zmanim precision
Precision and accuracy of the Zmanim
Sometimes you might observe that the times in Kaluach are "off by a few minutes" compared to your wall calendar. There are many reasons for this apparent discrepancy. There are many different shitot used to calculate the zmanim and most wall calendars don't sufficiently explain the shita used to arrive at the times. Using slightly different location coordinates could introduce minor differences in the times. Not to mention that I have yet to find two sunrise/sunset algorithms that consistently result in the same times. I also have yet to see two clocks/watches that display the same time. My opinion (for what it's worth) is that the times (from Kaluach or any other source) are of limited use, since I doubt that anyone really has access to the correct time. Care should be taken to always add or subtract a few minutes from the time in question to be on the safe side.[important note]: It is a common minhag in Israel to
use the tables of halachic times as compiled by Rav Tucazinski z"l. These
tables were derived by sightings of the sun (as opposed to the calculated times
in Kaluach and other programs) and are accurate only for Jerusalem and Bnei
Brak. Using these tables with adjustments for other cities in Israel is wrong,
since the times in these tables are sighted times, not calculated times. These
tables are only applicable for Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. For that matter,
these tables will eventually shift out of accuracy as the years go by, since
the sunrise/sunset times are based on the solar calendar, and the times shift
slightly as the years/centuries progress.
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