Four [Priestly] watches ascended from the exile: Yod'ayah, Charum, Pashchor, and Eimar. The prophets who were in Jerusalem divided them and installed them*, and made them into twenty-four watches, and they [inscribed their names on lots and] mixed them up and tossed them inside the ballot box. And Yod'ayah came and took out five, and with his own, behold, he had six. Charum came and took five, and with his own, behold, he had six. Pashchor came and took five, and with his own, behold, he had six. Eimar came and took five, and with his own, behold, he had six. And thus the prophets distributed [the watches] among them, for even should Yehoyariv (the head of the watches (see 1 Chron. 24:7) come up from the exile, Yod'ayah will not be displaced from its position; rather Yod'ayah will be the main [watch] and Yehoyariv will be secondary. The heads of the watches stood up and they affixed themselves to ancestral houses (see Taan. 2:6).

Every [Priestly] watch has* four, five, six, seven, eight, [or] nine [members]. A watch that has four: Three sacrifice for two days [each], and one sacrifices on one day*. A watch that has five: Three sacrifice for two days [each], and two sacrifice on one day. A watch that has six: Five sacrifice on five days, and one sacrifices for two days. A watch that has seven: Each and every one sacrifices on his [particular] day. A watch that has eight: Six sacrifice on six days and two sacrifice on one day. A watch that has nine: Five sacrifice on five days, and four sacrifice on two days. And there are those among them who affixed themselves permanently. One who comes [to serve] on Shabbat comes on Shabbat permanently. [One who comes] after Shabbat, [comes] after Shabbat permanently. And there are those among them who draw lots* once a month; there are those among them who draw lots once a week; and there are those among them who draw lots on each and every watch.

Whoever knows his watch and his ancestral house*, and he is from one of the permanent ancestral houses, he is only forbidden [from drinking wine] on that same day (i.e., since there is no doubt when he will be called into service (see Taan. 2:7)). Whoever knows his watch but does not know his ancestral house, and he is from one of the permanent ancestral houses, he is forbidden for the whole week. Anyone who does not know either his watch or his ancestral house, and he is from one of the permanent ancestral houses, he is forbidden for the whole month. Rebbi says, I say that this one should be forbidden forever, for his repair is his ruin (see San. 22b:11).

For what reason are the men of the watch permitted to drink wine by night but not by day? For if the service weighs heavily* on the men of the ancestral house, they will rely upon them. The men of the ancestral house [drink wine] neither by day nor by night because they are permanently in service.

The men of the watch and the men of the "post"* are forbidden to cut their hair or to launder their clothes [during their week of service (Taan. 2:7)], both from the time that the Temple was destroyed and before the Temple was destroyed. Rabbi Yosei says, from the time that the Temple was destroyed, they are permitted because [the destruction] is [itself a source of] mourning for them. § On Monday and Thursday, an individual [who takes upon himself to fast on behalf of the public] may sit* for a public fast, and on those days the Batei Dinim (courts) sit in the towns, and on those days they enter the synagogues and read [from the Torah], and on those days they interrupt the [regular] reading of the Megillah (see Meg. 3:4).

What is the difference between a communal fast and an individual fast? On a communal fast, they may eat and drink while it is still daytime, which is not the case with an individual fast. On a communal fast, they are forbidden from working, bathing, and anointing, and wearing shoes, and marital relations, which is not the case with an individual fast. On a communal fast, they enter the synagogues, which is not the case with an individual fast. On a communal fast, they take out the Ark to the open space of the city, which is not the case with an individual fast. On a communal fast, they pray with twenty-four blessings [during the Amidah], which is not the case with an individual fast. On a communal fast, the Priests raise their hands four times in a day, which is not the case with an individual fast. On a communal fast, they do not interrupt [the regular service of] the Festivals written in Megillat [Ta'anit] (Taan. 12a:9), which is not the case with an individual fast. It so happened that they decreed that there be a fast on Chanukah in Lod. They informed Rabbi Eliezer, and he cut his hair; Rabbi Yehoshua, and he bathed (i.e., to show that they did not accept the fast). Rabbi Yehoshua said to them, go out and fast [in penitence] for that which you have [already] fasted (i.e., for having fasted on Chanukah, which is prohibited). As long as Rabban Gamaliel was alive, the halacha followed according to his words. After the death of Rabban Gamaliel, Rabbi Yehoshua sought to abolish his words. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri stood up on his legs and said, "I see that the body must follow the head*. As long as Rabban Gamaliel was alive, the halacha followed according to his words. Now that he is dead, you (pl.) are seeking to abolish his words?" Said Rabbi Yehoshua, "We hear you. The halacha will be established according to the words of Rabban Gamaliel." And there was no one who contested his words.

As to Shabbats and Festivals, it is permitted to fast before them and after them. Why are these ones (i.e., the days written in Megillat Ta'anit) forbidden while those ones (Shabbats and Festivals) are permitted? Those ones are the words of the Torah, and the words of the Torah do not require [additional] stringency, [while] these ones are the words of the scribes, and the words of the scribes do require [additional] stringency. Abba Yosei ben Dosai said in the name of Rabbi Yosei HaGalili, one who takes an oath to fast on Erev Shabbat, behold, that is a false oath.

And [when] the Ninth of Av falls out on Erev Shabbat (Friday), a person eats the equivalent of an egg's bulk and drinks the equivalent of an egg's bulk* the equivalent of an egg's bulk and drinks the equivalent of an egg's bulk" (MS Erfurt); alt., "eats the equivalent of an egg's bulk and even drinks the equivalent of an egg's bulk" (MS Vienna; GR"A), so that [Shabbat] does not come in while he is in a state of affliction, the words of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Yosei says, behold, he must fast and complete [his fast]. Rabbi Yosei said to him, "Do you not agree that when the Ninth of Av falls out after Shabbat, that they [only] eat and drink while it is still day? What is the difference between entering into Shabbat in a state of affliction, and leaving Shabbat in a state of affliction?" He said to him, "No. If you are saying so in regards to [the fast commencing after Shabbat], when they can eat and drink the whole day, can you say the same in regards to [the fast commencing the day before Shabbat], when they can only eat and drink with the coming of nightfall?"

Just as they blow the shofar for the rains during the other years of the agricultural cycle (lit., "the week"), so too they blow the shofar for them on the Sabbatical Year for the sake of sustaining others*. And they blow the shofar for the trees during the Passover season, and for the cisterns and for the ditches and for the caves [that have not been filled with water] during the Sukkot season. If they do not have water to drink, they blow the shofar for them (i.e., the rains) immediately. And what do they mean by "immediately"? Monday and Thursday. And in all of these cases, they only blow the shofar on their account in the same province.

A pestilence where there is an interruption (i.e., a full day passes without fatalities): Even if there are three deaths in one day [after the interruption], one after another, this is not considered a pestilence [for purposes of fasting (see Taan. 3:4)]. A pestilence where there is no interruption: Even if there are three deaths over three days, one after another, behold, this is a considered a pestilence. Diphtheria: If there are any deaths from it, they blow the shofar on its account; if not, they do not blow the shofar on its account. They blow the shofar on account of the govay (a species of locust) in any amount, because this is a plague that is likely to spread (Taan. 3:5). Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says, even on account of the chagav (edible locusts). Armies passing from place to place: Even [if it is] an "army of peace," they blow the shofar on its account, and needless to say, if it is an "army of retribution." And there is no greater example than an "army of peace" than Pharoah Neco, and it swept away that righteous man, he being [King] Josiah (2 Chr. 35:20-25): "[Neco] sent messengers to him, saying, 'What have I to do with you, etc.'" "It is God’s will that I hurry" -- [meaning,] from the mouth of the Holy I am ascending [to battle]. "Restrain yourself [from interfering, for elohim is with me]" -- that is the language of idolatry (see Taan. 22b:2). "But Josiah would not turn his face from him, but he costumed himself [in armor], etc.," "And archers shot King Josiah, etc.," "[And Jerusalem] went into mourning over Josiah, etc.," "And Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, etc." Here is the exposition of the matter (Lam. 4:20): "The breath of our life, God's anointed one, [was captured in their traps]." And for all of these, they only blow the shofar on their account in the same province. If [a plague] happened in Syria, they do not blow the shofar on its account [in Judea].

A city that is surrounded by Gentile [troops], or by a river, and so too a ship foundering on the sea (Taan. 3:7), and so too an individual who is being pursued by Gentiles, or by bandits, or by an evil spirit -- they do not have the right to afflict themselves by fasting, so as not to break their strength. And so too would Rabbi Yosei say, an individual does not have the right to afflict himself with fasting lest [this cause] the community to fall, as they may need to sustain him [as a result of his fasting]. It so happened that they told a certain pious man to pray for the rains to fall, and the rains fell. They said to him, "Just as you prayed for the rains to fall, so too you should now pray for them to cease." He said to them, "Go out and take a look. If a man can stand at Keren Ophil and dangle his leg in the Kidron Brook, we will pray that the rains not fall, but we are certain that the Place will never bring [another] flood, as it is said (Gen. 9:15), 'And never again shall the waters become a flood, [to bring all flesh to ruin]'; [and it says] (Is. 54:9), 'For to me this [eternal kindness] is like the waters of Noah, which I swore [would never again pass over the earth].'" Rabbi Meir says, a flood of water there will not be, but a flood of fire and of brimstone there will be, in the same way that it was brought upon the Sodomites, as it is said (Gen. 19:24), "And God rained upon Sodom [and Gomorrah fire and brimstone]." Rabbi Yehuda says, a flood for "all flesh" there will not be, but an "individual" flood there will be. How so? One who fell into the sea, [or] his ship sank in the sea, and he died, behold, that is his [individual] flood. Rabbi Yosei says, a flood of water there will not be, but a flood of pestilence to the Gentiles (alt., "to the nations of the world" (MS Vienna")) in the days of the Messiah there will be, as it is said (Zech. 11:10-11), "And I took (or 'will take') My staff of Grace [and cleft it asunder, to annual the covenant that I entered into with the nations]." What does it [then] say, "And it was (or 'will be') annulled on that day."

Pregnant and nursing women fast on the Ninth of Av, and Yom Kippur, and on the three public fast days, but they would not fast on the remainder of the fast days. Not that they were allowed to indulge in delicacies*; rather, they eat and drink as much as is required to sustain the newborn. One who was fasting for a sick person, and he recovered, [or] due to a matter of distress, and it passed -- behold, he should [nonetheless] complete his fast. Behold, one who was fasting and forgot, and ate and drank, [nonetheless] completes his fast. One who goes from a place where they are fasting to a place where they are not fasting -- behold, this one completes his fast. One who entered a city and found that they are fasting -- behold, this one fasts along with them. What is the "Great Hallel" (see Taan. 3:9)? (Ps. 136:2-3), "Give thanks to the God of gods, [for His mercy endures forever]; Give thanks to the Lord of lords, [for His mercy endures forever]."