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Shabbat, Yom Tov, Omer: what Tov flags, and why

Tov checks your date against the Jewish calendar and warns you: Shabbat, Yom Tov, Omer, Three Weeks. What it checks, confirms, and leaves to your rabbi.

  • For I’m planning my celebration
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On this page
  1. What Tov checks
  2. Information, warning, or confirmation
  3. Omer and Three Weeks
  4. Under each moment
  5. What Tov does not do
Culture

This article touches on Jewish practice. It sticks to widely shared reference points and has not yet been reviewed by a rabbi: if in doubt, ask yours.

When you choose the date of a celebration, Tov checks it against the Jewish calendar and warns you, under the date and under each moment. It does not decide for you: it gives you the information when it is useful, and leaves to your rabbi whatever depends on your community’s practice.

What Tov checks

  • The Hebrew date, shown under the civil date. After sunset it is already the next day, so it is written “אור ל…” (“the night of…”), as on printed invitations.
  • Shabbat and Yom Tov, to the minute, at the location of the celebration. Tov counts the start 18 minutes before sunset (40 in Jerusalem, 30 in Haifa) and the end at nightfall (Havdalah). In Israel, Tov applies the Israeli calendar (one day of a festival where the Diaspora keeps two).
  • The Omer (between Passover and Shavuot) and the Three Weeks (from the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av), for a wedding, a henna, or an engagement party.
Info

Tov starts from the location of the celebration when it is known. Otherwise it uses a reference city for the time zone and says so: check the times for your own city in that case.

Information, warning, or confirmation

  • Bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, brit milah, brit bat, Shabbat Chatan, Sheva Brachot, as well as the Torah reading, kiddush, or brit moments: Tov gives information, because these celebrations are commonly held on Shabbat. “Observant guests will come on foot: think of those who live far away.”
  • Other celebrations (birthday, pidyon haben, henna, engagement party…): a warning, with no block. “Observant guests will not be able to come. Check the date and time.”
  • Wedding (the date, the chuppah, the reception): a warning with a required confirmation. “A Jewish wedding is not held on Shabbat or on a Yom Tov. Check the date and time.” You check “I confirm this date and time”; until you do, nothing is saved.
Warning

The wedding confirmation is asked for in the browser, when the date, the celebration, or the time zone changes. It is not a final check: it is up to you to verify the date.

Omer and Three Weeks

For a wedding that falls during the Omer or the Three Weeks, Tov shows information, never a block: “This date falls during the Omer, between Passover and Shavuot. Many families do not hold weddings then, with customs that vary between communities: ask your rabbi.” For a henna or an engagement party, the text speaks of celebrations with music and dancing: “This date falls during the Omer, between Passover and Shavuot. Many families avoid celebrations with music and dancing then, with customs that vary between communities: ask your rabbi.” Customs really do vary from one community to another; Tov does not take sides.

Under each moment

Every dated moment in your program gets the same check, with its own times. A moment that starts less than three hours before Shabbat or the festival begins invites you to plan for it to end before then. These alerts never block anything.

What Tov does not do

  • It does not replace your rabbi. The start and end times follow common reference points; they differ from one community to another.
  • On the guest side, Tov only calculates Shabbat, for one thing: the invitation’s music goes quiet while a Shabbat moment is on screen. It handles neither Yom Tov, nor the Omer, nor the Three Weeks for your guests, and the Shabbat window there is approximate.
  • It never refuses a date. Even for a wedding, the confirmation is yours.
Culture

Customs around these dates differ among communities (Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, secular Israeli families). If in doubt, ask your rabbi.

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