How to read a Hebrew date: day, month and year
Read Hebrew date labels step by step, including letter numerals, the special forms for 15 and 16 and the often omitted thousands.
Find the three parts before converting
A complete Hebrew date gives a day, a named month and a year. In a Hebrew-script date, the day and year may be written as letters with numerical values. For example, ט״ו בתשרי תשפ״ז represents 15 Tishrei 5787. Hebcal’s verified conversion places that date on 26 September 2026 during the daytime portion of the Hebrew date.
Begin by separating the three parts rather than trying to pronounce or translate the whole string at once. The middle element identifies the month; the ב attached to it means “in.” Then decode the number before it and the year after it. In a mixed-direction document, copy the components into separate fields so the visual order does not become a transcription error.
Source notes: Hebcal · 15 Tishrei 5787 conversion and Hebrew label · Hebcal · Hebrew Date Converter conventions
Letters can stand for numbers
Hebcal’s numeral chart assigns א through ט the values 1 through 9, י the value 10, and the following letters the tens and hundreds. For a date, add the values of the letters in the day label. Thus כ״א is 20 + 1, or 21, while ל׳ is 30. Punctuation marks distinguish a numeral or abbreviation from an ordinary word.
Read the punctuation as a cue, not as another number. A single-letter numeral often ends with a geresh, as in ל׳; a multi-letter numeral uses gershayim before its final letter, as in כ״א. Typed material sometimes substitutes apostrophes or quotation marks. If you are digitizing a document, retain a photograph or exact transcription beside your normalized numeric reading.
Source notes: Hebcal · Numerical values of Hebrew letters
Recognize the special forms for 15 and 16
The conventional numeral for 15 is ט״ו, which adds 9 and 6. For 16 it is ט״ז, adding 9 and 7. Hebcal explains that these forms avoid the divine-name combinations that would result from writing ten plus five or ten plus six. They are ordinary date notation, not an error in addition or an alternate day count.
This is a useful point to practise because the numbers occur in prominent date names and ordinary records alike. If you have memorized only the most direct ten-plus-unit pattern, the fifteenth and sixteenth can look unexpected. Read the actual letter values and recognize the convention. Once decoded, keep the plain day number beside the original form so another reader can check your work.
Source notes: Hebcal · Numerical values of Hebrew letters
Add back the thousands when the context supports it
Modern Hebrew year labels often omit the thousands. In תשפ״ז, the values are 400 + 300 + 80 + 7 = 787. In the present millennium, the complete year is 5787. The omitted 5000 is a writing convention; it does not mean the event occurred in year 787. Hebcal’s examples explicitly demonstrate this practice with modern dates.
Context still matters for an old inscription. Do not assume that every abbreviated year belongs to the present millennium merely because a modern converter does. Check the document’s period, provenance and surrounding dates. If the source does not establish the millennium, record that uncertainty. A careful archive entry distinguishes what the inscription says from what you inferred in order to convert it.
Source notes: Hebcal · Numerical values of Hebrew letters · Hebcal · 15 Tishrei 5787 conversion and Hebrew label
Keep the month name and the Adar distinction
A named month is safer than an unexplained number, since calendars can be arranged from Nisan or from Tishrei. Transliteration also varies: a date may use Iyyar instead of Iyar or Teves instead of Tevet. Hebcal documents these aliases. They can help you recognize a name, but you should preserve the original spelling when the record itself matters.
In a leap year, check carefully for א׳ or ב׳ after Adar, indicating Adar I or Adar II. A missing distinction should remain visible in your notes until another source resolves it. A converter may choose a default for unspecific “Adar,” so successful software output is not proof that you have read the original correctly. Input interpretation deserves attention before conversion.
Source notes: Hebcal · Hebrew Date Converter conventions
Check the reading, then save both versions
After decoding, convert the full day, month and year and compare the result with any civil date on the same record. A disagreement might reveal a misread letter, an incorrect millennium, an unlabeled Adar or a different evening boundary. Investigate the specific mismatch instead of adjusting whichever component makes the result look familiar.
For a usable personal record, save four things together: the original label, its plain-language reading, the corresponding civil date and the source of the conversion. If you are unsure about a handwritten character, say which one. This keeps the result easy to find without hiding the evidence. The goal is a date another person can understand and reproduce, not merely a neat-looking transcription.
Source notes: Hebcal · 15 Tishrei 5787 conversion and Hebrew label · Hebcal · Hebrew Date Converter conventions
