When blessing the new month in the synagogue on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh, it is customary to announce the time that the molad (birth of the new moon) occurs in Jerusalem, so that it can be kept in mind while saying the blessing.
Traditionally, the time is announced in hours, minutes and chalakim — e.g., "The molad will occur Sunday evening, eight minutes and seven chalakim after seven o'clock." A chelek is one 1080th part of an hour, or 3.33 seconds. In this table, we have noted the time of the molad in hours and minutes (e.g., 7:08 PM), and we've also noted the number of chalakim, for use in the traditional announcement.
All times listed here are Jerusalem times, and are so announced in the synagogue regardless of location.
For more about the molad, see What is the molad? at the bottom of this page.
Molad Times for 5780 (2019-2020)
Molad for Month of |
Day of Week |
Date |
Time |
Tishrei |
Sunday |
September 29, 2019 |
5:50 (5 chalakim) AM |
Cheshvan |
Monday |
October 28, 2019 |
6:34 (6 chalakim) PM |
Kislev |
Wednesday |
November 27, 2019 |
7:18 (7 chalakim) AM |
Tevet |
Thursday |
December 26, 2019 |
8:02 (8 chalakim) PM |
Shevat |
Shabbat |
January 25, 2020 |
8:46 (9 chalakim) AM |
Adar |
Sunday |
February 23, 2020 |
9:30 (10 chalakim) PM |
Nissan |
Tuesday |
March 24, 2020 |
10:14 (11 chalakim) AM |
Iyar |
Wednesday |
April 22, 2020 |
10:58 (12 chalakim) PM |
Sivan |
Friday |
May 22, 2020 |
11:42 (13 chalakim) AM |
Tamuz |
Sunday |
June 21, 2020 |
12:26 (14 chalakim) AM |
Av |
Monday |
July 20, 2020 |
1:10 (15 chalakim) PM |
Elul |
Wednesday |
August 19, 2020 |
1:54 (16 chalakim) AM |
Molad Times for 5781 (2020-2021)
Molad for Month of |
Day of Week |
Date |
Time |
Tishrei |
Thursday |
September 17, 2020 |
2:38 (17 chalakim) PM |
Cheshvan |
Shabbat |
October 17, 2020 |
3:23 AM |
Kislev |
Sunday |
November 15, 2020 |
4:07 (1 Chelek) PM |
Tevet |
Tuesday |
December 15, 2020 |
4:51 (2 chalakim) AM |
Shevat |
Wednesday |
January 13, 2021 |
5:35 (3 chalakim) PM |
Adar |
Friday |
February 12, 2021 |
6:19 (4 chalakim) AM |
Nissan |
Shabbat |
March 13, 2021 |
7:03 (5 chalakim) PM |
Iyar |
Monday |
April 12, 2021 |
7:47 (6 chalakim) AM |
Sivan |
Tuesday |
May 11, 2021 |
8:31 (7 chalakim) PM |
Tamuz |
Thursday |
June 10, 2021 |
9:15 (8 chalakim) AM |
Av |
Friday |
July 9, 2021 |
9:59 (9 chalakim) PM |
Elul |
Sunday |
August 8, 2021 |
10:43 (10 chalakim) AM |
Click here to convert Secular to Jewish dates
What Is the Molad?
The Jewish calendar is lunar-based, with each month representing one lunar cycle — the time it takes for the moon to complete one orbit around the earth.
The molad is the time of the moon's "birth." There is a point in the moon's orbit in which it is positioned directly between the earth and the sun, making it invisible to anyone standing on earth's surface. The molad occurs when the moon has moved far enough from this position that a thin crescent of its illuminated surface becomes visible, marking the start of a new Jewish month.
The time it takes for the moon to complete one orbit around the earth — as calculated by sages and confirmed by astronomical observation — is 29 days, 12 hours and 793 chalakim (there are 1,080 chalakim or "parts" in an hour, hence a chelek is 3.33... seconds). This represents the average time from molad to molad. The actual moment at which the moon becomes visible will vary slightly from the average molad, depending on the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun to each other at any given month, where on earth the observer is standing, the length of twilight at given seasons of the year, and other astronomical variables.
For this reason the Jewish calendar is “tweaked” so that Rosh Chodesh — the first of the month — is as close as possible to the time in which the moon would actually be seen in Jerusalem if we were still relying on actual observation of the moon to establish the start of a new month (as was done until the 5th century C.E.). Also, because a month has to be made up of whole days, the Jewish month alternates between 29 and 30 days. This is why Rosh Chodesh will often occur a day or more after the average molad.
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