AFTERNOON SERVICE
Happy are those who dwell in thy house; they are ever praising thee. Happy the people that is so situated; happy the people whose God is the Lord.[1]
Psalm 145
A hymn of praise by David.
- I extol thee, my God the King,
- And bless thy name forever and ever.
- Every day I bless thee,
- And praise thy name forever and ever.
- Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
- His greatness is unsearchable.
- One generation to another praises thy works;
- They recount thy mighty acts.
- On the splendor of thy glorious majesty
- And on thy wondrous deeds I meditate.
- They speak of thy awe-inspiring might,
- And I tell of thy greatness.
- They spread the fame of thy great goodness,
- And sing of thy righteousness.
- Gracious and merciful is the Lord,
- Slow to anger and of great kindness.
- The Lord is good to all,
- And his mercy is over all his works.
- All thy works praise thee, O Lord,
- And thy faithful followers bless thee.
- They speak of thy glorious kingdom,
- And talk of thy might,
- To let men know thy mighty deeds,
- And the glorious splendor of thy kingdom.
- Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages,
- And thy dominion is for all generations.
מנחה occurs in the Bible frequently in the sense of “gift” and ‘meal-offering.” It is only in talmudic literature that Minḥah denotes afternoon service, Minḥah is one of the three daily services mentioned in Daniel 6:11 (“and three times a day he kneeled upon his knees, praying and giving thanks before his God"). According to tradition, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the authors of the three daily services. Both Shaḥarith and Minḥah correspond to the daily sacrifice (Tamid) which was offered in the Temple in the morning and in the afternoon. Since the recital of the Shema is obligatory only “when you lie down and when you rise up,” it is not included in the afternoon service. Minḥah may be recited at any time from noon (12:30) to sunset. The Minḥah service was postponed in the nineteenth century to very near sunset for the sake of convenience, so that Minḥah might be followed by Ma‘ariv after a short interval.
On אשרי, see pages 57-59,
158
- ↑ Psalms 84:5; 144:15.
