Overview of the Afternoon Service
The Afternoon Service, called Minḥah (or Mincha), is much shorter than the Morning Service and has no unique components.
The service consists solely of five elements: Ashrei, a slightly different version of the Amidah, a short Tahanun, Aleinu, and the Mourner’s Kaddish. In many congregations, the Amidah is repeated in full after it is recited silently. In others, only the opening blessings are recited aloud so that the congregation may be led in the K’dushah, after which worshipers continue reciting their prayers silently.
It is not customary to wear a tallit or to don t’fillin during Minḥah.
Adapted with permission from The Observant Life.
Authors
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Rabbi Dr. Karen G Reiss Medwed, is Teaching Professor emerita at Northeastern University. She serves as Interim Vice Provost, Academic Affairs and Initiatives for HUC-JIR. Dr. Reiss Medwed's scholarship includes digital education, higher education leadership, and faith-based education. Dr. Reiss Medwed was ordained by JTS in 1995, and earned her Ph.D. from New York University's Steinhardt School of Education in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning with a specialization in Jewish education in 2005.
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The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews distills a century of thoughtful inquiry into the most profound of all Jewish questions: how to suffuse life with timeless values, how to remain loyal to the covenant that binds the Jewish people and the God of Israel, and how to embrace the law while retaining an abiding sense of fidelity to one’s own moral path in life. Written in a multiplicity of voices inspired by a common vision, the authors of The Observant Life explain what it means in the ultimate sense to live a Jewish life, and to live it honestly, morally, and purposefully. The work is a comprehensive guide to life in the 21st Century. Chapters on Jewish rituals including prayer, holiday, life cycle events and Jewish ethics such as citizenship, slander, taxes, wills, the courts, the work place and so much more.
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