Shabbat Times in Los Angeles
Shabbat arrives in Los Angeles with a Pacific sunset that changes dramatically through the year. The calculator below is preset to Los Angeles, showing this week’s candle-lighting time, sunset, Havdalah, and Torah portion for the LA area, with Pacific Time and daylight saving handled automatically.
Candle Lighting in Los Angeles
Los Angeles follows the standard 18-minute candle-lighting custom before astronomical sunset. Sunset in LA ranges from about 4:44 PM in early December to about 8:08 PM in late June, one of the wider seasonal swings among major American Jewish communities.
Because Los Angeles sits near the western edge of its time zone, its Shabbat times start later than New York’s by roughly three hours on the clock. Communities in the Pico-Robertson, Fairfax, and Valley areas all share essentially the same times.
Havdalah in Los Angeles
Havdalah follows nightfall, calculated by default at the 8.5-degree solar depression standard. Angelenos who follow the 42, 50, or 72-minute customs can change the setting in the calculator above.
Shabbat Times for Nearby Communities
Nearby options include San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Phoenix in the Southwest. For any city worldwide, use the main Shabbat candle-lighting times tool.
Planning Around Shabbat in Los Angeles
LA traffic is a Friday institution, so plan drives to reach home well before candle lighting, which in midwinter falls near 4:30 PM. Summer Shabbatot begin late, leaving long Friday afternoons. For Hebrew birthdays, bar and bat mitzvah dates, or yahrzeit anniversaries, try our Jewish birthday calculator and the other free tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is candle lighting in Los Angeles this Friday?
Use the calculator on this page for this week’s exact times. In late December, candle lighting in Los Angeles is near 4:28 PM, and in late June it is near 7:48 PM.
Is Los Angeles on the same clock as New York?
No. Los Angeles follows Pacific Time, three hours behind New York’s Eastern Time, so the same sunset happens three clock hours later in Los Angeles.
Do Shabbat times vary across Los Angeles neighborhoods?
Sunset varies by only a few minutes across the Los Angeles basin, and coastal areas see sunset slightly later than inland areas. The calculator uses central Los Angeles coordinates, which matches the times published for the city as a whole.