These are the Words...

Minchah
מנחה

Definition

The Hebrew word minchah simly means "gift" or "giving". It is used for any gift or present, not just a sacrificial offering.

The minchah offering allowed people to renew their commitment to give themselves to God.

Meaning in Ancient Israel

The michah is the most ancient of offerings. Cain and Abel each give a kind of minchah offering. In Exodus 29 the morning and evening sacrifices are instituted as minchah and olah using wording that suggests these concepts would be already familiar to Moshe.

It involved giving a small gift to God. In contrast to the an enormous animal which had been offered for the olah and that drama of death and blood, the minchah has two quarts of fine flour, flavored with oil and frankincense, being given to God. The priests add one handful to the mess on the altar, and get to keep the rest. Anyone in the household, of any age or gender, could give this simple and pleasant gift to God.

Meaning in the First Century

During the first century the olah was still being used in more-or-less the same way, until the Second Temple was destroyed.

However, during the first century the Temple operated differently than as described in Torah.

First, families no longer brought offerings as a household. Instead, the women would watch from the "Women's Court" while men went to an inner court and brought the offered animal to a priest. (Women in a household without men would ask a guard at a gate of the "Women's Court" to bring their offerings to a priest.)

Second, most scholars agree that the people making the offering brought their share of the animal's meat outside the Temple complex before eating it, rather than the sequence of offerings cumulating in the family sharing a meal with the priest and God at the altar (the sh'lamim).

Third, some scholars believe the offerings were most often brought individually, not as the entire sequence of offerings. It may have been that people could come to the Temple just to offer an minchah.

Meaning for Messianic Jews in Modern Times

The minchah reminds us that after we achieve a connection with God we should not immediately proceed to ask God to give us renewal, provision, forgiveness, or fellowship. We must first give something to God -- even something small -- without expecting anything in return. We should prioritize renewing our commitment to God.

Within Yeshua's covenant, the olah reminded us that we must call out to God asking for Eternal Life in a certain manner, and next the minchah reminds us that God answers us, and as he answers us we must give ourselves to him.

Within private devotions, the minchah tells of the big contrast between reconnecting with God and giving something to God. Giving things to God is neither messy nor difficult, and God appreciates even small gifts. Often Jewish people praying at home will at this time put a coin or dollar into a tzedakah box. It is a very Jewish thing to include charity within times of private worship. (But charity is not done in public, including at synagogue. Jewish culture prohibits handling money on Shabbat. Donations of tithes that support a congregation or offerings to charity are also made during the week, but usually not during a time of prayer.)

Within the liturgy, the minchah is a time to renew our commitment to God in the presence of the congregation.