Jerusalem Prayer Compass 🧭
Share your location, enable the compass and rotate your phone — when the arrow points up, you are facing Jerusalem.
Which direction should you pray?
Jewish law (Berakhot 30a; Shulchan Aruch OC 94) directs all prayer toward one point: outside Israel one faces the Land of Israel, within Israel — Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem — the Temple Mount. This compass computes the exact bearing from your location to the Temple Mount.
Why north-east from New York and not east?
The direction follows the shortest arc over the globe (a great circle), not a flat map. From New York the precise bearing to Jerusalem is north-east (~54°), and from Los Angeles it is nearly due north. From most of Europe it is south-east; from Russia and Asia, south-west.
How does the live compass work?
With your permission the page reads your phone's compass sensor and rotates the dial in real time, just like a compass app. On iPhone you will be asked to allow motion-sensor access. On devices without a sensor (e.g. desktop) you still get the bearing in degrees and as a compass direction.