hebcal.com

Candle-lighting is the moment that begins Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and its time is not fixed — it depends on local sunset in your city on that specific date. To find the right time, look up candle-lighting for your city and calendar day using a Jewish calendar tool such as Hebcal, which supports candle-lighting and Havdalah times for over 100,000 world cities. The time you need is the one calculated for your location, not a national or generic time.

Why the time changes

Jewish days begin at nightfall, so Shabbat and holidays start at sunset rather than at midnight or a fixed clock hour. Because sunset shifts through the year and varies by latitude and longitude, candle-lighting times move with both the date and the place.

This is why a single "Shabbat starts at" time cannot be correct everywhere. Two cities in the same time zone can have different candle-lighting times on the same Friday.

Candle-lighting vs. Havdalah

The 18-minute convention is common, but some communities use different intervals, so treat any published time as the one matching that community's custom rather than a universal rule.

How to find the time for your city

1. Open a Jewish calendar tool such as Hebcal.
2. Go to the Shabbat times section, which provides candle-lighting and Havdalah times for Shabbat and holidays, plus start and end times for fast days.
3. Enter your city. Hebcal supports over 100,000 world cities, so smaller locations are usually covered.
4. Select the date or view the year at a glance.
5. Read the candle-lighting time for that date and city, and the Havdalah time for the end of Shabbat or the holiday.

Expected result: a specific clock time for your location on that date, plus the corresponding Havdalah time.

Making it part of your routine

Looking up times week by week gets tedious, so Hebcal lets you carry them with you:

• Download Jewish holidays and Hebrew dates to iPhone, iPad, Android (via Google Calendar), Outlook, macOS Desktop Calendar, or any app that supports iCalendar (.ics) feeds.
• Use the year-at-a-glance view to see Shabbat times across the year.
• Set up reminders so the times arrive without a manual lookup.

If you manage a synagogue or community site, Hebcal also offers JavaScript, JSON, and RSS APIs under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license to embed its content directly.

Common snags

• Wrong city selected. A nearby larger city may have a different sunset time. Use your own location when it is listed.
• Assuming one time fits all. Candle-lighting is location- and date-specific by design.
• Confusing the two times. Candle-lighting is before sunset; Havdalah is after nightfall. They are not interchangeable.
• Holidays that are not Shabbat. Holidays also have candle-lighting and Havdalah times, and fast days have their own start and end times — check the specific entry rather than reusing a Shabbat time.

The Jewish calendar (also called the Hebrew calendar) is a lunisolar calendar: months follow the moon, while years are kept in step with the sun by adding a leap month seven times in a 19-year cycle. That's why Hebrew dates drift against the Gregorian calendar from year to year but always land in the same season — Passover is always in spring. To use it practically, you need three things: a way to convert a Hebrew date to a Gregorian one (or back), a source for holiday and Shabbat times, and a way to carry those dates into the calendar app you already use. Hebcal.com provides all three, including holiday calendars, a Hebrew–Gregorian date converter, candle-lighting and Havdalah times for over 100,000 cities, Torah readings, and Yahrzeit reminders.

How the Hebrew calendar counts months and years

A Hebrew year has 12 or 13 months. In a leap year, the month of Adar is doubled (Adar I and Adar II) so that the lunar year catches up with the solar year. Because of this, the same Hebrew date falls on a different Gregorian date each year — the gap can be a few weeks.

Hebrew days also start at sunset, not midnight. That's why Shabbat and holidays begin on the evening before the date listed on a Gregorian calendar.

A concrete example from Hebcal's own homepage: Sunday, 11 October 2026 corresponds to 30th of Tishrei, 5787, which is Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan (the start of the new month of Cheshvan) and the week of Parashat Noach.

What the calendar tracks

Hebcal organizes observances into several categories, each useful for a different purpose:

Converting between Hebrew and Gregorian dates

Use the date converter when you need to know what a Hebrew date is in Gregorian terms, or the reverse — for example, to find the Gregorian date of a yahrzeit or to check what Hebrew date a birthday falls on.

1. Open the date converter on Hebcal.
2. Enter the date you know — either a Hebrew date (day, month, year) or a Gregorian date.
3. Read the corresponding date in the other system. The converter also shows today's date in a Hebrew font.

The expected result is a one-to-one mapping, so you can confirm you've entered the right year before relying on it for an observance.

Finding Shabbat candle-lighting and Havdalah times

Candle-lighting and Havdalah times depend on your location, since they're tied to local sunset.

1. Go to the Shabbat Times section.
2. Enter your city. Hebcal supports over 100,000 world cities.
3. Get start and end times for Shabbat, holidays, and fast days, plus a year-at-a-glance view.

If your city isn't listed directly, choose the nearest supported location and adjust — but note that times can differ by several minutes over short distances.

Getting holidays, Torah readings, and Yahrzeits into your own calendar

Hebcal lets you download Jewish holidays and Hebrew dates to iPhone, iPad, Android (via Google Calendar), Outlook, macOS Desktop Calendar, or any app that supports iCalendar (.ics) feeds.

For personal dates:

1. Create a list of Yahrzeit (memorial) and Yizkor dates, Hebrew birthdays, and anniversaries.
2. The list can cover 20+ years.
3. Free annual email reminders and calendar downloads are available for that list.

For Torah readings, you can get an aliyah-by-aliyah breakdown for the weekly parashah, plus spreadsheets intended for leyning coordinators.

Using Hebcal content on a website or app

Hebcal is part of the Open Source Judaism movement and offers JavaScript, JSON, and RSS APIs so you can embed its content directly — for example, on a synagogue website. The APIs are available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. Site content is generally licensed under CC BY 4.0, with location data from GeoNames and MaxMind under Creative Commons as well.

Quick answers to common questions

Why does a Hebrew date move every year? Because the calendar is lunar-based with periodic leap months, so Hebrew dates shift against the Gregorian calendar while staying in the same season.

When does a Jewish day begin? At sunset the evening before, which is why candle-lighting times are listed for the day before the holiday or Shabbat date.

Can I get reminders instead of checking manually? Yes — Yahrzeit and related personal dates can generate free annual email reminders.

Do I need an account? The site shows a Sign in option, but the holiday calendars, date converter, Shabbat times, and Torah readings are presented as directly usable tools.

The Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar: its months follow the moon, but its years are kept in step with the solar year by adding a leap month seven times in a 19-year cycle. You convert a Hebrew date to a Gregorian one (or back) by matching the Hebrew day and month to the corresponding civil date, remembering that Hebrew days begin at sunset and that Hebrew years are numbered in the thousands (5787 corresponds to 2026–27). Hebcal.com provides a free date converter and holiday calendars for any year, past or present, with downloads for Apple, Google, Microsoft Outlook, and other iCalendar-compatible apps.

How the Hebrew calendar is structured

Months and the lunar cycle

Hebrew months begin near the new moon and are either 29 or 30 days long. The year normally has 12 months, starting with Tishrei in the fall. Because 12 lunar months total roughly 354 days—about 11 days short of a solar year—the calendar would drift through the seasons if left alone.

Leap years and the 19-year cycle

To correct that drift, seven leap years are inserted in every 19-year cycle. In a leap year, an extra month (Adar I) is added before Adar, so the year has 13 months. This keeps holidays tied to their seasons—for example, Passover always falls in spring.

How years are numbered

Hebrew years are counted from creation according to Jewish tradition and are currently in the 5780s. The civil year and the Hebrew year overlap rather than align: the Hebrew year 5787 began in the fall of 2026 and runs into 2027. That offset is the single most common source of confusion when converting dates.

Why Hebrew and Gregorian dates differ

Because the two systems use different month lengths, leap rules, and year numbering, the same civil date maps to a different Hebrew date each year, and a Hebrew date can fall in either of two civil years.

How to convert a Hebrew date to a Gregorian date

1. Identify the Hebrew day, month, and year you want to convert—for example, 30th of Tishrei, 5787.
2. Open a Hebrew date converter. Hebcal's converter accepts both Hebrew and Gregorian input and shows today's date in a Hebrew font as well.
3. Enter the Hebrew date and submit it. The tool returns the matching Gregorian date (30th of Tishrei, 5787 corresponds to Sunday, 11 October 2026).
4. Check the sunset caveat. Hebrew dates begin at sunset, so the evening before a given Gregorian date already belongs to the next Hebrew day. If your event is in the evening, verify which Hebrew date applies.
5. Confirm the year offset. If the result looks a year off, check whether you entered the Hebrew year or the civil year—5787 is not 2026, even though they overlap.

To convert in the other direction, enter the Gregorian date and read the Hebrew equivalent from the same tool.

What else you can look up for a given date

Once you have a Hebrew date, Hebcal's calendar tools let you attach practical information to it:

• Holidays — major, minor, and modern holidays, Rosh Chodesh, minor fasts, and special Shabbatot, with a 6-year summary or a custom calendar.
• Shabbat times — candle-lighting and Havdalah times, plus start and end times for fast days, across more than 100,000 world cities.
• Torah readings — aliyah-by-aliyah breakdowns for the weekly parashah, full kriyah, triennial cycle, and weekday readings, with spreadsheets for leyning coordinators.
• Yahrzeits and birthdays — personal lists of Yahrzeit, Yizkor, Hebrew birthday, and anniversary dates for 20+ years, with free annual email reminders.
• Daily learning — Daf Yomi and Mishna Yomi entries for the day.

You can download holidays and Hebrew dates for iPhone, iPad, Android (via Google Calendar), Outlook, macOS Desktop Calendar, or any app that supports iCalendar (.ics) feeds. Developers can embed Hebcal content on a synagogue website through JavaScript, JSON, and RSS APIs under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Common pitfalls when converting dates

• Sunset start times. A Hebrew day runs from sunset to sunset, so a Gregorian evening belongs to the following Hebrew date. This matters for candle-lighting, Yahrzeit, and any event scheduled after dark.
• Year offsets. Hebrew years are roughly 3,760 ahead of Gregorian years, and the two overlap across a fall boundary. Always state which calendar your year number belongs to.
• Leap years. In a leap year, Adar I precedes Adar, so a date in "Adar" can be ambiguous unless you specify which Adar.
• Month order. The Hebrew year begins with Tishrei in the fall, not with the month containing January, so counting months forward from a Gregorian date will not match.
• Location-dependent times. Candle-lighting and Havdalah times depend on the city, so set your location before relying on them.

For a quick answer to "what is today's Hebrew date," the converter displays it directly; for planning, generate a calendar for the specific year and location you need.

Shabbat is the weekly Jewish day of rest, running from Friday sunset to nightfall on Saturday. To find its start and end times, you look up candle-lighting (Friday, before sunset) and Havdalah (Saturday, after nightfall) for your specific city — Hebcal supports candle-lighting and Havdalah times for Shabbat and holidays across more than 100,000 world cities. The times are location-dependent, so the city you enter determines the result.

What Shabbat Is

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week, observed as a day of rest. In the Jewish calendar it recurs every week, and it sits alongside the holidays, Rosh Chodesh, and special Shabbatot that Hebcal lists. It is also tied to the weekly Torah portion: the Parashat ha-Shavua is read on Shabbat, and Hebcal provides an aliyah-by-aliyah breakdown, full kriyah, triennial cycle, and weekday readings.

Two time markers frame the day:

• Candle-lighting — Friday, before sunset, marks the beginning of Shabbat.
• Havdalah — Saturday, after nightfall, marks its end.

Hebcal also gives start and end times for fast days, which use the same kind of time lookup.

How to Find Shabbat Times

1. Go to the Shabbat Times section of Hebcal.
2. Enter your city. Over 100,000 world cities are supported, so use the city you actually need rather than a nearby large one if the two differ.
3. Read the candle-lighting time for Friday and the Havdalah time for Saturday.
4. If you want the whole year at once, use the year-at-a-glance view instead of checking week by week.

The expected result is a pair of times for the coming Shabbat in your location. Because candle-lighting is before sunset and Havdalah is after nightfall, the two times are not symmetric around the day — they depend on local sunset and nightfall.

Getting Times Into a Calendar

Hebcal lets you download Jewish holidays and Hebrew dates to iPhone, iPad, Android (via Google Calendar), Outlook, macOS Desktop Calendar, or any app that supports iCalendar (.ics) feeds. If you want Shabbat times to appear automatically each week, this avoids re-querying the site.

Common Pitfalls

• Wrong city or time zone. Times are calculated per location. A city in a different time zone, or even a different latitude, can shift candle-lighting and Havdalah noticeably.
• Confusing the two markers. Candle-lighting is the Friday start; Havdalah is the Saturday end. Mixing them up will give you the wrong day.
• Assuming a fixed clock time. The times move with the seasons because they track sunset and nightfall, so last week's time may not apply this week.

Where Shabbat Fits in the Wider Calendar

Shabbat is one layer of the Jewish calendar that Hebcal covers. The same site handles:

If you are building something rather than just looking times up, Hebcal offers JavaScript, JSON, and RSS APIs under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license, so content can be embedded directly into a synagogue website.

Hebcal (hebcal.com) is a Jewish calendar tool that generates holiday calendars, converts between Hebrew and Gregorian dates, and provides Shabbat candle-lighting and Havdalah times, Torah readings, and personal Yahrzeit reminders. It's useful if you want to look up a specific date, plan around Jewish holidays, or subscribe to a calendar feed in an app you already use. The site supports any year, past or present, and offers downloads for Apple, Google, Microsoft Outlook, and any app that accepts iCalendar (.ics) feeds.

Convert between Hebrew and Gregorian dates

The Date Converter lets you move in either direction: enter a Gregorian date to see the Hebrew equivalent, or enter a Hebrew date to find the matching civil date. It also shows today's date in a Hebrew font.

For example, the site's own homepage displays "Sun, 11 October 2026" alongside "30th of Tishrei, 5787" — a direct side-by-side of the two systems. If you're filling out a form, planning an event, or checking which Hebrew date a family occasion falls on, this is the fastest entry point.

Look up Jewish holidays for any year

The holidays section covers major, minor, and modern holidays, plus Rosh Chodesh, minor fasts, and special Shabbatot. You can view a single year, a six-year summary, or build a custom calendar.

The homepage example shows the year 5787 / 2026 with a "6-year summary" and "Custom calendar" option. This matters if you're planning ahead — for instance, checking whether a holiday falls on a weekday or Shabbat before scheduling a trip or event.

Get Shabbat candle-lighting and Havdalah times

Shabbat Times provides candle-lighting and Havdalah times for Shabbat and holidays, plus start and end times for fast days. The site states it supports over 100,000 world cities, so you can select your location rather than relying on a single default.

A "Year at-a-glance" view is available if you want the whole year's times in one place instead of checking week by week.

Find weekly Torah readings

The Torah Readings section gives an aliyah-by-aliyah breakdown for the Parashat ha-Shavua (weekly portion). It includes full kriyah, the triennial cycle, and weekday readings, plus spreadsheets intended for leyning coordinators.

The homepage example lists "Parashat Noach" with links to readings for 5787. If you're preparing a reading or coordinating assignments, the aliyah-level detail is the practical part — you can see exactly how the portion is divided.

Create Yahrzeit, birthday, and anniversary lists

You can build a personal list of Yahrzeit (memorial) and Yizkor dates, Hebrew birthdays, and anniversaries covering 20+ years. The site offers free annual email reminders and calendar downloads for these dates.

This is the feature to use if you want recurring reminders without manually recalculating Hebrew dates each year. "Get started" is the entry point on the homepage.

Download calendars to your own apps

Hebcal calendars can be downloaded for iPhone, iPad, Android (via Google Calendar), Outlook, macOS Desktop Calendar, or any app that supports iCalendar (.ics) feeds. Once subscribed, the dates appear inside the calendar app you already use rather than requiring you to visit the site.

Developer APIs

Hebcal is part of the Open Source Judaism movement and offers JavaScript, JSON, and RSS APIs so you can embed Hebcal content directly onto a website — for example, a synagogue site. The APIs are available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license.

What to check before you rely on it

• Location accuracy for times: Candle-lighting and Havdalah times depend on the city you select. Confirm your city is listed and matches your actual location before using the times.
• Custom vs. default calendar: The default view may not include every holiday category you need. Use "Customize calendar settings" to control what appears.
• Licensing: Site content is generally under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, and the developer APIs under CC-BY — attribution is required if you republish.
• Pricing and accounts: The homepage shows a "Sign in / Account" option and describes annual email reminders as free, but the provided material does not state pricing for any other feature. Check the site directly for current terms.