shabbat-times_skill

Overview

This skill provides programmatic access to Jewish calendar data and Shabbat times using the Hebcal API. It returns candle lighting, havdalah, parashot, holidays, Hebrew date conversion, and optional zmanim for a given location. Use it to add accurate, timezone-aware Jewish calendar features to web and mobile apps.

How this skill works

The skill calls Hebcal endpoints (shabbat, hebcal, converter) with parameters like geonameid or latitude/longitude and tzid to fetch JSON responses. It parses items into structured fields (candle lighting, havdalah, parsha, holiday list, Hebrew date) and can be wrapped in a React hook or server function for caching. Responses include ISO datetimes and categories that make it easy to extract specific events.

When to use it

• Display daily or weekly Shabbat candle lighting and havdalah times in an app or website
• Show upcoming Jewish holidays, special Shabbatot, and weekly parsha
• Convert Gregorian dates to Hebrew dates for calendars and labels
• Calculate local zmanim or include timezone-aware event reminders
• Populate notification schedules for community or synagogue apps

Best practices

• Prefer GeoNames ID for reliable location lookup; fall back to latitude/longitude when needed
• Always set tzid for correct local times and daylight-saving handling
• Cache API responses for a day to reduce calls and improve performance
• Validate and normalize API items by category (candles, havdalah, parashat, holiday) before use
• Present both human-friendly times and ISO datetimes for downstream scheduling

Example use cases

• A synagogue app showing this week’s candle lighting and havdalah with push reminders
• A calendar view combining Gregorian and Hebrew dates with holiday markings
• A travel app that shows local Shabbat times for users visiting different cities
• A content site that displays the weekly parsha and links to study materials
• An automation that schedules community emails based on upcoming Jewish holidays