When blessing the new month in the synagogue on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh (see: Shabbat Mevarchim), it is customary to announce the time that the molad (birth of the new moon) occurs in Jerusalem, so that it can be kept in mind while saying the blessing.

Traditionally, the time is announced in hours, minutes and chalakim — e.g., "The molad will occur Sunday evening, eight minutes and seven chalakim after seven o'clock." A chelek is one 1080th part of an hour, or 3.33 seconds. In this table, we have noted the time of the molad in hours and minutes (e.g., 7:08 PM), and we've also noted the number of chalakim, for use in the traditional announcement.

All times listed here are Jerusalem times, and are so announced in the synagogue regardless of location.

For more about the molad, see What is the molad? at the bottom of this page.


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Molad Times for 5785 (2024-2025)

Molad for Month of

Day of Week

Date

Time

Rosh Chodesh

Tishrei

Thursday

October 3, 2024

3:21 (13 chalakim) AM

Thu

Cheshvan

Friday

November 1, 2024

4:05 (14 chalakim) PM

Fri / Shabbat

Kislev

Sunday

December 1, 2024

4:49 (15 chalakim) AM

Sun / Mon

Tevet

Monday

December 30, 2024

5:33 (16 chalakim) PM

Tue / Wed

Shevat

Wednesday

January 29, 2025

6:17 (17 chalakim) AM

Thu

Adar

Thursday

February 27, 2025

7:02 (0 chalakim) PM

Fri / Shabbat

Nissan

Shabbat

March 29, 2025

7:46 (1 chelek) AM

Sun

Iyar

Sunday

April 27, 2025

8:30 (2 chalakim) PM

Mon / Tue

Sivan

Tuesday

May 27, 2025

9:14 (3 chalakim) AM

Wed

Tamuz

Wednesday

June 25, 2025

9:58 (4 chalakim) PM

Thu / Fri

Av

Friday

July 25, 2025

10:42 (5 chalakim) AM

Shabbat

Elul

Shabbat

August 23, 2025

11:26 (6 chalakim) PM

Sun / Mon


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Molad Times for 5786 (2025-2026)

Molad for Month of

Day of Week

Date

Time

Rosh Chodesh

Tishrei

Monday

September 22, 2025

12:10 (7 chalakim) PM

Tue

Cheshvan

Wednesday

October 22, 2025

12:54 (8 chalakim) AM

Wed / Thu

Kislev

Thursday

November 20, 2025

1:38 (9 chalakim) PM

Fri

Tevet

Shabbat

December 20, 2025

2:22 (10 chalakim) AM

Shabbat / Sun

Shevat

Sunday

January 18, 2026

3:06 (11 chalakim) PM

Mon

Adar

Tuesday

February 17, 2026

3:50 (12 chalakim) AM

Tue / Wed

Nissan

Wednesday

March 18, 2026

4:34 (13 chelek) PM

Thu

Iyar

Friday

April 17, 2026

5:18 (14 chalakim) AM

Fri / Shabbat

Sivan

Shabbat

May 16, 2026

6:02 (15 chalakim) PM

Sun

Tamuz

Monday

June 15, 2026

6:46 (16 chalakim) AM

Mon / Tue

Av

Tuesday

July 14, 2026

7:30 (17 chalakim) PM

Wed

Elul

Thursday

August 13, 2026

8:15 (0 chalakim) AM

Thu / Fri

What Is the Molad?

The Jewish calendar is lunar-based, with each month representing one lunar cycle — the time it takes for the moon to complete one orbit around the earth.

The molad is the time of the moon's "birth." There is a point in the moon's orbit in which it is positioned directly between the earth and the sun, making it invisible to anyone standing on earth's surface. The molad occurs when the moon has moved far enough from this position that a thin crescent of its illuminated surface becomes visible, marking the start of a new Jewish month.

The time it takes for the moon to complete one orbit around the earth — as calculated by sages and confirmed by astronomical observation — is 29 days, 12 hours and 793 chalakim (there are 1,080 chalakim or "parts" in an hour, hence a chelek is 3.33... seconds). This represents the average time from molad to molad. The actual moment at which the moon becomes visible will vary slightly from the average molad, depending on the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun to each other at any given month, where on earth the observer is standing, the length of twilight at given seasons of the year, and other astronomical variables.

For this reason the Jewish calendar is “tweaked” so that Rosh Chodesh — the first of the month — is as close as possible to the time in which the moon would actually be seen in Jerusalem if we were still relying on actual observation of the moon to establish the start of a new month (as was done until the 5th century C.E.). Also, because a month has to be made up of whole days, the Jewish month alternates between 29 and 30 days. This is why Rosh Chodesh will often occur a day or more after the average molad.