Mincha (, ; sometimes spelled Minchah, Minhah, Mincho or Minchuh) is the afternoon prayer service in

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

Etymology

The name ''Mincha'', meaning "gift" or "offering", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice offered in the Temple (Beit HaMikdash).

Origin

The Hebrew noun ''minḥah'' () is used 211 times in the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices, each from his own fields, to God. God had regard for Ab ...

to God. Most other uses refer to a gift offering, made of grain, which could be offered at any time in the day. However, occasionally the Bible uses "mincha" to specifically refer to the afternoon Temple sacrifice. Rabbis in the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

debate whether the daily prayers have their origin in the behavior of the

biblical Patriarchs The patriarchs ( '' ʾAvot'', "fathers") of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites. These three figures are referred to collectively as "the patria ...

, or in the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

sacrifices. According to the first opinion, the Mincha prayer was originated by

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

, who "went out to converse in the field", with God. According to the second opinion, the Mincha prayer is based on the afternoon ''tamid'' (daily) offering which was offered in the Temple each afternoon.

Time frame for recitation

Mincha is different from

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...

and

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

in that it is recited in the middle of the secular day. Unlike Shacharit, which is recited upon arising, and Maariv, which can be recited before going to sleep, Mincha is the afternoon prayer, and as a result of this, many Mincha groups have formed in workplaces and other places where many Jews are present during the day.Living Jewish: values, practices and traditions By Berel Wein, page 87 Mincha may be recited beginning half an hour (either regular or

relative hour Relative hour (Hebrew singular: / ; plural: / ), sometimes called halachic hour, temporal hour, seasonal hour and variable hour, is a term used in rabbinic Jewish law that assigns 12 hours to each day and 12 hours to each night, all throughou ...

s) after '' halachic'' noontime. This earliest time is referred to as ''mincha gedola'' ("large mincha"). According to the Shulchan Aruch, it is preferably recited after ''mincha ketana'' ("small mincha", 2.5 ''halachic'' hours before sunset or nightfall), but common practice is to recite it anytime after ''mincha gedola'' and not to be careful to recite it specifically after ''mincha ketana''. The name "large mincha" may come from the fact that more of the day remains than in "small mincha". Ideally, one should complete Mincha before

sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

(''shkiah''), although many authorities permit reciting Mincha until nightfall. The Mishnah Berurah states that is preferable to recite mincha without a

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( ''mīnyān'' , Literal translation, lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain Mitzvah, religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Judaism ...

before ''shkiah'' than to recite it with a ''minyan'' after ''shkia''.Mishnah Brurah, Orach Chaim 233:14

Prayers

Mincha on a weekday exclusive includes prayers found at

. Prayers of Mincha include the following: *

Ashrei Ashrei () is a prayer that is recited at least three times daily in Jewish prayers, twice during Shacharit (morning service) and once during Mincha (afternoon service). The prayer is composed primarily of Psalm 145 in its entirety, with Psalm ...

* Uva Letzion (on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

and Yom Tov only, in Italian Nusach also on fast days) *

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition 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 scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the ap ...

(on Shabbat and public fast days only) *

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

(in some communities, it includes slight variations from Shacharis) Like in Shacharit, it is generally recited silently and then repeated by the Chazzan. *

Avinu Malkeinu Avinu Malkeinu (; "Our Father, Our King") is a Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They als ...

(on Ten Days of Repentance only, and in some communities also on public fast days; omitted on occasions when Tachanun is omitted) * Tachanun (omitted on Shabbat, Yom Tov, and certain other festive days) * Tzidkatcha (on Shabbat only; omitted on days when Tachanun would be omitted if it were a weekday) * In the Sephardic rite (and in some Chasidic communities), a Psalm is recited here: generally, Psalm 67 on weekdays, Psalm 93 on Friday and Psalm 112 on the sabbath. * Aleinu - In some Ashkenazic communities, this is omitted if followed immediately by

. In the Italian Nusach and Baladi rite, this is never recited at Mincha; in the modern Italian Nusach (although this is a relatively late addition), Psalm of the day or Psalm 67 is recited instead. Most Sephardim and

Italian Jews Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...

start the Mincha prayers with

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

84 and ''

Korban In Judaism, the (), also spelled or , is any of a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah. The plural form is , , or . The term primarily refers to sacrificial offerings given from humans to God for the pur ...

ot'' (), and usually continue with the ''Pittum hakketoret''. The opening section is concluded with . Most non-Chasidic Ashkenizim begin with Ashrei, although many individuals recite the Korban HaTamid beforehand (a very few Nusach Ashkenaz communities have adopted the practice to recite Korban HaTamid () publicly). On Yom Kippur, Ashkenazim postpone Ashrei and Uva Letzion until the Ne'ila service.

References

{{Authority control

Etymology

Origin

Time frame for recitation

Prayers

See also

References