Shabbat and shuls in Zichron Yaakov

Zichron has shuls of every stripe, an English-speaking Modern Orthodox community, a Masorti congregation and a Reform one. My Shabbat page shows this week's times for Zichron.

Candle lighting: 30 minutes

The times on this site use 30 minutes before sunset, which is Hebcal's documented default for Zichron ("40 minutes for Jerusalem, 30 minutes for Haifa and Zikhron Ya'akov") (Hebcal (opens in a new tab)). For example, Hebcal lists candle lighting on Friday 9 October 2026 at 17:44 (Hebcal, Zichron (opens in a new tab)). I could not read the religious council's own table, so if your shul publishes a different time, follow your shul.

Ohel Yaakov

The historic Ohel Yaakov synagogue was built in 1886 by Baron Rothschild and named after his father, Jacob. The council calls it the largest and most ornate synagogue of the Baron's colonies (council (opens in a new tab)). It stands at the northern end of the Midrachov, holds daily services and is the town's central synagogue (nusach Ashkenaz) (Hebrew Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)).

English-speaking communities and classes

• Moed is Modern Orthodox and open to all, with Shabbat and holiday services at 100 HaMeyasdim St (Moed (opens in a new tab)). NBN calls it "mostly an Anglo-Dati Leumi synagogue" (NBN (opens in a new tab)). Its weekly English classes include a Thursday-morning Parsha class at the library (4 HaDagan St) and a Friday 08:15 "Tefila Boot Camp" at Cafe Tishbi.
• Kehillat Ve'Ahavta (Masorti) is at 1 HaShmura St, 2nd floor (room 317), with a lift. Friday-evening services run 17:00-18:15 in winter and 18:00-19:15 in summer (Masorti (opens in a new tab)). Its English Beit Midrash meets on Mondays 09:00-10:30, with no registration needed.
• Matan women's learning meets on Wednesday mornings at the Neve HaBaron synagogue (council (opens in a new tab)).
• The Chabad House is at 4 HaMeyasdim St (Lubavitch.com (opens in a new tab)).

The neighbourhood shuls

The religious council's synagogue list has 20 general synagogues, 8 belonging to the Merkaz LeChinuch Torani group, a home minyan, a Chabad synagogue (3 Eliyahu Hakim St, Ramat Tzvi) and two non-Orthodox communities, Sulam Yaakov (Reform) and Ve'Ahavta (religious council list, PDF (opens in a new tab)). That list dates from 2018 and gives no times, and several shuls on it hold a Shabbat and Yom Tov minyan only. Everything is in the shul directory; ask a gabbai for current times.

The eruv: pending local confirmation

I want to be straight about this. The religious council says it runs the eruv, and its site gives an inspector's line for reporting a tear or fault: 055-6755523 (religious council (opens in a new tab)). I could not find a current eruv map or a description of its boundaries, so I am not saying which streets are inside it. Until a local confirms it, ask your shul's rabbi before you carry. If you know the current eruv details, please tell me.

The religious council and the rabbinate

The Zichron Yaakov Religious Council (04-6390712, Sun-Thu 09:00-14:30) handles kashrut, mikvaot, synagogues, the eruv and burial (religious council (opens in a new tab)). The town's chief rabbi is Rabbi Mordechai Abramovsky (council (opens in a new tab)).

Shabbat outings

Ramat HaNadiv is open on Saturdays from 08:00 until half an hour after sunset; the Rothschild crypt is closed on Saturdays and holiday eves (Ramat HaNadiv (opens in a new tab)). The mikvaot are listed low-key in the directory.