By Solomon Wiesen, TLV Beaches. Last reviewed October 2026.
Spending Shabbat in Tel Aviv? You will want two things: this week’s exact candle lighting and havdalah times, and a plan for the beach, since Saturday is the busiest beach day of the week. Both are below. After you attend synagogue, of course.
Shabbat times in Tel Aviv this week
These times update automatically every week, courtesy of Hebcal:
Tel Aviv Shabbat times according to Chabad
Prefer Chabad’s listings? Their Tel Aviv candle lighting page shows the same weekly times with their own halachic calculations, and you can print a full year of times there.
What time does Shabbat start and end in Tel Aviv?
Shabbat begins on Friday at candle lighting, a few minutes before sunset, and lasts about 25 hours, ending on Saturday night once three stars are out. In practice, havdalah in Tel Aviv falls roughly an hour after Friday’s candle lighting time.
Through the year, Friday candle lighting in Tel Aviv moves with the sunset: around 16:15 to 16:30 in midwinter, and around 19:25 to 19:35 at the height of summer. Always check the live times above for the current week, and note that Israel changes its clocks for daylight saving, which shifts the times by an hour in late March and late October.
Is the beach open on Shabbat?
Yes. The Tel Aviv beaches are open seven days a week, and during the bathing season the municipality’s lifeguard hours apply on Shabbat too. What changes is getting there: most buses and trains stop from Friday afternoon until Saturday night, and the city runs the free Na’im BeSofash weekend bus network instead. The full details, including lifeguard season dates, the free bus lines, parking and which beach restaurants stay open, are in our guide to the Tel Aviv beaches on Shabbat.
Can you go to the beach on Shabbat, according to Jewish custom?
That depends on your community and your rabbi. Many observant visitors walk along the Tayelet or sit on the sand on Shabbat afternoon without swimming, while others don’t go at all; questions of carrying, the eruv, and swimming are exactly the ones to ask your own rabbi about; our guide to the beach on Shabbat and the Tel Aviv eruv maps where the eruv ends at the coast. If you keep a stricter standard during the week as well, Tel Aviv also has the Nordau religious beach with separate swimming days for men and women.
Shabbat services near the beach
If you are staying near the water, there are several active synagogues within a short walk of the sand, with regular Friday night and Shabbat morning services. See our guide to Tel Aviv synagogues near the beach.
Times on this page come from Hebcal and Chabad.org. For lifeguard hours, see the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality’s official beaches page.
Solomon Wiesen is the author and photographer behind TLV Beaches. Originally from New York, he moved to Israel in 2011 and has lived in Tel Aviv since, a short walk from Bograshov Beach. He works in marketing, SEO, and startups.
Leave a Reply