Always Ready

Mincha takes place smack in middle of the work day. We have neither the luxury of the preparation of Shacharis nor the detachment of Ma’ariv. Our minds are racing with thoughts about what has transpired and what will happen in the next few minutes. One has to be on a much higher spiritual plane to be able to be in the world and be capable of rising above it without much time to change one’s mindset.

The Patriarchs and the Three Daily Prayers

This week’s parsha discusses how Rebecca, who was chosen to be Isaac’s wife, met Isaac for the first time. This momentous meeting was responsible for the future of the Jewish people, and therefore, every detail is pregnant with symbolism and guidance for us.

The Torah states:

“And Isaac went out into the field to speak/pray towards evening.”

According to the Talmud, Isaac’s going out to the field was to pray the afternoon-Mincha—service. Indeed, the Talmud states, it was Isaac who instituted the Mincha prayer. Abraham instituted the morning service known as Shacharis, and Jacob instituted the evening prayer.

The connection of Abraham to the morning service can be understood in light of Abraham’s penchant for doing things with dispatch. Thus Abraham wakes up early to pray. Abraham was the personification of the twin attributes of kindness and love. A kind person is always looking for ways to go out of his own cocoon and help others. A loving person is a person who does not stay in one place waiting for the object to his love to come to him. Rather he goes out and searches for the person.

Thus Abraham is identified with Shacharis, the prayer that expresses our love for G-d as soon as we wake up in the morning. Abraham was full of energy and passion and it is reflected in his waking up early to institute and pray the Morning Prayer.

Jacob lives a very difficult life, which begins after he was compelled to flee because his brother Esau wanted to kill him after he took his father’s blessings. And at that point, in a dark period of his life, Jacob recognizes the need to express his faith in G-d who he trusts will come to his aid. The evening service that we pray when it is dark is when we express our dependence on Him precisely when it is dark and gloomy.

We must try to understand why Isaac was the one to institute the Mincha-afternoon service? What is so special about Mincha and what is its connection to Isaac?

The Connection of Mincha to Isaac

One way of understanding the connection between Isaac and Mincha is by way of a story:

Two great rabbis (R. Schenur Zalman and R. Levi Yitzchak) were together at a family celebration. The first holy rabbi prayed his morning prayers early in the morning, while the other prayed his morning prayer rather late in the day, only after much spiritual preparation.

One of the participants in the celebration noticed the different approaches to the morning service these two holy men took. He took the initiative and asked the rabbi who prayed early why he hadn’t followed the example of his colleague who spent much time in preparing for his prayers. The rabbi’s response was, “How can you compare me to my colleague? He is so holy that whenever he comes to pray before G-d he is allowed in and his prayers will be accepted. I’m not that worthy, so I have to pray during the allotted time for prayer.”

The participant then when to the other rabbi and posed the question to the other rabbi as to why he prayed so late, beyond the time designated for the morning prayers. Why hadn’t he followed the example of the other rabbi who prayed on time?

This rabbi’s response was, “How can you compare me to the other rabbi. Whenever he gets up to pray he is ready to pray. He doesn’t need any preparation. I’m different. I need hours to get ready to pray.”

“As we go to sleep, so do we awaken.”

Perhaps, we can apply this story to understand the dynamics of the Mincha prayer. The Morning Prayer is one that even when prayed on time, it is always one for which we are prepared. It is prayed in a time when we are refreshed and eager to take on the day. In addition, we have the evening before to prepare for our morning. As the Chassidic adage goes: “As we go to sleep, so do we awaken.”

If we go to sleep after reciting the evening Shema in which we declare our affirmation for one G-d, we wake up with a feeling of reverence and love for G-d.

If we go to sleep after reciting the “confession” prayer, in which we make amends for the day’s mistakes, we wake up with a clean slate; without anything to obstruct our path to G-d in our morning prayers.

If we go to sleep after reciting the special prayer in which we express forgiveness to anyone who might have slighted us during the day, we wake up unburdened by all the feelings of resentment that we might otherwise harbor and get into the way of concentrating on our prayers.

Hence, Abraham’s Morning Prayer was one in which he was always prepared.

Psychological Boost

Jacob’s evening prayer, though it follows our day’s work, has the benefit of knowing that the day is over, and it is now time to focus on the spiritual matters.

That realization, in and of itself, serves as a psychological boost to our powers of concentration, and enhances our ability to detach ourselves from the entanglements we experience throughout our normal work day.

Mincha Mode

Mincha takes place smack in middle of the work day. We have neither the luxury of the preparation of Shacharis nor the detachment of Ma’ariv. Our minds are racing with thoughts about what has transpired and what will happen in the next few minutes. One has to be on a much higher spiritual plane to be able to be in the world and be capable of rising above it without much time to change one’s mindset.

This is why Isaac was eminently qualified to institute Mincha. Isaac was designated as a sacrifice, and from that time onward he was forbidden to leave the Land of Israel because his whole being had become a part of the Holy Land. For him there were no distractions. His attitude and mindset during the day was no different from his spiritual form in the morning or the evening. He was always ready to speak to G-d.

Messianic Age: the Age of Mincha and Isaac

One of the distinctions of the Messianic Age is that we will be prepared for our prayers at all times. Even when we will be engaged in some mundane activity, the transition to our prayers will be seamless.

This may also explain why the Talmud identifies Isaac as the Patriarch that we will embrace most energetically; more so than Abraham and Jacob.

Abraham and Jacob relate to us best when we are in our Shacharis and Ma’ariv mode. Our ability to be in a perpetual Mincha mode we will receive from Isaac.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Chayei Sarah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.