# Hebrew date on gravestone



## born in newyork

I need to put a date on a gravestone (25 Elul 5780).  Do I render it as:
כ׳׳ה אלול תש׳׳פ
or as
כה׳אלול תש׳׳פ
or as something else? 
Thank you!


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## shalom00

The first alternative you wrote.
Sometimes the year is preceded with ה for the 5000: התש"פ.


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## slus

כ"ה באלול תש"ף

Sorry for your loss.


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## Drink

Most gravestones seem to just say כ"ה אלול rather than כ"ה באלול. I'm not sure why. Maybe that's just outside of Israel?

In long form you can write ביום כ"ה לחודש אלול.


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## shalom00

At least in modern Hebrew, dates are usually written without ב before the month name.
Just as in English, today's date is May 5, 2021.


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## slus

The formal way is either
כ"ה באלול תש"ף or
כ"ה באלול ה'תש"ף

https://hebrew-academy.org.il/2012/07/31/תאריך-בחודש/


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## Drink

I'm just saying what I see on actual gravestones. Both modern, and those from over 100 years ago.


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## born in newyork

Thank you all so much.  As for the year, someone here in the U.S. proposed that the last letter be פ‎ and not the sofit, ף‎
Is the sofit required?  I'm wondering if there is a gravestone convention that prefers the regular letter rather than the sofit in this situation.  Is it possible the sofit is not used for a year in the US?


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## Abaye

Looking in Google Images, seems that gravestones (modern ones) mostly follow the Academy rule that @slus referred to. I didn't search it systematically though.


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## Abaye

born in newyork said:


> Thank you all so much.  As for the year, someone here in the U.S. proposed that the last letter be פ‎ and not the sofit, ף‎
> Is the sofit required?  I'm wondering if there is a gravestone convention that prefers the regular letter rather than the sofit in this situation.  Is it possible the sofit is not used for a year in the US?


תש"ף instead of תש"פ is yet another Hebrew Language Academy recommendation that one can honor or ignore.
I think that the Orthodox way is תש"פ.


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