From when is "the strength of rain" ("mashiv haruach umorid hageshem") mentioned (in the Amidah)? [Since it was taught in the preceding tractate (Rosh Hashanah 1:2): "And on Succoth they are judged for water," it is taught here: "From when is 'the strength of rain' mentioned?" And because rain is one of the "strengths" of the Holy One Blessed be He, viz. (Job 9:9): "He does great things, past searching out," and (in the same context, Ibid. 5:10): "He gives rain on the face of the earth, etc.", it is called "the strength of rain."] R. Eliezer says: From the first day of the festival (of Succoth). R. Yehoshua says: From the last day (i.e., Shemini Atzereth). [Bur not all seven days of the festival. For rain is a curse vis-à-vis Succoth, comparable to a servant coming to pour a cup for his master, and the other dashing it in his face, i.e., "I do not want your service."] R. Yehoshua said to him (R. Eliezer): If rain is a curse on the festival, why mention it? R. Eliezer answered: I, too, did not say that he should ask for it, but only that he should mention "mashiv haruach umorid hageshem" ("He causes the wind to blow and brings down rain") in its time. R. Yehoshua: If so, let him mention it all the time! [i.e., If you say that it is mentioned, though not asked for, let him mention it even in the summertime! Why only from the first day of Succoth? The halachah is in accordance with R. Yehoshua.]

Rain is asked for [That is, rain is mentioned] only close to the (period of) rain [i.e., on the eighth day of the festival, the period of rain following. (According to this interpretation, this is) an anonymous Mishnah in accordance with R. Yehoshua. Another interpretation: R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua, who differ above in respect to the mentioning of rain, agree in respect to asking for it (viz.: "And give dew and rain for a blessing"). It is asked for only close to the period of rain, i.e., the third or the seventh of Marcheshvan, as the tannaim explain later in the Mishnah (1:3)]. R. Yehudah says: The prayer leader on the last day of the festival — the second, [he who recites mussaf] mentions it ["morid hageshem"]; the first, [he who recites shacharith] does not mention [rain, but dew. And the halachah is in accordance with R. Yehudah. As to its being stated below: "R. Yehudah says: Until Pesach passes," whereas here he says that on the first day of Pesach, the second does not mention it — there are two tannaim according to R. Yehudah (i.e., understanding him variantly)]. On the first day of Pesach, the first one mentions it, the second does not. Until when is rain asked for? R. Yehudah says: Until Pesach passes. R. Meir says: Until Nissan passes, it being written (Joel 2:23): "And He has brought down for you the former rain and the latter rain in the first month (Nissan)."

On the third day of Marcheshvan rain is asked for ["veten tal umatar livrachah" is recited in the blessing over the years (birchath hashanim). This, in Eretz Yisrael; but in the exile, rain is not asked for until the sixtieth day of the autumnal equinox (tekufath Tishrei), and on the sixtieth day itself, they begin to ask for rain.] R. Gamliel says: (They ask for rain) on the seventh thereof (Marcheshvan), fifteen days after the festival (Succoth), so that the last in Israel [of those who had come up for the festival and were returning to their homes] could reach the Euphrates [without being overtaken by the rain.]

If the seventeenth of Marcheshvan had arrived [and the three times (the third, the seventh, and the seventeenth of Marcheshvan) had passed], and it had not rained, individuals [i.e., Torah scholars] observe three fasts [Monday-Thursday-Monday]. They eat and drink after dark, [i.e., They are permitted to eat and drink the entire night before the fast until dawn, so long as they have not slept for a set time (as opposed to napping); but if they have, they may not eat or drink (before dawn) unless they had so stipulated before gong to sleep. Some say that eating requires such stipulation, but not drinking, there being no "set time" for drinking. This stands to reason.], and they are permitted to work, to bathe, to anoint themselves, to wear shoes, and to cohabit.

If Rosh Chodesh Kislev had arrived and it had not rained, beth-din decree three fasts upon the congregation. They eat and drink after dark, and they are permitted to work, to bathe, to anoint themselves, to wear shoes and to cohabit.

If these (times) had passed, and they had not been answered, beth-din decree three additional fasts upon the congregation. They eat and drink while it is still light, and they are forbidden to work, to bath, to anoint themselves, and to cohabit, and they close the bathhouses. If these (times) had passed, and they had not been answered, beth-din decrees another seven (fasts) upon them, making thirteen in all for the congregation. [For they had already fasted six (the fasts of the "individuals" are not included)]. These (seven) are more stringent than the first in that they blow the shofar, and close the shops. On Mondays [of the fast], they open [the shop doors slightly] towards evening, [but they do not take their wares outside], and on Thursdays, they are permitted [to be open the entire day] because of the honor of the Sabbath.

If these (times) had passed, and they had not been answered, they diminish trade, building, planting, (they refrain from) building of "joy," such as a hall for one's wedding; and planting of "joy," such as a great shade tree for promenading royalty. But it is permitted to build a house to live in and to plant a tree for its fruits, (they refrain from) betrothal, marriage, and greeting one another — as men rebuked by the L rd. The "individuals" revert to fasting until Nissan passes. If Nissan passes and rain has not fallen, it is a sign of curse, viz. (I Samuel 12:17): "Is it not the wheat harvest today, etc." [It is a sign of curse if rain does not fall at all before Nissan passes. All of these halachoth apply in Eretz Yisrael and environs; but in the distant isles, whose rain cycles differ from those of Eretz Israel, each petitions for rain in the time that it is needed; and if the usual rain period passes without rain, the beth-din of that place decree fasts upon the congregation after the "individuals" fast, as indicated in our Mishnah.]