The new service, called Zmanim Express (zmanim means “times” in Hebrew) is being offered by Beit El’s Yeshiva.org.il. For half a shekel per request, anyone in Israel may use their telephone’s text messaging SMS feature to receive immediate accurate information on every aspect of the Jewish calendar.

The service is currently available in Hebrew only, though the programmers are already working on an English version as well. “The programming must take into account all the variations in spelling of everything from the names of Israeli cities to abbreviations and transliteration of Hebrew terms,” says Ezra Cohen, one of the service’s developers. “In the meantime, phones can easily be adjusted to send SMS messages in Hebrew, and anybody who emails can be notified when the English version is available.”

Currently, the service operates as follows (adjust encoding on your web browser to "Hebrew Windows" if Hebrew is not displayed): A customer types ??? or ???? followed by the requested information – for example ????? ??? or ??? ??? ????? ??? ??"? – followed by the place (???????? or ????? ????? for example) followed by the requested day or date. The information is then sent to 1315. Seconds later an answer will be received with the requested times or information for the day or week asked about.

The system can be tried out for free on its Hebrew web site (English listed below).

Covered by the service are times for sunrise, putting on tallit and laying tefillin, dawn, latest time for reciting Kriat Shma or the Amidah (either according to the Magen Avraham or the Gra), hatzot, mincha gedola and ketana, plag hamincha, sunset, tzeit hakochavim (according to Rabbeinu Tam and otherwise), the entry and exit of the Sabbath, and the translation of any civil date to the corresponding Hebrew one.

Also available is Daf Yomi information - the assigned pages for the day in the worldwide coordinated effort to study the Babylonian or Jerusalem Talmud and the Mishneh Berurah.

“We saw that such a service was provided by Egged [Israel’s main bus company –ed.] to keep travelers informed on schedule times and places, and knew there needed to be such a service to provide such information on spiritual matters as well,” Cohen says.

For more information, or to be informed when the English service is made available, email BeitEl@Yeshiva.org.il or click here.