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41 Comments Posted
The calendar, with its explanation of the Zmanim, is invaluable. I refer to it virtually every day.
If I had a wish it would be to find more about the Talmud on your site, and also more about some of the great luminaries such as Nachmanides or the Maharal of Prague. (I would like to find an "easier" daf yomi than the one on the OU site.)
I write as someone who, although born Jewish, had no Jewish education and didn't start to draw closer to Judaism until I was in my late 40s. (I'm now 53). My ability to read Hebrew is very limited.
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Thanks for clear definition of Alot HaShachar and the note specifying that this is when dawn fasts begin. Tzom Kal
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Schmuel:
It is _never_ too late. I am 70 years old. I am learning with the help of Rabbi Zirkind here in Fresno. My son is 21. His mother is not Jewish. (We are divorced.) He is studying so as to convert and become Bar-Mitzva'd.
I had little education after Cheder and my Bar Mitzva. Although I can read Hebrew, you are far advanced in other ways.
I encourage you to continue as you are doing!
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I have been asking and looking ALL OVER to find a description of the zmanim. This will help me to make sure my teffilot are completed on time. Todah robah!!
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This Zmanim page is an excellent short guide to zmanim. The information given here is of tremendous value not only to newcomers in observance, but also to veteran Chasidim. Unfortunately, too many people who are otherwise observant, don't know what time to daven shacharis or recite Shema. I wish there was a way to publicize this more.
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Thank you VERY much for this site! You are helping me to become more observant by making information like this so accessible.
Thank you, very, very much!
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Thank you for this definition list! Everything I find on here is invaluable, as are my teacher, my rabbi, and my friends.
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Shmuel,
G-d judges every Jew according to his or her effort. It doesn't matter where you are holding in level, if you do your best, you are doing better than someone who knows how to read Hebrew and how to learn but is doing everything out of habit, without extra effort.
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If Torah law states the day begins at dawn as you say: "According to Torah law, dawn marks the beginning of the day"
Then why does Shabbat begin at night?
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The calendar date begins at nightfall. The "daytime" segment of the calendar date begins at dawn.
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Hi!
this is really awesome! this made me realize i should schedule my times for davenning more appropriately. Thanks a lot! Keep up with the great work!
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thank you for yur clear and concise explanations! as a jewish adopted child to non jewish parents, at the age of 55 i am embracing my roots and want to be very orthodox! a thousand thanks for telling me what every child should be taught! mazel tov!
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Hi!
What does 'zman tefilah' mean? is that the lastest time one can recite Shachrit?
Thank You
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Zman Tefillah is described above in the entry titled "Latest Tefillah."
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The latest time for Shema or Tefillah: is that the lastest time you can start them or do you have be completed by then?
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You should have finished your prayers by that time.
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why 8 degrees to horizon angle is the end, and 18 min to sunset (8 degrees, too?)?
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Tefillah in the Gemarah is considered to be Shemone Esrei. As long as you're up to this by zman tefillah you are yotzei davening on time.
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I understand that the earth has curvature to it, and in addition there is bending of the light due to atmospheric variations. But my question is even simpler. When is sunrise and when is sunset? Is the 11 degrees from the "center" of the image of the sun as we see it, or from one edge or another?
I suppose that a sundial could be constructed to verify the angle of the sun's center with respect to the upward normal and the sun's angular spread could also be determined in that way. But I still cannot tell from which edge the 11 degrees is counted off. I appreciate your clarification.
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A Jewish astronaut, say on Mars, is this not a possibility? Or even in earth orbit, like the shuttle, how would he calculate the times and even the days?
And even here on earth, should a Jew be so foolish as to be on Antarctica in June, there would be no sunrise or set? Or in January, when there would be no sunset?
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An astronaut in low earth orbit would see sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes--oy vey, think of laying tfillin! --but those events don't mark the passage of days. Astronauts count days from their home base, such as Houston. So it is with those whose sunrises and sunsets are physically interfered with, like being in the high latitudes or even on the moon or Mars--they can count their days and times from those in Jerusalem, which was the rabbinic solution to this question. Also, consider the following:
R. Moshe Shternbuch (Moadim U'Zmanim, II, 155, fn. 1) discusses this issue, and mentions, without a conclusion, that k'riat sh'ma might not be affected by sunrise or sunset as the controlling terminology is not "day" and "night" but rather "lying down" and "rising."
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Thanks Kehillat wise answer. I would agree that Jerusalem time would be the standard. Now, say there are several cities on Mars on diffeent hemispheres such that sunset in Jerusalem is at sunrise in City One, and at noon at #2 and sunset at #3. At first glance, simple, just allow for a Martian local time, and the various Martian cities like earthly ones will have their own time for sunset. But which day would be the shabbot? Like earth there would have to be an intermartian day line, but how would that be decided? I think that IF our world survives the next decade without the chaotic Day of the Lord,then eventually these Martian questions might become relevent, and require perhaps a new Prophet?
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Martian days are something like 40 minutes longer than earth's and the year is about twice as long. The moons do not have a 29.5 day period (or even close). This means that astronomical events can't be used to determine the z'manim, let alone the day of the week--or even the number of months! Not only the day for Shabbat, but all the festivals would need to be refigured.
In the past, such questions were determined by rabbis through responsa. A similar, but much simpler problem arose in the Middle Ages when Jews realized that a round earth meant that there was a point on the earth where it was the "next day," and that new day didn't begin when the sun set at Jerusalem. This gave rise to a number of responsa concerning when Shabbat began, based upon the geographic realities they faced.
Colonists on Mars, or even the moon, would need to get a rabbinic responsa-it's much too complex a problem for NASA. Maybe work on the question should get started now, before an answer is really needed!
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I had not been to your website in the past few months. Every time I come here I find it to be better, and better! By far, your website is one of best Jewish websites , if not the best, around.
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I've made a couple of spreadsheets for calculating proportional hours for a given location (entered on the spreadsheet).
The first gives sunrise at 06:00 and sunset as 18:00.
The other gives AM for hours of daylight, and PM for the night.
I can't post links to them here, as links aren't allowed on the forum, but they're on scribd.com, and my user number is 25654023.
I'd love to hear if they're of any use to people.
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The point on the Martian Moons: would have to refer to rosh Hodesh as viewed from earth of The Moon. Clearly, 2 moons of different periodicity would not be amenable to local Martian rosh hodeshim. What of a Jew on some colony ON a Jovian moon?
Unless God reveals new Torah if we reach new orbs, we will be using Jerusalem times and lunar events.
Imagine a distant future, 1 million years and human colonies are found in other solar systems! At some point contact with earth may cease, and all that will remain will be the computer generated tables of Jerusalem time and months. And imagine aeons pass, and memory of common origin on earth has been lost. Each colony believing it is alone in the universe. Then one day contact is made and to the wonderment of the gentiles the Jews will understand each other, and will perhaps share and enjoy seder together under strange constellations.
I think I will write the novel, or series! A Trilogy at least, of the scope of Asimov's Foundation.
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Go for it!
Actually, in the very, VERY distant future, the cycle of Jewish holidays will have advanced so far that the holidays will become displaced more than a month later in the year. Thus, in civil year 3031 there will be no Chanukah; the first day of Chanukah will be 1 Jan. 3032. So there's an even more immediate question of Jewish calendar reform needed to keep Pesach from coming in the fall (in about 100,000 years).
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I was under the impression that intercalated months and leap years ensured against calender creep? Yet, from what you have said, I guess that even this system has a small but summing lunar: solar discrepancy. Maybe the addition of a few minutes every century or so will fix that,
But, in that light, I wondered at the Halacha for antipodean Jews. There is a large Jewish community in the Southern Hemisphere, from Argentina, to South Africa, to Australia and New Zealand. Do they move Pesah to September or October? Or is their Passover in the Fall? Serious question, not a rhetorical one! Anyone know?
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Can't fix the fact that the lunar month (actually the synodic month--the time it takes the moon to reach the same phase) is getting longer than 29.5 days. The moon moves away from the earth about 0.15 inches per year, a result of gravitational and tidal forces.This slowly changes the length of time between each new moon, with the result that the Jewish dates will gradually come later in the Gregorian calendar.
Pesach is celebrated starting on 15 Nisan all over the world, so, yes, in the southern hemisphere the seasons are reversed and the holiday comes in the fall.
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thank you for the information so I can worship my creator the way He likes to be worshiped :)
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Indeed there is a large Jewish community in Argentina and other southern hemisphere countries. My husband is from Argentina, my Rabbi's wife from South Africa..
No, Pesach is not moved to September etc. High Holy Days are observed in the spring, (Sept/Oct..) and Pesach happens in the fall , no matter the weather, they follow the same calendar ... So, recently we were in Argentina for Rosh Hashana, enjoying the spring sun. :)
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While in a traditional Jewish home, the head female along w/the other women in the household, light candles and say Shabbat prayers. But what about other women who's lifestyle is 95% outside the home. Many are single & independent as well. These women make up for it in creative methods. For me, I say the Shabbat prayer in my head along w/the Shema. But, on the bus ride home, people look at you funny when you look like you're talking to yourself. Even if you're only mouthing the words. In Israel, the women soldiers who fight side by side with their Kosher male soldiers; must have some kind of ritual or prayer they can do even though they cannot be home w/family & friends. Why make such a big deal over the minute or second when it's the day's end or beginning? I think that G-d might allow for a little flexibility w/in the Jewish woman's role in society today. I think it's like picking nits. Let it go. The important thing is that G-d knows he is not forgotten & is as important as always.
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I am only small time chabad but reading your comment i am not sure if you understand the basic role of woman in judaism - if i am not mistaken women do not have time restrictions as men do meaning your prayer does not have to be as clockwork mentioned above - women have three mitzvot commanded to them and that is lighting shabbat candles - family purity - challah in regards to these commandments yes a woman does have restrictions and some of them are even time restrictionslike shabbat candles must be before shabbat and not shabbat itself.
I think you should either look here or go to google their are hundreds of articles of the jewish woman role in judiasm
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isnt the time for sunset acc. to the first chabad rebbe, 4 minutes later than everyone elses ?
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The Alter Rebbe (R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi) writes in his Piskei Siddur that there are approximatively four minutes in between the 'observable Shkiah' and the "true Shkiah." However, he writes that one should light candles before the 'observable Shekiah'.
The times presented here are the observable shkiah in a flat clear horizon and not that of a slightly higher elevation .
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While still not 100% clear (technically) , I now have sufficient understanding of my own.
Thank you
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Our family received the mesorah from previous generations that the time to recite Tikkun Chatzoth is not the zmaniot Chazoth HaLaylah but rather at six clock hours after Tzayth HaCochovim. For example, if Shabbath ends at 8:32 pm, then the time to recite Tikkun Chatzot begins at 2:32 a.m. Anyone else familiar with this?
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Hi this is the practice of Breslov. It is the opinion of the Magen Avraham if I remember correctly. 6 hours after Tzeis for everything, even eating the afikomen on Pesach.
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when your shadow points east instead of north it is the afternoon
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