Thank God it's Friday: The weekly cycle of mortality in Israel

The purpose of this study was to explore the weekly cycle of mortality among Jews in Israel. Drawing on previous research on the association between holy-days and the timing of death, we hypothesized that mortality of Jews declines on Sabbath (Saturday), and rises to a peak on Sundays. We analysed daily numbers of deaths of Jewish men and women aged 5 and above in Israel from 1983 to 1992, and found a clear and significant dip-peak pattern in the number of deaths around the Sabbath. This pattern was found for all causes of death, was stronger for men than for women, and was not found among young Jewish children, or among the non-Jewish population.