Travelers heading upstate on Thursday nights this summer will be able to catch a minyan without having to worry about seasonal heat, humidity, or heavy rains, with the Tefilas Mordche Mincha Area moving to an indoor, air-conditioned space for the first time ever.
The Mincha Area will be operating inside The Marketplace shopping center in Spring Valley, located just off exit 14 of the New York State Thruway. Minyanim will be held every Thursday starting on June 26th and running through August 28th. The mall’s first entrance offers the fastest access to the Mincha Area, with signs posted inside the mall pointing travelers to the davening spot.
In addition to its offering easy on/off access to the Thruway, The Marketplace is home to Bingo, Target, several eateries, and multiple clothing stores, with Tesla super-chargers currently being installed at the shopping center.
The Mincha area was first established on the Thruway over 30 years ago to give travelers, who were pulling over to the side of the highway at the Harriman toll booths to daven, a safe place to catch a minyan on their way up to the Catskills. It was renamed the Tefilas Mordche Mincha Area in 2010 in memory of Rabbi Mordche Friedman, a community liaison who devoted his Thursday nights to supervising the Mincha Area for many years.
Tens of thousands of travelers utilize the Mincha Area every summer.
“We are tremendously grateful to the many people who gave us the ability to set up the Mincha Area at this convenient location this year,” said community activist and law enforcement liaison Rabbi Abe Friedman. “We look forward to providing people with a safe space to daven as they make their way up to the country.”
“Generations of Catskills travelers have been availing themselves of the Mincha Area, and it has become an integral part of the summer experience,” said senior community leader Rabbi Bernard Freilich. “Safety has always been our number one priority and we are looking optimistically ahead to seeing the Mincha Area used to its fullest over the coming weeks.”
