How many times a day do Jews pray?

The sources

King David said: “Evening, morning and noon I complain and moan, and He hears my voice” (Psalms 55:18), and Daniel “three times a day knelt, prayed and gave thanks” (Daniel 6:11). The Talmud gives two explanations of the three prayers: the patriarchs instituted them – Abraham the morning, Isaac the afternoon, Jacob the evening – and they correspond to the daily offerings in the Temple.

The structure

Shacharit includes morning blessings, psalms of praise, the Shema with its blessings and the Amidah; on Mondays and Thursdays the Torah is read. Mincha is short – Ashrei, the Amidah and concluding prayers. Ma’ariv includes the Shema and the Amidah. The Amidah has 19 blessings on weekdays: praise, requests and thanks.

Alone or with a minyan

It is best to pray with a minyan of ten in a synagogue, but a person may pray alone; only certain parts (Kaddish, Kedushah, the Torah reading) require ten. Women are obligated in prayer too; practice regarding the number of daily prayers for women varies.

Times of each prayer

Shacharit is said from dawn (ideally sunrise) until a third of the day; Mincha from half an hour after midday until sunset; Ma’ariv after nightfall. On Shabbat, festivals and Rosh Chodesh a fourth prayer, Musaf, is added after Shacharit, and on Yom Kippur a fifth, Ne’ilah. The bedtime Shema is said before sleep.

Sephardi and Ashkenazi

The structure is the same; the wording differs between nusach Ashkenaz, nusach Sefard (used by Hasidim) and nusach Edot HaMizrach. A traveller may pray privately in his own nusach.