A Year in Jewish Time

The zodiac-wheel mosaic from the floor of the ancient synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel — The wheel of the year, in stone: the zodiac mosaic from the synagogue floor at Beit Alpha (Israel, 6th century CE). The twelve signs - each labelled in Hebrew with its month - ring the sun in its chariot, and the four seasons sit in the corners. It is the Jewish year made visible: months follow the moon, but the seasons, and the festivals tied to them, are kept in step with the sun. Public domain · Beit Alpha synagogue mosaic, c. 6th century CE · via Wikimedia Commons

✦ Right now

Today

Hebrew date

Coming Shabbat

Sunset Friday to Saturday night

Hebrew year

Year in its cycle

✦ The days the tribe keeps lit

Festivals & Observances

Dates shown are for Israel. Where diaspora communities observe an additional day, this is noted. Gregorian dates are computed from the Hebrew calendar engine used by the spiral above.

✦ The longer rhythms

Shmitta and Yovel

Beyond the annual cycle, the Hebrew calendar counts in sevens and forty-nines - rhythms written into the law for the land.