In Jewish tradition the day a righteous person — a tzadik — passed away is not only a day of mourning. It is called a hilula (הילולא, "celebration"), a day when the tzadik's teaching and life are remembered, a candle is lit, Psalms are said in his merit, and many people visit his resting place. The best-known example is Lag BaOmer, the hilula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, but almost every day of the Hebrew year is the hilula of someone.

Why the date moves every year

A hilula is kept on the Hebrew date of the passing, not the civil one. Because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, the same Hebrew date lands on a different civil date each year — sometimes weeks apart. In a leap year there are two months of Adar, and the custom is to keep an Adar yahrzeit in the second Adar. That is why "when is the hilula of…" is such a common question, and why a printed list from last year will not tell you.

A calendar for the whole year

We built hilulot.com to answer exactly that. It covers 1,575 hilulot across every day of the Hebrew year:

  • A page for every day — for example, everyone whose hilula falls on a given date, with that day's civil date this year.
  • A page for every month, and a page for every tzadik with the Hebrew date of the hilula and the next time it falls in the civil calendar.
  • Short biographies for more than a thousand of the names, each checked against its source so that the date of passing in the biography matches the date in the calendar.

Names that appear twice in the calendar are handled carefully: sometimes two different people a generation apart share a name, and a biography is shown only under the date it was verified for.

Reminders at nightfall

A Hebrew day begins at nightfall, so a hilula begins the evening before its civil date. The Hilulot HaTzadikim app for Android — and the web version, as a notification — reminds you in the evening, at the appearance of the stars, about the hilulot of the day that is about to begin. You can add the tzadikim you are connected to and get a personal reminder for each one.

Out of respect for Shabbat and the festivals, no reminders are sent on those days: the reminder for a hilula that falls then goes out on the weekday before, and the app itself closes from candle lighting until the end of Shabbat.

More than a list

  • Light a candle for the elevation of the tzadik's soul and see how many others have done so.
  • Psalms by name — the verses of Psalm 119 that spell out the tzadik's name.
  • The day's details in advanced mode: the Hebrew date, the day's prayers, haftarah, song of the day and halachic times — each with its source.
  • Hebrew and English — the app follows your device's language.

Related: Zera Shimshon

If you are interested in the teachings of the tzadikim, you may also like Zera Shimshon, the classic commentary on the Torah and the five Megillot by Rabbi Shimshon Chaim Nachmani — the full book online, with search and read-aloud, organised by the weekly Torah portion.

The calendar and biographies are for learning and remembrance. For practical halachic questions, please ask your rabbi.