What is the Hebrew calendar and how does it work?
The Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar — months follow the moon (29 or 30 days each), but the year is corrected to match the solar year by adding a leap month seven times in every 19-year cycle. So Jewish holidays fall on fixed Hebrew dates but shift on the Gregorian (Western) calendar by up to ~30 days year-to-year. The current Hebrew year crosses the secular calendar in autumn.
When does the Jewish year begin?
The civil Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) falls in September or October — typically the first/second day of the Hebrew month Tishrei. The religious year begins in Nisan (March/April) per Exodus 12:2, but the civil year-count and most calendar planning use the Tishrei date. So 'Year 5787' in Hebrew terms begins on Rosh Hashanah in autumn 2026.
What Jewish year is it in 2026?
2026 spans two Hebrew years: 5786 until Rosh Hashanah, then 5787. The changeover happens at sundown on Friday, September 11, 2026 — Hebrew days always begin the evening before. The count follows the traditional Anno Mundi reckoning, dated from the creation of the world as computed from biblical chronology.
Is 5787 a Hebrew leap year?
Yes — 5787 adds a 13th month, Adar I, before the regular Adar (which becomes Adar II). Seven of every 19 Hebrew years are leap years; the extra month keeps the lunar months aligned with the solar seasons, and it's why Jewish holidays drift up to a month against the Gregorian calendar before snapping back.
What does the printable Jewish holiday calendar include?
A page per month with the major holidays tinted (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, Shavuot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah), Chol HaMoed and Hanukkah days marked in a lighter shade, and every Erev labelled — because each holiday begins at sundown the evening before, the detail generic calendars get wrong. The Jewish year (e.g. 5787) prints in each month's header, and every day has a fillable box. Generate either the Jewish year (Rosh Hashanah to Rosh Hashanah) or a calendar year, any year 2025–2035.
Are the dates diaspora or Israeli observance?
Diaspora — two-day Rosh Hashanah and Shavuot, an eight-day Passover, and Sukkot's first two days as full holidays. In Israel (and in many Reform congregations) several of these are observed for one day instead. The dates themselves come from Hebcal and were independently cross-checked against a second Hebrew-calendar computation before shipping.
Where can I find the exact Jewish holiday dates each year?
The most reliable source is Hebcal (hebcal.com) — open-source, accurate to the Hebrew calendar, and downloadable as iCal for your phone. Chabad.org also publishes annual calendars. For Orthodox / Conservative observance the dates align across sources; some Reform congregations vary the second-day observance.
What's the difference between the Hebrew calendar and the Jewish religious calendar?
The Hebrew calendar is the dating system (months, years, the lunisolar mechanics). The Jewish religious calendar is what's observed using that system — when the holidays fall, what fast days apply, when the Sabbath rolls week-to-week. They're tightly linked but conceptually distinct, like 'the Gregorian calendar' vs 'the Western liturgical year.'
Can I add my own events — candle-lighting times, yahrzeits, school dates?
Yes — every day on the generated calendar has a fillable box: open the PDF in any viewer, click a date, and type. Candle-lighting times vary by location so we don't pre-print them (Hebcal computes them for your city), but the boxes are made for exactly that kind of personal layer.
