Zmanim · The prayers of the day
From what time may Minchah be prayed?
Minchah, the afternoon service, may be prayed from minchah gedolah — half a proportional hour after chatzot, midday. The ideal is to complete it before sunset, and some extend it until nightfall.
When the afternoon prayer begins
Minchah (מנחה, the afternoon service) opens at the point called minchah gedolah — "the greater minchah" — which arrives half a zmanit hour, a proportional hour, after chatzot, the midpoint of the day. From that moment the afternoon prayer may be said.
The preferred practice is to finish Minchah before shkiah, sunset, while the day still holds. There are those who extend the prayer later, until tzet, the emergence of the stars.
Where the sages set it
The Talmud, in tractate Berachot 26b, lays out the hours of Minchah, drawing its beginning from the turn of midday and its close toward the setting sun.
What to do
Pray Minchah any time from minchah gedolah onward, and try to complete it before sunset. Because midday and sunset shift with the season and your place, and the length of the proportional hour changes with them, let your local times guide you to the right window.
Source: Talmud, Berachot 26b.
When you want minchah gedolah and sunset marked for your own day and city, My Jewish Day (siddur, zmanim, the Hebrew calendar) keeps that window ready.
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