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What is Minchah?

by Rabbi Mendy Hecht

  

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A. Minchah is the daily afternoon Tefillah, the second of the three recited daily. The Hebrew word Minchah stems from the word menuchah - rest, signifying when the sun is beginning to rest, i.e afternoon. Since we don't have the Holy Temple, Minchah replaces the closing sacrifice of the day, brought every afternoon in the Temple.


B. Because most folks are working in the afternoon, Minchah is short, so those working folks can save time.

C. The patriarch Isaac, who took time out from his busy day to ponder G-d while walking the fields, founded the concept of afternoon connection and taught his descendants to do likewise.


The patriarch Isaac, who took time out from his busy day to ponder G-d while walking the fields, founded the concept of afternoon connection...
How do I do Minchah?

1. Get Your Equipment

Connecting to G-d through Minchah consists of nothing more than a Minyan, a Siddur and about ten minutes. If you'll be doing Minchah without a minyan, you can do it in as little as five.

2. Get Ready

Open your siddur to the pages containing the korbanot text, which describe the sacrifices brought daily in the Temple. These remind of us why we have tefillah. Recite "korbanot," as they're traditionally referred to, then turn to the page where the actual Minchah service begins.

3. Tefillah Express

All three Tefillot revolve around the Amidah, and Minchah is no exception. Because of time constraints, Minchah actually only consists of three sections: the Amidah, preceded by the recitation of Psalm 145 (a.k.a. Ashrei), and followed by the Tachanun and aleinu prayers. Your recitation of these three shouldn't take more than ten minutes, and bingo! You're done.

TAGS: mincha, minchah

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Tachanun
Sections of the prayers involving confession and asking for forgiveness. Tachanun is omitted from the prayers on the festive days of the Jewish calendar.
Amidah
Highlight of every prayer, recited silently while standing. Weekday Amidah consists of nineteen blessings, Sabbath and holiday Amidah contains seven blessings.
Tefillah
Prayer. The Jewish Sages instituted three daily prayers, and an additional prayer on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.
Tefillot
Plural form of Tefillah (Prayer). The Jewish Sages instituted three daily prayers, and an additional prayer on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.
Isaac
Second of the three Jewish Patriarchs, son of Abraham and Sarah. Lived in Canaan (Israel); b. 1712 BCE, d. 1532 BCE.
Siddur
Prayer book.
Minchah
Afternoon prayer service. One of the three prayers a Jew is obligated to pray every day.
Temple
1. Usually a reference to the Holy Temple which was/will be situated in Jerusalem. 1st Temple was built in 825 BCE and was destroyed in 423 BCE. The 2nd Temple was built in 350 BCE and was destroyed in 70 CE. The 3rd Temple will be built by the Messiah. 2. A synagogue.
Minyan
A quorum consisting of ten adult male Jews. A minyan is necessary to recite the kaddish or to publicly read from the Torah scroll.
G-d
It is forbidden to erase or deface the name of G-d. It is therefore customary to insert a dash in middle of G-d's name, allowing us to erase or discard the paper it is written on if necessary.