Shabbat in Ashdod: the eruv, shuls by community, beaches and ready food

Shabbat in Ashdod looks very different from one quarter to the next: some streets are closed to cars, while the malls by the beach are busy. Here's what I'd want a new family to know.

Times and the local rabbinate

For candle-lighting and havdalah times, use our Shabbat times page, which is set for Ashdod.

The Mara deAtra (local chief rabbinic authority) of Ashdod is Rabbi Chaim Shimon Pinto, and the Religious Council chairman is Rabbi Ovadia Dahan (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)). The council's website has English, Russian and Amharic versions alongside Hebrew (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)).

The eruv

The city eruv encloses all residential areas, including newly built neighbourhoods and the Assuta hospital area. It is checked every week. Each Erev Pesach the council sells the reshuyot together with the Ashdod police commander and the mayor (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)).

• Hiddur lines: extra "hiddur" eruv lines exist for neighbourhoods where all residents keep Shabbat.
• The map: the eruv map is published on the council's site and in the yearly "Halachot uMeida" booklet, which is handed out in Nisan in synagogues and shopping centres.
• Questions: eruv questions go to Rav Chaim Kalmanovitz, and further enquiries to Rav Chaim Ben Hamo (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)).
• Assuta: the hospital has its own additional eruv, described as "kosher lemehadrin for all opinions including Edot HaMizrach". It was extended in 2026 (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)).

The council asks residents who live near the edge of the eruv line to check its exact course. If that's you, I'd look at the map before your first Shabbat.

Shuls and communities

There's no official list of synagogues from the council, the municipality or the tourism site, so this is what I could find in other sources:

• Chabad: about 11 Chabad houses across the quarters, including the City, Yud, Yud-Alef, Tet, Tet-Vav, Tet-Zayin and Zayin (Lubavitch.com (opens in a new tab)). See Chabad of Ashdod.
• Russian-speaking: the HaDor HaRevi'i synagogue in Rova Yud has an active community of immigrants from the former USSR. It runs an evening kollel with Russian-speaking avrechim, weekly classes and talks in Russian (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)). Listing
• French-speaking: a synagogue for French speakers is listed in the Rova Yud-Alef commercial centre on Kinneret St (Kipa (opens in a new tab)). This comes from a community site and I haven't confirmed it, so check before you go. Listing
• Georgian: the Georgian community's grand Or Yitzhak synagogue in the City is modelled on Tbilisi's Great Synagogue (Visit Ashdod (opens in a new tab)). Listing. There is also a Georgian community Chabad centre, Olei Gruzia, which chabad.org lists as a "Russian Jewry Center" (Lubavitch.com (opens in a new tab)). Listing
• Cochin (Indian): the community's synagogue is Shomer Israel. Listing

I didn't find an English-speaking minyan in a reliable source. If you know of one, I'd love to hear about it. The full list is in the shul directory.

Mikvaot

The municipal women's mikvaot are in Rova Alef, Gimel, Dalet, Vav, Chet, Tet, Yud-Alef, Yud-Bet, Yud-Gimel, Tet-Vav and the City (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)).

• Accessible entrances are in Dalet, Tet, Yud-Alef and Yud-Bet.
• The City mikvah is fully accessible with a hoist. Book ahead on 073-2654684. Listing
• Some mikvaot also have a keilim mikvah.

Halachic questions go to the council rabbis: Rav Avraham Nachman Guterman (Ashkenazi public) and Rav Avraham Yeshaya Bouganim (Sephardi and general public) (Religious Council (opens in a new tab)).

Beaches and the promenade on Shabbat

You may swim only at the 7 declared beaches while lifeguards are on duty. In 2026 the season runs 25 March-10 October, extended to 10 November at 08:00-16:00 (Municipality (opens in a new tab)).

The Separate Beach (HaNifrad) is for the religious public: women on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday; men on Monday, Wednesday and Friday plus holiday eves. On Shabbat and holidays it is closed, with no lifeguards (Municipality (opens in a new tab)). Listing

On Saturdays there's folk dancing on the promenade plaza by HaKshatot (Arches) beach, and a nearby "Russian market" with stalls (Visit Ashdod (opens in a new tab)). Listing

BIG Fashion and Star Center both list Saturday hours (10:00-23:00), so expect them to be busy on Shabbat (BIG Centers (opens in a new tab); Ari Group (opens in a new tab)).

Getting around and medical help

Officially there is no public transport on Shabbat in Ashdod (Hebrew Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)). Rova Zayin is closed to cars on Shabbat and holidays, according to Hebrew Wikipedia (Hebrew Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)). More in Getting around Ashdod.

If someone gets sick:

• Terem (1 Hana Senesh St) is open 24/7, including Shabbat (Terem (opens in a new tab)). Listing
• Maccabi's Rova Zayin centre also opens on Saturday evening (Maccabi (opens in a new tab)). Listing
• Super-Pharm at the City, Star Center and BIG Ashdod are duty pharmacies open on Shabbat (Municipality (opens in a new tab)).

For emergencies, dial 101. See Health funds and doctors.

Shabbat food

The council's kosher guide lists two Shabbat ready-food shops: Barbecue Bar (Sderot Tel Hai 39) and HaMasbia (Rashbi 2, Mehadrin) (2024 guide (opens in a new tab)). See the Barbecue Bar listing. The guide is from summer 2024, so I'd check the certificate on the wall. There's more on certificates in Shopping and kosher food.