Bar mitzvah suit calendar, October 2026 to June 2027: every Shabbos, and when to start
Updated October 2026 · Sam’s Menswear editorial team
A bar mitzvah suit should be started six to eight weeks before the Shabbos. That is early enough for an unhurried first appointment and one proper fitting, and late enough that a thirteen-year-old has not outgrown the measurements by the time he walks up to the bimah.
The suit itself takes three to four weeks. The extra weeks are for him: boys grow fastest right around thirteen, and the finishing fit belongs close to the date. The bar mitzvah suit that still fits in two years →
Every Shabbos, October to June
Toronto times from Hebcal. Candle lighting is 18 minutes before sunset; your community’s custom may differ. Check the parsha with your shul, since it depends on his Hebrew birthday and on the shul’s own calendar.
“Start” is the window from eight weeks to six weeks before. Where the arithmetic lands on a Saturday, the date shown is the Friday before.
| Shabbos | Parsha | Candles (Fri) | Havdalah | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10 | Bereishis | 6:26 pm | 7:25 pm | Inside six weeks: call |
| Oct 17 | Noach | 6:14 pm | 7:14 pm | Inside six weeks: call |
| Oct 24 | Lech Lecha | 6:03 pm | 7:03 pm | Inside six weeks: call |
| Oct 31 | Vayeira | 5:52 pm | 6:53 pm | Inside six weeks: call |
| Nov 7 | Chayei Sarah | 4:43 pm | 5:45 pm | Inside six weeks: call |
| Nov 14 | Toldos | 4:35 pm | 5:38 pm | By Fri 2 Oct, so call now |
| Nov 21 | Vayeitzei | 4:29 pm | 5:33 pm | Now – Oct 9 |
| Nov 28 | Vayishlach | 4:25 pm | 5:30 pm | Oct 2 – Oct 16 |
| Dec 5 · Shabbos Chanukah | Vayeishev | 4:22 pm | 5:28 pm | Oct 9 – Oct 23 |
| Dec 12 · Shabbos Chanukah | Mikeitz | 4:22 pm | 5:29 pm | Oct 16 – Oct 30 |
| Dec 19 | Vayigash | 4:24 pm | 5:31 pm | Oct 23 – Nov 6 |
| Dec 26 | Vayechi | 4:27 pm | 5:35 pm | Oct 30 – Nov 13 |
| Jan 2 | Shemos | 4:33 pm | 5:40 pm | Nov 6 – Nov 20 |
| Jan 9 | Va’eira | 4:40 pm | 5:47 pm | Nov 13 – Nov 27 |
| Jan 16 | Bo | 4:48 pm | 5:54 pm | Nov 20 – Dec 4 |
| Jan 23 · Shabbos Shirah | Beshalach | 4:56 pm | 6:02 pm | Nov 27 – Dec 11 |
| Jan 30 | Yisro | 5:06 pm | 6:11 pm | Dec 4 – Dec 18 |
| Feb 6 | Mishpatim | 5:15 pm | 6:20 pm | Dec 11 – Dec 25 |
| Feb 13 | Terumah | 5:25 pm | 6:29 pm | Dec 18 – Jan 1 |
| Feb 20 | Tetzaveh | 5:34 pm | 6:37 pm | Dec 25 – Jan 8 |
| Feb 27 | Ki Sisa | 5:44 pm | 6:46 pm | Jan 1 – Jan 15 |
| Mar 6 · Shekalim | Vayakhel | 5:53 pm | 6:55 pm | Jan 8 – Jan 22 |
| Mar 13 | Pekudei | 6:01 pm | 7:04 pm | Jan 15 – Jan 29 |
| Mar 20 · Zachor | Vayikra | 7:10 pm | 8:12 pm | Jan 22 – Feb 5 |
| Mar 27 · Parah | Tzav | 7:19 pm | 8:21 pm | Jan 29 – Feb 12 |
| Apr 3 · Shabbos HaChodesh | Shemini | 7:27 pm | 8:30 pm | Feb 5 – Feb 19 |
| Apr 10 | Tazria | 7:35 pm | 8:39 pm | Feb 12 – Feb 26 |
| Apr 17 · Shabbos HaGadol | Metzora | 7:44 pm | 8:49 pm | Feb 19 – Mar 5 |
| Apr 24 | Shabbos chol hamoed Pesach | |||
| May 1 | Acharei Mos | 8:00 pm | 9:08 pm | Mar 5 – Mar 19 |
| May 8 | Kedoshim | 8:09 pm | 9:17 pm | Mar 12 – Mar 26 |
| May 15 | Emor | 8:16 pm | 9:26 pm | Mar 19 – Apr 2 |
| May 22 | Behar | 8:24 pm | 9:35 pm | Mar 26 – Apr 9 |
| May 29 | Bechukosai | 8:31 pm | 9:43 pm | Apr 2 – Apr 16 |
| Jun 5 | Bamidbar | 8:36 pm | 9:49 pm | Apr 9 – Apr 21 |
| Jun 12 | Shavuos, second day | |||
| Jun 19 | Nasso | 8:44 pm | 9:57 pm | Apr 25 – May 7 |
| Jun 26 | Beha’aloscha | 8:45 pm | 9:58 pm | Apr 30 – May 14 |
Reading the table
- Inside six weeks. For any Shabbos up to 7 November, the comfortable window has passed. A suit can still be made: twelve days is possible if the cloth is in stock. It is a favour rather than a plan, so call before you count on it.
- Shabbos Chanukah, 5 and 12 December. A bar mitzvah inside Chanukah means candle lighting at 4:22 pm on the Friday, the earliest of the year, and a Friday when the studio closes at 2 pm. Leave nothing to collect that day.
- The clocks go back on 1 November. Candle lighting drops from 5:52 pm on 30 October to 4:43 pm on 6 November. Out-of-town guests landing on a Friday afternoon in November have an hour less than they think.
- The special Shabbosim of the spring are marked. On Shekalim, Zachor and Parah there is an additional reading, so check with your shul what he will read. Shabbos Shirah is the Shabbos of the Song at the Sea.
- Pesach and Shavuos squeeze the spring. The studio is closed on the Yom Tov days of Pesach (22–23 and 28–29 April) and of Shavuos (11 June). For a bar mitzvah on 5 June the start window ends on 21 April, before Pesach; for 19 June it opens on 25 April, during chol hamoed, when the studio is open by appointment only.
- The clocks go forward on 14 March. Candle lighting jumps from 6:01 pm to 7:10 pm between the Shabbos of Pekudei and the Shabbos of Vayikra.
The rest of the family
The bar mitzvah boy is rarely the only one who needs dressing. His father, grandfathers and brothers can be measured alongside him at the studio, and anyone whose pattern is already on file can reorder in two to three weeks. A white shirt for every man in the family is the order most often forgotten. The white shirt →
If getting a thirteen-year-old to a studio is the hard part, Sam can come to your home or your office for the first appointment and the fitting.
The winter’s other dates, Chanukah, Purim and Pesach, are worked out in their own guide. Chanukah, Purim and Pesach 2026–27 →
A closing note. This calendar reports dates and timings. Which Shabbos is his, and what he reads, is a question for your rav and your shul.