Frequently asked questions
Hebrew birthdays, yahrzeits, and how your Family Luach calendar works.
Hebrew dates
How do I find my Hebrew birthday?
Enter your date of birth in the free Hebrew birthday calculator, and tick born after sunset if you were born in the evening. It shows your Hebrew birthday, the regular dates it falls on for the next ten years, and your bar or bat mitzvah date. Nothing you enter there is saved.
How is a yahrzeit date calculated?
A yahrzeit is kept on the Hebrew date of the death, so the regular date moves from year to year. The yahrzeit calculator and the calendar maker turn the date of passing into a Hebrew date and find it in each coming year, following Hebcal's yahrzeit rules. Both use the date of death, not the date of burial. Some families have a different custom for the first yahrzeit, for example when the burial was several days later, so ask your rabbi.
What if the birth or death was after sunset?
A Hebrew day starts at sundown, so after sunset the Hebrew date is already the next day. Tick after sunset in the calculators or in the calendar maker, and the Hebrew date moves one day later. If you are not sure of the time, you can enter the Hebrew date directly if your family knows it.
What happens to an Adar birthday or yahrzeit in a leap year?
Dates from Adar I or Adar II of a leap year stay in that same Adar. For a date from Adar of a regular year, Family Luach puts a yahrzeit in Adar I by default (Ashkenazic custom, Rema 568:7, the same as Hebcal) and a birthday or anniversary in Adar II, the standard practice. You can switch all the yahrzeits on your calendar to Adar II with one setting, or change any single person, and that person's choice always wins. See Adar I or Adar II yahrzeit for the customs and sources.
What about dates on 30 Cheshvan or 30 Kislev?
Cheshvan and Kislev have only 29 days in some years. In those years the date is moved following Hebcal's rules, and the check list in the calendar maker shows a note on it so you can check it before you print.
Making your calendar
Can I mix Hebrew and English dates?
Yes. Each person can have a regular date, which needs the year, or a Hebrew date, where the year is optional. You can mix both kinds in one list, typed in one by one, pasted as a list, or uploaded as a spreadsheet with the CSV template. A check list shows the Hebrew date found for each person and the day it lands on.
Which years does the calendar cover?
Each calendar has 12 months. You pick the first month, anywhere from September 2026 to December 2027, so it can follow the Hebrew year 5787, run January to December 2027, or cover much of 5788. Each month shows the Hebrew months it spans.
Can I add Shabbos candle lighting times for my city?
Yes. Enter your ZIP code or city and the calendar shows candle lighting and havdalah for that place on every Friday, Shabbos and Yom Tov. Candle lighting can be 18, 20, 30 or 40 minutes before sunset, or your own number, and havdalah can be at nightfall (8.5 degrees) or a set number of minutes after sunset, and you can choose Diaspora or Israel customs for holidays and Torah readings. Times are for planning, so check with your rabbi.
What is on each page?
The calendar has 26 A4 pages: a front cover, a photo page and a month grid for each of the 12 months, and a back cover. Every day shows the Hebrew date, and the grids show the parsha, holidays, Rosh Chodesh, fast times and your family's dates. See how it works for the full list.
What photos can I use?
You can add one photo for each month, as JPEG, PNG or WebP files up to 20 MB. You can zoom and move each photo to crop it. Photos of at least 1600 by 1200 pixels print best, and months without a photo keep a decorative picture.
Price, printing and gifts
Is it free?
Designing your calendar, previewing all 26 pages and downloading the PDFs are free, with no account. A printed copy is $25 with free US shipping, plus any sales tax. The calculators on this site are free as well.
Can I order a printed copy?
Choose Order printed copy in the calendar maker, pick how many copies, then enter a US shipping address, choose free or faster shipping, and pay on Stripe's secure checkout page. A printed copy is $25 with free US shipping, plus any sales tax. You see the full calendar in the preview before you pay, and there is nothing to approve after you order. We check each order by hand before it goes to print, and it is usually printed and shipped within 5 business days.
What is the printed calendar like?
It is an A4 wall calendar (11.7 by 8.3 inches) with 26 pages on 300gsm silk paper and a wire binding. It prints exactly the pages you see in the preview, without the watermark. Your order page shows the status and tracking once it ships.
Can I cancel, or get a refund or reprint?
You can cancel for a full refund until your order is sent to the printer. Email support@familyluach.com with your order number. If your calendar arrives damaged, misprinted or never arrives, we reprint it or refund you, your choice. See our refund and reprint policy for the details.
Can I make a calendar as a gift?
Yes. It works well as a gift for grandparents or parents, with the family photos and everyone's Hebrew dates on it. You can enter the recipient's address at checkout to send the printed copy straight to them. See a calendar as a gift for how to collect the family's dates.
Privacy and email
Do I need an account?
No. Your browser keeps a random calendar ID so it reopens your calendar when you come back, and your changes save on their own. Use the same browser and device to keep editing it.
Is my family's information private? Can I delete it?
Your calendar, dates and photos are saved on our server so you can come back and edit them. We do not sell your data or share it with advertisers. Use the Delete my calendar button in the calendar maker to remove your calendar, its photos and any reminder sign-up. Read the privacy page for the details.
Can I get birthday and yahrzeit reminder emails?
You can sign up in the calendar maker by entering your email and ticking the consent box, which starts unticked. Reminder emails are not being sent yet. When they start, they will come before the Hebrew birthdays and yahrzeits on your calendar, and every email will have an unsubscribe link. You can also stop them at any time with the Stop reminder emails button.
How do I contact you?
Email support@familyluach.com with questions, corrections or ideas. If you can no longer open your calendar and want it deleted, email us and we will delete it.