We have added the monthly cycle of studying Tehillim (Psalms) to our daily learning calendars.
Each day, we study a few chapters from the 150-chapter book of Psalms (Tehillim). The entire book is completed on the final day of each Hebrew month. On months with 29 days, the 30th portion is combined with the 29th portion.
For example, the reading for the 18th of Sivan, 5783 (Wednesday, 7 June 2023) is Psalms 88-89.
Hebcal can generate Candle-lighting & Havdalah times for Shabbat and holidays, and start and end times for fast days. Over 100,000 world cities are supported.
Candle-lighting times
By default, candle lighting time is 18 minutes before sundown (40 minutes for Jerusalem, 30 minutes for Haifa and Zikhron Ya’akov) on Erev Shabbat (Friday) and Erev Chag (Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Pesach, Shavuot). Hebcal gives an option to specify a different number of minutes before sunset if you don’t follow the 18-minute minhag (for example, some light candles 20 minutes before sundown).
Chanukah candle-lighting times are at civil dusk (solar depression of 6 degrees) on weekdays. Chanukah candles are lit just before Shabbat candles on Friday, and immediately after Havdalah on Saturday night.
Havdalah
Havdalah is calculated according to tzeit hakochavim, the point when 3 small stars are observable in the night sky with the naked eye (sun 8.5° below the horizon). This option is an excellent default for most places on the planet. We also offer the option to use a fixed number of minutes past sundown. Typically one would enter 42 min for three medium-sized stars, 50 min for three small stars, 72 min for Rabbeinu Tam, or 0 to suppress Havdalah times.
Fast times
Minor fasts begin in the morning at alot haShachar (solar depression 16.1 degrees) and conclude at tzeit for 3 medium sized stars (solar depression 7.083 degrees). Major fasts (Yom Kippur and Tish’a B’Av) begin just before sunset (at regular candle-lighting time) and conclude at Havdalah time.
If you ever have any doubts about Hebcal times, consult your local halachic authority. If you enter geographic coordinates above the arctic circle or antarctic circle, the times are guaranteed to be wrong.
We’re pleased to announce two new daily learning calendars on Hebcal.com.
The Daily Rambam is a learning program that divides Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah legal code into daily units, to complete the whole work in three years. We offer the one chapter a day schedule. We plan to also offer the 3-chapters-per-day schedule.
The Sefer Chofetz Chaim deals with the Jewish ethics and laws of speech. This cycle takes 1/3 of a year to complete. The book is divided into 119 parts in a regular year and 129 parts in a leap year. We plan to offer a daily learning schedule for the related text Shemirat HaLashon.
You will find both Daily Rambam and Daily Chofetz Chaim calendar feeds on our calendar downloads page. You’ll be able to subscribe to perpetual calendar updates on iPhone, iPad, Android (via Google Calendar), Outlook, macOS Desktop Calendar, or any app that supports iCalendar (.ics) feeds.
If you install Hebcal for your Apple Watch and then delete it, it may be difficult to reinstall. This problem occurs because the Hebcal watch app does not have a companion iPhone app.
To reinstall the app on your watch, you won’t be able to use the App Store on your iPhone. Instead, you will need to open the App Store on the watch itself and search for (and install) Hebcal.
Press the Digital Crown to see the Home screen, then tap the App Store.
Then, search for Hebcal, and you will see a screen like the following:
If you’ve downloaded the Hebcal app before, you’ll see a blue cloud icon with an arrow pointing downwards. Tap the blue cloud download icon to download and install the Hebcal app on your watch.
Or, you may see a small blue “GET” button if the watch believes the Hebcal app has never been downloaded to your watch. Tap the GET button to download and install the Hebcal app on your watch.
