Hebrew Calendar

About Hebrew Calendar

Hebcal provides web APIs and embeddable widgets for Jewish calendar data, including Hebrew date conversion, holiday listings, Torah reading (leyning) schedules, Shabbat candle-lighting and havdalah times, zmanim (halachic time calculations), yahrzeit/anniversary date tracking, and determination of work-prohibited periods (assur melacha). Access methods range from simple HTML script tags and RSS/iCalendar feeds to JSON and XML REST APIs documented via OpenAPI (Swagger). Most REST APIs accept a location specified by GeoNames ID, US ZIP code, or latitude/longitude, and event titles can be rendered in different languages, defaulting to Sephardic transliteration.

The APIs require no registration or API keys, are rate-limited to 90 requests per 10-second window, and are offered as a free service. Content generated by the APIs is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, requiring attribution to Hebcal.com but otherwise permitting free copying, redistribution, and commercial use.

The service is aimed at developers building synagogue websites, WordPress sites, calendar applications, or other tools needing Jewish calendar functionality. In addition to the web APIs, Hebcal's underlying code is open source and available on GitHub in multiple languages, including JavaScript (@hebcal/core, GPL licensed), a command-line interface, a Go port (hebcal-go), and a Swift port (hebcal-swift); some newer libraries, such as the leyning API, use a BSD license instead.

Key features

• No registration or API keys required
• Easy embeddable widgets for Shabbat times, Hebrew date, and Yahrzeit/birthday/anniversary calendars
• RSS and iCalendar feeds for integration with calendar apps and CMS platforms
• Open-source client libraries in JavaScript, Go, Swift, and a command-line interface
• Location lookup via GeoNames ID, US ZIP code, or latitude/longitude

Frequently asked questions