Zmanim Today: The Halachic Times, What Each One Means, and Why Your Town Matters
Zmanim are the halachic times of the day, set by the sun where you are. In Brooklyn today, Tuesday 6 October 2026 (25 Tishrei 5787): netz 6:57 AM, sof zman Shema 9:14 AM (Magen Avraham) or 9:50 AM (GRA), chatzos 12:43 PM, mincha gedola 1:12 PM, plag 5:17 PM, shkia 6:29 PM, tzeis 7:10 PM. A town a few hours' drive away, in the same time zone, can differ by 13 minutes, so always check your own place.
Today's zmanim in Brooklyn
Worked out each time this page is drawn, for Brooklyn, NY, the same way LeHallel's Zmanim room counts them (the minute is shown without rounding up). For another town, open the Zmanim room and choose your place.
| Zman | Time |
|---|---|
| Alos hashachar | 5:36 AM |
| Misheyakir (tallis and tefillin) | 6:01 AM |
| Netz (sunrise) | 6:57 AM |
| Sof zman Shema, Magen Avraham | 9:14 AM |
| Sof zman Shema, GRA | 9:50 AM |
| Sof zman Tefillah, Magen Avraham | 10:24 AM |
| Sof zman Tefillah, GRA | 10:48 AM |
| Chatzos (midday) | 12:43 PM |
| Mincha gedola | 1:12 PM |
| Mincha ketana | 4:05 PM |
| Plag hamincha | 5:17 PM |
| Shkia (sunset) | 6:29 PM |
| Tzeis hakochavim (8.5°) | 7:10 PM |
Checked against Hebcal
We read LeHallel's zmanim for Brooklyn, NY on 1 October 2026, then the same day and place on Hebcal, a widely used Jewish calendar. Every pair below is the same moment shown two ways: the largest gap is one minute, and it comes from rounding, explained further down.
| Zman | LeHallel | Hebcal |
|---|---|---|
| Alos hashachar | 5:31 AM | 5:32 AM |
| Misheyakir (tallis and tefillin) | 5:56 AM | 5:56 AM |
| Netz (sunrise) | 6:52 AM | 6:52 AM |
| Sof zman Shema, Magen Avraham | 9:12 AM | 9:13 AM |
| Sof zman Shema, GRA | 9:48 AM | 9:49 AM |
| Sof zman Tefillah, Magen Avraham | 10:23 AM | 10:24 AM |
| Sof zman Tefillah, GRA | 10:47 AM | 10:48 AM |
| Chatzos (midday) | 12:45 PM | 12:45 PM |
| Mincha gedola | 1:14 PM | 1:14 PM |
| Mincha ketana | 4:10 PM | 4:11 PM |
| Plag hamincha | 5:24 PM | 5:24 PM |
| Shkia (sunset) | 6:37 PM | 6:38 PM |
| Tzeis hakochavim (8.5°) | 7:18 PM | 7:18 PM |
The days around that one, for the same place: candle lighting on Friday 2 October (erev Shabbos and Shmini Atzeres) is 6:18 PM; on Shabbos night, for the second day of yom tov, candles are lit after 7:15 PM; and havdalah on Sunday 4 October, after Simchas Torah, is 7:13 PM. LeHallel's Zmanim room and Hebcal's Shabbos times agreed on all three.
What each zman means
The names are old; the definitions below are the ones LeHallel's Zmanim room uses, and they match Hebcal's for the same opinions. Where opinions differ (and they do), follow your rav and your shul.
| Zman | What it is | How it is set |
|---|---|---|
| Alos hashachar | Dawn | The sun 16.1 degrees below the horizon, before sunrise |
| Misheyakir | The earliest time for tallis and tefillin | The sun 11.5 degrees below the horizon |
| Netz | Sunrise | The sun at the horizon |
| Sof zman Shema | The last time to say the morning Shema | The end of the third halachic hour (GRA: from netz to shkia; Magen Avraham: from a fixed 72 minutes before netz to 72 minutes after shkia, as in Hebcal's standard Magen Avraham times, not from the 16.1-degree alos above) |
| Sof zman Tefillah | The last time for the morning Shemoneh Esrei | The end of the fourth halachic hour, by the same two opinions |
| Chatzos | Midday | Halfway between netz and shkia |
| Mincha gedola | The earliest time for Mincha | Six and a half halachic hours into the day |
| Mincha ketana | The later time for Mincha | Nine and a half halachic hours |
| Plag hamincha | One and a quarter halachic hours before the end of the day | Ten and three-quarter halachic hours |
| Shkia | Sunset | The sun at the horizon |
| Tzeis hakochavim | Nightfall | The sun 8.5 degrees below the horizon |
The Shulchan Aruch sets the end of the morning Shema in these words (Orach Chaim 58:1, Sefaria's community translation): "It continues until the end of three [halachic] hours, which is a fourth of the day[light]." Everything else in the table follows from how "the day" is counted.
Halachic hours: why the times move
A halachic hour (sha'ah zmanis) is not sixty minutes. It is the length of the day divided into twelve. On a long summer day each hour is long; on a short winter day each is short. So sof zman Shema, the end of the third hour, moves through the year, and so does every zman counted in hours.
Through the year
How far do the times move? We read LeHallel's zmanim for Brooklyn on the first of each month from October 2026 to September 2027. Shkia moves from 4:29 PM at the start of December to 8:30 PM at the start of July. Sof zman Shema (GRA) moves much less, between about 9:02 and 9:49 AM, because it sits early in the day.
Two practical results. In winter, Mincha comes early: with shkia at 4:29 PM on 1 December, an office Mincha needs planning. And Shema moves less than people expect: on the clock it ends between 9:02 AM (1 November, just after the clocks go back) and 9:49 AM (1 April), so the same morning routine can be early in one month and late in another. By the Magen Avraham it ends 36 minutes earlier on 1 October, and the gap changes through the year.
Your town matters
Zmanim are local. On 1 October 2026, Hebcal had sunset at 6:38 PM in Brooklyn, 6:39 PM in Lakewood, NJ, and 6:51 PM in Silver Spring, MD: thirteen minutes later, though all three share a time zone. Using Brooklyn's times in Silver Spring would end Shabbos thirteen minutes early.
LeHallel's Zmanim room starts from a city that matches the phone's time zone (for Eastern time, Brooklyn, NY), and the place name at the top opens a choice: "Use my location", or a city from the list. If you live anywhere other than the city shown, choose Use my location, or check a calendar set to your own town.
| Community | Netz | Sof zman Shema (MGA / GRA) | Shkia | Tzeis (8.5°) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn, NY | 6:52 AM | 9:13 / 9:49 AM | 6:38 PM | 7:18 PM |
| Cedarhurst, NY (Five Towns) | 6:51 AM | 9:12 / 9:48 AM | 6:37 PM | 7:17 PM |
| Monsey, NY | 6:53 AM | 9:13 / 9:49 AM | 6:38 PM | 7:19 PM |
| Teaneck, NJ | 6:53 AM | 9:13 / 9:49 AM | 6:38 PM | 7:18 PM |
| Lakewood, NJ | 6:53 AM | 9:14 / 9:50 AM | 6:39 PM | 7:19 PM |
| Pikesville, MD (Baltimore) | 7:03 AM | 9:24 / 10:00 AM | 6:49 PM | 7:29 PM |
| Toronto | 7:15 AM | 9:35 / 10:11 AM | 6:58 PM | 7:41 PM |
| Chicago, IL | 6:48 AM | 9:08 / 9:44 AM | 6:32 PM | 7:13 PM |
| Los Angeles, CA | 6:48 AM | 9:09 / 9:45 AM | 6:37 PM | 7:14 PM |
| Jerusalem | 6:33 AM | 8:55 / 9:31 AM | 6:24 PM | 7:00 PM |
These are Hebcal's times, rounded to the nearest minute (so Brooklyn's shkia shows 6:38 here and 6:37 in LeHallel's room; see rounding and margins below), for one point in each community. A large community spans a minute or more from one end to the other; your shul's luach is the one to follow.
The last minute: rounding and margins
Why does LeHallel say shkia is 6:37 PM and Hebcal 6:38 PM? Because sunset in Brooklyn that day was at 6:37 and 46 seconds. LeHallel shows the minute in which a zman falls; Hebcal rounds to the nearest minute. Both are honest. Every one-minute difference in the table above is this rounding.
It matters in one direction. For a zman that ends something (sof zman Shema, sof zman Tefillah, shkia), a minute shown early is on the careful side. For a zman that starts something (netz, mincha gedola, tzeis), the exact moment can be up to a minute after the minute shown. The simple rule:
- Check the place first. Make sure the times are for your town, not a city nearby.
- Know which opinion you follow for Shema and Tefillah (GRA or Magen Avraham), and read that line.
- Never plan to the last minute. Any printed or online zman is a calculation for one spot. Leave a margin for anything close.
- For a time that starts something, wait past the minute shown.
- For Shabbos and yom tov, use your community's candle-lighting and havdalah times, which add their own margin.
- When in doubt, ask your rav. How much margin to leave, and which opinion to follow, is his to say.
A zman with what goes with it
A time is only useful if you know what to do with it. LeHallel's Zmanim room puts the next zman's halacha, tefillah and shiurim right under it.
That afternoon, the room offered the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch's siman on Mincha (69), the Mincha tefillah in the siddur, and 1,218 approved shiurim on tefillah. Below it, a season section for Sukkos: the Kitzur on the sukkah (134 to 135) and on lulav and esrog (136 to 137), 674 Sukkos shiurim, 895 shiurim on Masechta Sukkah, 298 on the halachos of yom tov, and the Kitzur on candles for erev Shabbos (75).
Questions people ask
What are today's zmanim in Brooklyn?
Today, Tuesday 6 October 2026 (25 Tishrei 5787): netz 6:57 AM, sof zman Shema 9:14 AM (Magen Avraham) or 9:50 AM (GRA), chatzos 12:43 PM, mincha gedola 1:12 PM, plag 5:17 PM, shkia 6:29 PM, tzeis 7:10 PM.
What is sof zman Shema?
The last time to say the morning Shema: the end of the third halachic hour of the day. The GRA counts the day from netz to shkia; the Magen Avraham from 72 minutes before netz to 72 minutes after shkia, so his time is earlier.
What is the difference between the GRA and the Magen Avraham?
How the day is counted for halachic hours. On 1 October 2026 in Brooklyn it made sof zman Shema 9:48 AM (GRA) or 9:12 AM (Magen Avraham). Follow your rav and your shul.
Why are the zmanim different in the next town?
Because the sun rises and sets at different moments in different places, even in one time zone. Sunset on 1 October 2026 was 6:38 PM in Brooklyn and 6:51 PM in Silver Spring, MD (Hebcal).
What time is candle lighting this Friday?
In Brooklyn on Friday 9 October 2026: 6:06 PM, 18 minutes before sunset. Use your own community's time where you live.
What is plag hamincha?
Ten and three-quarter halachic hours into the day: 5:24 PM in Brooklyn on 1 October 2026. Some daven Maariv or light Shabbos candles from plag; ask your rav.
Why does one calendar say 6:37 and another 6:38?
Rounding. Sunset that day was at 6:37 and 46 seconds; one shows the minute it falls in, the other rounds to the nearest minute. Never plan to the last minute.
How do I get zmanim for my own location?
In LeHallel's Zmanim room, press the place name at the top and choose "Use my location", or use a calendar such as Hebcal set to your town.
Sources
- LeHallel, zmanim for Brooklyn, NY, 1 October 2026, the answer its Zmanim room shows (read 1 October 2026), and the 1st of each month to September 2027 (the chart above).
- Hebcal, zmanim for Brooklyn, 1 October 2026, and for Lakewood, NJ and Silver Spring, MD the same day (read 1 October 2026).
- Hebcal, Shabbat times for Brooklyn (read 1 October 2026): candles 6:18 PM on 2 October, 7:15 PM on 3 October, havdalah 7:13 PM on 4 October.
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 58:1, on Sefaria (Sefaria Community Translation, read 1 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, Zmanim (read 1 October 2026).
- NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculator (read 1 October 2026).
- LeHallel, the Zmanim room, the whole day and the place choice, opened in a real browser at iPhone size on 1 October 2026 (the pictures above).
- LeHallel, FAQ (read 1 October 2026): "No card is taken anywhere on this site"; every video "plays through YouTube's official player"; "YouTube may show its own ad on some of those videos."