A Saturday night celebration: when does Shabbat end?

Saturday night is a classic slot for Jewish weddings: a wedding is not held during Shabbat, but nothing stops you from starting as soon as it ends. You still need to know when that is, and it moves by several hours between winter and summer, and from one city to another.

1How the end time is set

Shabbat ends when three small stars are visible (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 293:2). Calendars turn that into a time for each city: Tov’s, computed with @hebcal/core, count the end when the sun is 8.5° below the horizon. Other calendars, and some communities, wait longer (for example 72 minutes after sunset). Which calendar to follow is a matter of your community’s custom and your rabbi.

2Computed times: a winter Saturday

Saturday, December 12, 2026 (2 Tevet 5787), parashah Miketz. Candle lighting on Friday, Havdalah on Saturday:

• New York: candle lighting 4:10 p.m., Havdalah 5:14 p.m.
• Paris: candle lighting 4:35 p.m., Havdalah 5:48 p.m. (6:05 p.m. for those who wait 72 minutes).
• Jerusalem: candle lighting 3:55 p.m., Havdalah 5:16 p.m.
• Tel Aviv: candle lighting 4:18 p.m., Havdalah 5:17 p.m.
• Buenos Aires: candle lighting 7:41 p.m., Havdalah 8:45 p.m. (it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere).

3Computed times: a summer Saturday

Saturday, June 19, 2027 (14 Sivan 5787). Same cities, other season:

• New York: candle lighting 8:11 p.m., Havdalah 9:21 p.m.
• Paris: candle lighting 9:39 p.m., Havdalah 11:03 p.m.
• Jerusalem: candle lighting 7:06 p.m., Havdalah 8:30 p.m.
• Tel Aviv: candle lighting 7:31 p.m., Havdalah 8:32 p.m.
• Buenos Aires: candle lighting 5:31 p.m., Havdalah 6:31 p.m. (it is winter).

4Setting the invitation time

1. 1

   Step 1

   Start from the Havdalah time at the venue

   Not your hometown: guests come to the venue.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Add a margin

   Welcome 30 to 45 minutes after Havdalah: guests who observe Shabbat walk over or arrive after it ends.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Write a clock time, never “after Shabbat”

   That phrase changes from week to week and from community to community.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Ask your rabbi what can be prepared beforehand

   Setup, cooking, music: ask what is possible before Shabbat ends.

5Yom Tov and Shabbat back to back

When a holiday touches Shabbat, the rest lasts several days. In 2027, Shavuot (Friday, June 11, and Saturday, June 12 outside Israel) forms one block with Shabbat, from Thursday evening, June 10, to Saturday night, June 12:

• New York: from Thursday 8:08 p.m. to Saturday 9:18 p.m.
• Paris: from Thursday 9:34 p.m. to Saturday 11:00 p.m.
• Jerusalem: from Thursday 7:04 p.m. to Saturday 8:27 p.m. (Shavuot lasts one day in Israel, then comes Shabbat).
• Buenos Aires: from Thursday 5:31 p.m. to Saturday 6:30 p.m.

6What Tov computes for you

For each moment of your celebration, Tov computes the start and end of Shabbat or Yom Tov at the venue (or, failing that, in a reference city for the time zone, which it names) and warns you if a moment starts less than three hours before it begins. These figures follow the calculation above: compare them with your community’s calendar. Tov is free during the beta.