Learn as you go
Every season comes with an explanation.
Shabbat is more than a sunset time on a calendar. It is a gift to be understood, practiced, and lived.
Branch helps you do exactly that. The same is true for Rosh Chodesh, every feast and fast on the biblical calendar, and each of the thirteen Hebrew months.
You don't need any prior knowledge. Every day includes teaching just one tap away, accessible to beginners and meaningful for those who have walked these rhythms for years.
שַׁבָּת
Shabbat
The Day of Rest
Every week, Branch counts down to candle lighting. Tap the countdown to discover the story behind the day: the fourth commandment and the passages that establish it, why Shabbat is called a sign of the covenant, and why Isaiah describes it as a delight.
From there, Branch walks you through the rhythm of Shabbat itself. Learn about lighting the candles before sunset, setting work aside, reading the weekly portion, and sharing a meal with family and friends. As Shabbat comes to a close, Branch explains Havdalah, the wine, the spices, the braided candle, and the meaning behind each one.
- The Commandment
- How to Observe
- Havdalah
- Messianic Significance
רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ
Rosh Chodesh
The New Month
Every month begins somewhere. Branch tracks the next Rosh Chodesh by the calculated Molad and explains what the day meant when God first gave Israel its calendar at the Exodus: trumpet blasts, offerings, a festive meal, a marker that a new season had started.
You also get something to do with it. Simple ways to open a month well, the blessings traditionally said at the new moon, and a study of the month itself with its name, its meaning, its tribe, and the holidays that fall inside it.
- What Is Rosh Chodesh
- How to Engage
- Messianic Significance
The same shape every time
Three questions, answered for every day on the calendar
Whatever you open, the teaching is laid out the same way, so you always know where you are in it.
What it is
Discover where the day comes from in Scripture, why it was given, and how it is observed. Every teaching is grounded in the biblical passages it is drawn from.
How to engage
Practical guidance you can put into practice this week. Light the candles, say the prayers, read the passages, gather around the table. More than theory, these are rhythms meant to be lived.
Messianic significance
See how each season points to Messiah. The shadow and the substance are explored together, revealing how they belong to the same story.
The moedim
Twenty appointed days, each one explained
Branch brings together the feasts, the fasts, and the often-overlooked observances of the Hebrew calendar. Every entry includes its Hebrew name, explains its significance, and points you to the Scriptures behind it.
Feasts
- Pesachפֶּסַח
- Shavuotשָׁבוּעוֹת
- Rosh Hashanahרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
- Sukkotסוּכּוֹת
- Shemini Atzeretשְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת
- Simchat Torahשִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה
- Hanukkahחֲנוּכָּה
- Purimפּוּרִים
Fasts
- Yom Kippurיוֹם כִּפּוּר
- Tisha B'Avתִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב
- Seventeenth of Tammuzשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַמּוּז
- Fast of Gedaliahצוֹם גְּדַלְיָה
- Tenth of Tevetעֲשָׂרָה בְּטֵבֵת
- Fast of Estherתַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר
Observances
- Tu B'Shevatט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט
- Lag B'Omerל״ג בָּעוֹמֶר
- Purim Katanפּוּרִים קָטָן
- Pesach Sheniפֶּסַח שֵׁנִי
- Tu B'Avט״וּ בְּאָב
- Hoshana Rabbahהוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה
Seven of these observances are explored in greater depth
The days that carry the most weight, highlighted above, come with a full-length study rather than a short description. These are a few of the sections inside them.
- Pesach
- The Lamb Without Blemish · The Afikomen · The Four Cups
- Yom Kippur
- The Two Goats · The Crimson Thread · The Veil Torn Open
- Sukkot
- Living Water · The Light of the World · A Feast for All Nations
- Shavuot
- Fire, Wind, and Voice · The Torah Written on Hearts
The Hebrew months
Thirteen months, and what each one is for
The Hebrew months tell a story. Each has a name with meaning, an associated tribe, recurring themes, and appointed days that shape its character. Branch includes a study for every month, just one tap away from the date on your home screen.
| Month | Hebrew | Meaning | Tribe | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nisan | נִיסָן | Miracles / First Fruits | Judah | March – April |
| Iyar | אִיָּר | Healing / Light | Issachar | April – May |
| Sivan | סִיוָן | Season / Giving | Zebulun | May – June |
| Tammuz | תַּמּוּז | Caution / Mourning | Reuben | June – July |
| Av | אָב | Father | Simeon | July – August |
| Elul | אֱלוּל | Search / Harvest | Gad | August – September |
| Tishrei | תִּשְׁרֵי | Beginning | Ephraim | September – October |
| Cheshvan | חֶשְׁוָן | Eighth Month | Manasseh | October – November |
| Kislev | כִּסְלֵו | Trust / Hope | Benjamin | November – December |
| Tevet | טֵבֵת | Goodness / Immersion | Dan | December – January |
| Shevat | שְׁבָט | Rod / Staff / Tribe | Asher | January – February |
| Adar | אֲדָר | Strength / Glory | Naphtali | February – March |
| Adar II | אֲדָר ב׳ | Strength / Glory | Naphtali | March – April (leap years only) |
40 Days of Teshuvah
A reading a day, from Elul 1 to Yom Kippur
The forty days leading into Yom Kippur have been kept as a season of return for a very long time. Branch gives you one short reading for each of them, with a passage and a question to sit with, from "Awaken and Return" on the first of Elul through "At-One-Ment" on the day itself.
The app also explains the season around them: what teshuvah means, why the shofar is sounded through Elul, and what to do with the forty days if you have never kept them before.
And the rest of it
Teaching runs through the whole app
The weekly portion
What the parsha cycle is, why the whole community reads the same passage in the same week, and all 54 portions paired with their Haftarah and Brit Chadasha readings.
Counting of the Omer
The 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot, what the count is for, and the blessing and Hebrew wording for each day.
Shir Shel Yom
The psalm the Levites sang for each day of the week in the Temple, with the reason each one belongs to its day. Or switch to a monthly cycle through all 150.
Prayers and blessings
Nearly 40 prayers for Shabbat, Havdalah, the Amidah, Rosh Chodesh, the High Holy Days, and Selichot. Hebrew, transliteration, and English for every one.
Hebrew word of the day
Nearly 500 biblical Hebrew words with pointing, transliteration, and meaning, drawn from the Tanakh and archived so you can go back through them.
The year ahead
Every holiday and fast on the Hebrew calendar with its Gregorian dates, so nothing arrives without warning and you have time to prepare.
All of it, offline, in your pocket.
Branch is in final development for iOS and Android. Check back soon, or reach out if you'd like to hear when it launches.