It’s called the frozen continent, and for millennia, Antarctica has remained frozen, not just in ice, but also in time. It is a place of pristine natural beauty, untouched by the tell-tale human construction, business, pollution, and warfare that crisscross every other continent on Earth. The place is just too cold for people most of the year. Only 1,000–5,000 people, all of them stationed at scientific study posts, live there during the year — but nobody lives there permanently.

When Moishy Hersko and his group of frum globe-trotters arrived in Antarctica this December, though, they brought sparks of warmth, excitement, and inspiration to thaw the ice a bit. So gear up and prepare to be blown away as we trek through the snowy details of this historic adventure.

Time Warp

As people hear about the first-ever frum expedition to Antarctica, the most common reaction was: “What?! Frum Jews in Antarctica? But what did they do about davening? And Shabbos?” Those the first questions in Moishy’s mind as well when he began making plans for the voyage.

“The zemanim (times) were complicated; the further south you go, the less night there is,” he explains. Yet much of a Jew’s life revolves around the times of sunrise, sunset, and nightfall. Davening times and of course Shabbos are dependent on these calculations. What did they do about that?

“We were in an area that did have a sunrise and sunset, but never actually gets dark,” Moishy answers. “So Shabbos officially began at sunset, which was at 12:40 a.m.” (I don’t know if I could stay awake for a 1:30 a.m. Shabbos meal!)

How did they figure everything out? “It took months and months of research and talking to many rabbanim. We had to figure out every minute of every day and plan where we would be.”

Shabbos timing in particular, of course, was something they’d have to plan around. Ice conditions would make a huge difference to whether the group would be able to travel in certain areas, so it was impossible to know in advance where they’d be at the moment when Shabbos arrived. The plan, therefore, was to bring in Shabbos at the earliest possible time: plag haminchah (the halfway mark between minchah ketanah and sunset). That time came out to 9:20 on Friday night.

The group concluded their meal at approximately 1 a.m. — and immediately proceeded to daven Shacharis, as it was already morning. Seudah Shlishis came out at a pretty typical time, about 6 p.m. But Maariv, at the not-so-typical hour of 1 a.m., led right into Havdalah — and by then, day had arrived. As per the laws pertaining to one who makes Havdalah in the daytime, no candle or besamim were used. And since it was already morning, Havdalah led straightaway to Shacharis, followed by Melaveh Malkah!

 Shipping in for Shabbos

It was Friday morning when the group cruised up to the snow-covered coast. But with harsh weather conditions (winds at 50 mph!) making it unsafe to disembark, everyone had to remain aboard. Medical facilities in Antarctica are simply nonexistent, so safety is always the first consideration.

Shabbos day broke bright and beautiful, so the non-Jews left the ship — but the religious tour group couldn’t do that. “We didn’t feel like we were missing anything, watching them go; we really felt on a higher plane, and they respected us,” Moishy shares.

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 750)