mradwin – Hebcal

A note about advertisements

Posted on 11 May 2022 - 12:20 pm by mradwin

Hebcal.com displays advertisements on some pages. It is expensive to operate the website, and income from displaying advertisements offsets the cost of offering a free service. Donations are always appreciated and never required, and they cover only a small part of the costs.

We don’t like inappropriate advertisements and it’s our policy to suppress them when we discover them. If you see an inappropriate or offensive advertisement, please accept our sincere apologies.

If you discover an advertisement that you find unacceptable, please create a Hebcal Support ticket (you may leave us a private message if you prefer). Please describe the offending advertisement to the best of your ability (e.g. the name of the company or the URL). Please capture a screenshot and send it to us if you are willing and able to do so.

With a good description or a screenshot, we are typically able to find the offending advertisement, suppress it, and prevent any future advertisements from the same advertiser. Once we suppress an ad, it can take 24-48 hours before it completely disappears from our website.

How to fix iPhone “Cannot Verify Server Identity” error

Posted on 5 May 2022 - 10:08 am by mradwin

If you haven’t signed into a public WiFi or you don’t have access to the Internet, your iPhone may display an error message about the server identity of download.hebcal.com.

This article describes a couple of ways to fix the problem.

The exact error message looks like this:

Cannot Verify Server Identity
The identity of “download.hebcal.com” cannot be verified.

Fix 1: sign into public WiFi

If you are on a public WiFi, sign into the WiFi (see “Use captive Wi-Fi networks on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch“). Or, disable WiFi completely and use your mobile data. Usually this will fix the problem.

Sometimes you’ll need to do the above and also restart your phone.

Fix 2: disable SSL for download.hebcal.com calendars

Another way you can fix it is to disable SSL for the calendar. This will cause your iPhone to refresh any subscribed calendar feeds over HTTP instead of HTTPS.

To disable SSL for a Hebcal calendar that, go to Settings > Calendar > Accounts > Subscribed Calendars > Hebcal and the set “Use SSL” to Off.

Here’s an example screenshot showing the recommended settings:

Three Torah scrolls on Shabbat

Posted on 1 March 2022 - 1:39 pm by mradwin

Here’s some halachic trivia for your next cocktail party.

We read from the Torah every Shabbat, but we usually read from a single Torah scroll, and occasionally read from two scrolls.

On three possible occasions (when Rosh Chodesh coincides with a special Shabbat) we read from three sifrei Torah.

1st scroll: regular weekly Torah portion (aliyot 1-6)
2nd scroll: special 7th aliyah for Rosh Chodesh (Numbers 28:9-15)
3rd scroll: special maftir aliyah for the special Shabbat

1. Shabbat Shekalim on Rosh Chodesh

Rosh Chodesh Adar coincides with Shabbat Shekalim about once every 13 years. The weekly Torah portion is always either Parashat Mishpatim or Parashat Terumah. The special maftir for Shabbat Shekalim is Exodus 30:11-16.

Here are a sample of dates, recent past and near future:

Mishpatim 5761 – 24 February 2001 – 1 Adar 5761
Mishpatim 5781 – 13 February 2021 – 1 Adar 5781
Terumah 5785 – 1 March 2025 – 1 Adar 5785
Terumah 5805 – 18 February 2045 – 1 Adar 5805
Mishpatim 5808 – 15 February 2048 – 1 Adar 5808
Terumah 5832 – 20 February 2072 – 1 Adar 5832
Mishpatim 5835 – 16 February 2075 – 1 Adar 5835
Mishpatim 5859 – 21 February 2099 – 1 Adar 5859
Terumah 5883 – 27 February 2123 – 1 Adar 5883
Terumah 5903 – 16 February 2143 – 1 Adar 5903
Mishpatim 5906 – 12 February 2146 – 1 Adar 5906
Terumah 5910 – 28 February 2150 – 1 Adar 5910
Terumah 5930 – 17 February 2170 – 1 Adar 5930

2. Shabbat HaChodesh on Rosh Chodesh

Rosh Chodesh Nisan falls on Shabbat HaChodesh once every 3-4 years (approximately 28% of the time). The weekly Torah portion is always either Parashat Tazria or Parashat Vayikra. The special maftir for Shabbat HaChodesh is Exodus 12:1-20.

Here are a sample of dates, recent past and near future:

Tazria 5776 – 9 April 2016 – 1 Nisan 5776
Vayikra 5778 – 17 March 2018 – 1 Nisan 5778
Tazria 5779 – 6 April 2019 – 1 Nisan 5779
Tazria 5782 – 2 April 2022 – 1 Nisan 5782
Vayikra 5789 – 17 March 2029 – 1 Nisan 5789
Vayikra 5792 – 13 March 2032 – 1 Nisan 5792
Vayikra 5796 – 29 March 2036 – 1 Nisan 5796
Vayikra 5799 – 26 March 2039 – 1 Nisan 5799
Vayikra 5802 – 22 March 2042 – 1 Nisan 5802
Tazria 5803 – 11 April 2043 – 1 Nisan 5803
Tazria 5806 – 7 April 2046 – 1 Nisan 5806
Tazria 5809 – 3 April 2049 – 1 Nisan 5809
Vayikra 5816 – 18 March 2056 – 1 Nisan 5816
Vayikra 5819 – 15 March 2059 – 1 Nisan 5819
Vayikra 5823 – 31 March 2063 – 1 Nisan 5823
Vayikra 5826 – 27 March 2066 – 1 Nisan 5826
Vayikra 5829 – 23 March 2069 – 1 Nisan 5829
Tazria 5833 – 8 April 2073 – 1 Nisan 5833
Tazria 5836 – 4 April 2076 – 1 Nisan 5836

3. Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Chanukah

When Rosh Chodesh Tevet falls on Shabbat Chanukah, we read the first scroll for the weekly portion (always Parashat Miketz), the second for Rosh Chodesh, and the third for Chanukah.

This also happens approximately 28% of the time.

Miketz 5776 – 12 December 2015 – 30 Kislev 5776
Miketz 5779 – 8 December 2018 – 30 Kislev 5779
Miketz 5780 – 28 December 2019 – 30 Kislev 5780
Miketz 5782 – 4 December 2021 – 30 Kislev 5782
Miketz 5783 – 24 December 2022 – 30 Kislev 5783
Miketz 5786 – 20 December 2025 – 30 Kislev 5786
Miketz 5800 – 17 December 2039 – 30 Kislev 5800
Miketz 5803 – 13 December 2042 – 30 Kislev 5803
Miketz 5806 – 9 December 2045 – 30 Kislev 5806
Miketz 5807 – 29 December 2046 – 30 Kislev 5807
Miketz 5809 – 5 December 2048 – 30 Kislev 5809
Miketz 5810 – 25 December 2049 – 30 Kislev 5810
Miketz 5813 – 21 December 2052 – 30 Kislev 5813
Miketz 5827 – 18 December 2066 – 30 Kislev 5827
Miketz 5830 – 14 December 2069 – 30 Kislev 5830
Miketz 5833 – 10 December 2072 – 30 Kislev 5833
Miketz 5834 – 30 December 2073 – 30 Kislev 5834
Miketz 5836 – 7 December 2075 – 30 Kislev 5836
Miketz 5837 – 26 December 2076 – 30 Kislev 5837

In case you were wondering: if a congregation doesn’t happen to own three Torah scrolls, the congregation waits while the scroll is rolled to the proper position.

Mishna Yomi

Posted on 24 January 2022 - 9:54 am by mradwin

We’re pleased to announce support for Mishna Yomi! This 6-year program of daily learning includes two Mishnayot each day in order to finish the entire Mishnah.

Mishna Yomi is also referred to as משנה יומית, Mishnah Yomi, Mishna Yomit, or Mishna Yomis. You can subscribe to the 7-year calendar feed here:

Here is an example of what the calendar looks like.

January 2022

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
						1 Berakhot 3:2-3
2 Berakhot 3:4-5	3 Berakhot 3:6-4:1	4 Berakhot 4:2-3	5 Berakhot 4:4-5	6 Berakhot 4:6-7	7 Berakhot 5:1-2	8 Berakhot 5:3-4
9 Berakhot 5:5-6:1	10 Berakhot 6:2-3	11 Berakhot 6:4-5	12 Berakhot 6:6-7	13 Berakhot 6:8-7:1	14 Berakhot 7:2-3	15 Berakhot 7:4-5
16 Berakhot 8:1-2	17 Berakhot 8:3-4	18 Berakhot 8:5-6	19 Berakhot 8:7-8	20 Berakhot 9:1-2	21 Berakhot 9:3-4	22 Berakhot 9:5-Peah 1:1
23 Peah 1:2-3	24 Peah 1:4-5	25 Peah 1:6-2:1	26 Peah 2:2-3	27 Peah 2:4-5	28 Peah 2:6-7	29 Peah 2:8-3:1
30 Peah 3:2-3	31 Peah 3:4-5

Enjoy your learning!

Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac Jewish holidays download

Posted on 19 January 2022 - 7:32 pm by mradwin

This page includes instructions on how to subscribe to a Hebcal Jewish holiday calendar 5-year feed in Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Outlook 2021 for Mac, Outlook 2019 for Mac, and Outlook 2016 for Mac.

Microsoft now recommends that you sync your account to the Microsoft Cloud. “Available for Google, Yahoo, iCloud, and IMAP accounts in Outlook for Mac, this allows you to enjoy many of the best features of Mail and Calendar and Outlook for Mac.”

The following instructions demonstrate how to subscribe to a Hebcal calendar on Outlook.com, and then synchronize those calendars to Outlook for Mac on your desktop.

1. Open a web browser on your macOS computer.

to download holidays and candle-lighting times, navigate to https://www.hebcal.com/hebcal
OR, to download Yahrzeit + Anniversary calendar, navigate to https://www.hebcal.com/yahrzeit

2. Fill out the form with your preferences and click the Create Calendar button

3. Click the Download… button

4. Select the Outlook Web option from the Download dialog box

5. Click the Add to Outlook.com button. This button will take you directly to Microsoft’s Outlook Web calendar import page

6. If prompted, login using your Microsoft username and password

7. When Outlook Web prompts you to Subscribe from web, confirm your options (such as color and charm) and then click the Import button

8. Return to Outlook for Mac on your macOS computer. Go to the Calendar view, then select Tools > Sync

9. Check the box next to the Hebcal calendar in the Other Calendars section on the left side of the page and your events will display

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