Mincha
Encyclopedia
Etymology
The name "Mincha" is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice.Origin
The Hebrew noun minkhah (מִנְחָה) is used 211 times in the Masoretic TextMasoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
with the first instances being the minkhah offered by both Cain and Abel in Genesis 4.
Rabbi Berel Wein (2002) says that Mincha was originated by Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
, and described in Genesis 24:63 by the words "Isaac went out to converse in the field." where the verb "converse" (שוח suwach) refers to with G-d.
Time frame for recitation
Mincha is different from ShacharitShacharit
Shacharit is the the daily morning Tefillah of the Jewish people, one of the three times there is prayer each day.Shacharit is said to have been established by the patriarch Abraham when he prayed in the morning...
and Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...
in that it is recited in the middle of the mundane
Mundane reason
The basic premise of the concept of mundane reason is that the standard assumptions about reality that people typically make as they go about day to day, including the very fact that they experience their reality as perfectly natural, are actually the result of social, cultural, and historical...
day. Unlike Shacharit, which is recited upon arising, and Maariv, which can be recited before going to sleep, Mincha actually becomes an interruption in one's daily life. As a result of this, many Mincha groups have formed in workplaces and other places where many Jews are present during the day.
Mincha may be recited from half an hour after halachic noontime. This earliest time is referred to as mincha gedola (the "large mincha"). It is, however, preferably recited after mincha ketana (2.5 halachic hours before nightfall). Ideally, one should complete the prayers before sunset, although many authorities permit reciting Mincha until nightfall.
While it is permissible to recited mincha after shkia (sunset
Sunset
Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west...
), the Mishnah Berurah
Mishnah Berurah
The Mishnah Berurah is a work of halakha by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan , also colloquially known by the name of another of his books, Chofetz Chaim "Desirer of Life."...
states that is preferable to recite mincha without a minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
before shkia than to recite it with a minyan after shkia.
On Friday, it is not permissible to recite mincha after shkia. This is because Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
begins at this time, and Shabbat candles
Shabbat candles
Shabbat candles are candles lit on Friday nights, 18 minutes before sunset, to usher in the Jewish Sabbath.Lighting Shabbat candles is a rabbinically mandated law. Candlelighting is traditionally done by the woman of the household, but in the absence of a woman, it may be done by man...
are lit 18 minues prior to shkia. Once Shabbat begins, it is not permissible to recite the weekday Amidah
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
. However one may repeat the Shabbos Maariv and have in mind that the missed mincha is being compensated for through the second Amidah.
Prayers
Mincha on a weekday exclusive includes prayers found at ShacharitShacharit
Shacharit is the the daily morning Tefillah of the Jewish people, one of the three times there is prayer each day.Shacharit is said to have been established by the patriarch Abraham when he prayed in the morning...
.
Prayers of Mincha include:
- AshreiAshreiThe Ashrei is a prayer that is recited at least three times daily in Jewish prayers, twice during Shacharit and once during Mincha. The prayer is composed primarily of Psalm 145 in its entirety, with a verse each from Psalms 84 and 144 added to the beginning, and a verse from Psalm 115 added to...
- Uva LetzionUva LetzionUva letzion are the Hebrew opening words, and colloquially the name, of the closing prayer of the weekday morning service, before which one should not leave the synagogue...
(on ShabbatShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
and Yom Tov only) - Torah readingTorah readingTorah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
(on Shabbat and public fast days only) - AmidahAmidahThe Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
- TachanunTachanunTachanun or , also called nefillat apayim is part of Judaism's morning and afternoon services, after the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services...
(omitted on Shabbat, Yom Tov, and certain other festive days) - Tzidkatcha Tzedek (on Shabbat only; omitted on days when Tachanun would be omitted if it were a weekday)
- AleinuAleinuAleinu or Aleinu leshabei'ach , meaning "it is upon us or it is our obligation or duty to praise God," is a Jewish prayer found in the siddur, the classical Jewish prayerbook. It is recited at the end of each of the three daily Jewish services...
Sephardim and Italian Jews
Italian Jews
Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living or with roots in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from the communities dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite.-Divisions:Italian...
start the Mincha prayers with Psalm 84 and Korbanot , and usually continue with the Pittum hakketoret. The opening section is concluded with . Western Ashkenazim recite the Korbanot only.
From Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
to Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
and on public fast days, except on Shabbat, erev Shabbat, and Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...
, Avinu Malkeinu
Avinu Malkeinu
Avinu Malkeinu or Abhiynu Malkenu is a Jewish prayer recited during Jewish services on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, on the Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur...
is added following Amidah.
On Yom Kippur, Ashrei and Uva Letzion are omitted from Mincha, and Mincha begins with the Torah reading. Ashrei and Uva Letzion are a part of the Ne'ila
Ne'ila
Ne'ila, the concluding service, is a special Jewish prayer service that is held only on Yom Kippur. It is the time when final prayers of repentance are recited at the closing of Yom Kippur....
service.