Mincha: The Money Ball of Your Day

Why does the Gemara single out Mincha as the tefillah that needs extra care, and why was Eliyahu answered on Har HaCarmel specifically at Mincha? Shacharis is the first thing we do in the morning and the longest davening, so what is so special about a tefillah in the middle of the day? This week starts with Yitzchak going out to the field toward evening and the Tur's answer. A hidden gem in Eshes Chayil, which we say every week around the Shabbos table, ties right into the answer. Then comes a true story Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein zt"l told about his father: a lunch meeting with Milton Petrie, and the twenty-five minutes he spent away from the table.