoon at 5:42 (18 minutes before “sunset”). This is the approach followed by the Jewish community of Trondheim, Norway.

Since this issue is unresolved and can result in the non-fulfillment, if not outright violation, of many important mitzvot, one is to conduct oneself in a way that complies with both views. As such, one is to observe Shabbat based on the location one came from, concurrently with the “6:00-6:00” consideration, and the like. So too, when praying the daily prayers, one should have in mind during Shemoneh Esrei that one’s prayer serve as Shacharit, Mincha, or Ma’ariv as may be the case

Shimusha V'limuda p. 606