Zmanim · Shabbat and the candles
What is plag haminchah?
Plag haminchah is the point one and a quarter proportional hours before sunset. From that moment on the eve of Shabbat, one may already receive Shabbat and pray the evening service, Arvit, early.
A door that opens before sunset
Plag haminchah (פלג המנחה, literally "half of the minchah period") is a named moment near the end of the afternoon. It falls one and a quarter zmaniyot hours — proportional hours, measured against the length of that day's light — before shkiah, sunset. Because it is tied to sunset, it arrives at a different clock time each day and in each place.
Its gift is that it opens a door early. From plag haminchah onward, on the eve of Shabbat, one may already welcome the day of rest and pray Arvit, the evening service, before the sun has actually set.
Where the sages set it
The framework comes from the Talmud, tractate Berachot 26b, where the hours of prayer are mapped onto the rhythm of the day. Plag haminchah marks the seam between the afternoon and the evening — the hinge on which an early Shabbat can turn.
What to do
If you wish to welcome Shabbat early, wait until plag haminchah has arrived, then light, receive the day, and pray Arvit. Since the moment shifts with the season and your location, let your local times tell you when it comes. And because early Shabbat is a real decision with details, bring the question to your rabbi or community.
Source: Talmud, Berachot 26b.
When you want to see exactly when plag haminchah falls for your own city and season, My Jewish Day (siddur, zmanim, the Hebrew calendar) carries that moment for you.
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