Hebrew Calendar API

⭐ Beginner's Pick Calendar / No Auth Required Beginner HTTP
Free to Use Varies (check documentation)

Overview

The Hebcal API provides free Jewish calendar data including Hebrew date conversions, Shabbat candle-lighting times, Jewish holidays, and weekly Torah portion readings. It requires no API key and accepts latitude/longitude for location-specific Shabbat times. Responses can be returned as JSON or iCal format.

💡

Beginner Tip

No API key needed. For Shabbat times, use the /shabbat endpoint with a city parameter, e.g., https://www.hebcal.com/shabbat?cfg=json&geo=city&city=NYC. For date conversion, use the /converter endpoint.

Available Data

event dates and names
holiday lists by country
date metadata

Example Response

JSON Response
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from Hebrew Calendar",
    "description": "Convert between Gregorian and Hebrew, fetch Shabbat and Holiday times, etc",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

location.title Human-readable location name used for candle-lighting time calculations.
items[].title Name of the event, e.g., "Candle lighting: 4:11pm" or "Parashat Vayigash".
items[].date ISO 8601 date (or datetime) of the event.
items[].category Event type: "candles", "havdalah", "holiday", or "parashat".
items[].hebrew Hebrew-language name of the event or holiday.

Implementation Example

const url = "https://www.hebcal.com/home/developer-apis";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Incorrect or missing Shabbat times No location specified or geo parameter missing
Pass explicit latitude and longitude with timezone: &latitude=40.6892&longitude=-74.0445&tzid=America/New_York.
Wrong Hebrew year returned Mixing up Gregorian-to-Hebrew and Hebrew-to-Gregorian conversion modes
Set g2h=1 for Gregorian-to-Hebrew conversion, or h2g=1 for Hebrew-to-Gregorian. Never combine both flags.
Empty items array Querying a date with no holiday or event
Most days have no holiday; include Torah readings by adding &lg=s for the weekly Parashat HaShavua portion.

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 30/30
⚡ Speed 15/20
🔒 Security 5/15
🛠 Developer XP 15/20
✓ Reliability 7/15
Response Time 346ms

Fully tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS NO
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Calendar
Difficulty Beginner
Verified: 2026-04-04

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