1The Gemara objects: If Rabbi Akiva holds in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira with regard to this derivation, let him say that it is in accordance with his ruling that one begins mentioning rain from the second day of Sukkot , not the sixth day. The Gemara answers: Rabbi Akiva holds that when that extra reference to libation is written in the verse, it is with regard to the sixth day that it is written. In other words, it is the plural phrase: “Its libations [ unsakheha ]” (Numbers 29:31), which appears on the sixth day, that directly indicates that one must perform more than one libation, while the other two superfluous letters merely serve to teach that this second libation must be of water, not wine. Therefore, the additional libation is performed on the sixth day.
2§ It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Natan says: “In the Sanctuary you shall pour out a libation [ hassekh nesekh ] of strong drink to the Lord” (Numbers 28:7). The Torah states the term for libation twice, which indicates that the verse is speaking of two libations: One is the water libation and the other one is the wine libation. The Gemara asks: Why not say that both libations are of wine? The Gemara answers: If so, let the verse write either hassekh hessekh or nassekh nesekh , with the same prefix each time. What is the meaning of the varied formulation: “ Hassekh nesekh ”? Learn from this that one libation is of water and the other one is of wine.
3The Gemara asks: However, what about that which we learned in a mishna ( Sukka 42b): The water libation is performed all seven days of Sukkot . Who is the author of this mishna? If you say it is Rabbi Yehoshua, let us say that this ritual is performed only one day, the Eighth Day of Assembly. If it is Rabbi Akiva, the mishna should state two days, the sixth and the seventh Festival days. If it is Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira, the mishna should say that the water libation is performed on six days, from the second day of Sukkot onward.
4The Gemara answers: Actually, the ruling of the mishna is that of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira, and he holds in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, as stated in a mishna. As we learned in a mishna ( Sukka 48b) that Rabbi Yehuda says: He would pour with a utensil that held a log of water all eight days of Sukkot , which includes the Eighth Day of Assembly. And Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira removes the first day from this obligation and includes the eighth, which results in seven days of water libations.
5The Gemara asks: And what is different about the first day, that the water libation is not performed on that day, according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira? Is the reason that when the Torah alludes to water, it is on the second day that it alludes to this libation? If so, one should not bring the libation on the eighth day either, because when the Torah alludes to water for the last time, it is on the seventh day that it alludes to it.
6Rather, the Gemara retracts from the previous explanation in favor of the claim that this mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua. And Rabbi Yehoshua maintains that this ruling that the water libation is performed all seven days of Sukkot is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai, learned through tradition. In other words, this obligation is not based upon a textual source.
7As Rabbi Ami said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Neḥunya of the valley of Beit Ḥortan: The halakha of ten saplings, that if there are ten saplings that require water planted in an area of a beit se’a , 2,500 square cubits, it is permitted to plow the entire field in the summer preceding the Sabbatical Year despite the fact that it is prohibited to plow other fields starting from the preceding Shavuot ; the practice of walking around the altar with a willow and adorning the altar with it on Sukkot and taking it on the last day of Sukkot ; and the obligation of the water libation; each of these three is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai.
8It is stated in the same baraita cited previously that Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua: With regard to the one who passes before the ark as prayer leader on the concluding Festival day of the festival of Sukkot , the Eighth Day of Assembly, the last prayer leader of the additional prayer mentions rain, whereas the first prayer leader for the morning prayer does not mention rain. Conversely, on the first Festival day of Passover, the first prayer leader mentions rain, while the last prayer leader does not mention rain.
9The Gemara asks: To which statement of Rabbi Yehoshua is Rabbi Yehuda referring? If we say that he is referring to the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua cited in the mishna, this cannot be the case, as Rabbi Yehoshua in our mishna said that one begins to mention rain on the last Festival day of the festival of Sukkot , the Eighth Day of Assembly. This indicates that one starts to mention rain from the beginning of the day, i.e., the evening prayer service.
10Rather, you will say that Rabbi Yehuda is referring to the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, cited in the baraita . However, this too is untenable, as didn’t Rabbi Yehoshua say there that one begins to mention rain from the time one puts down the lulav , i.e., from the end of the seventh day of Sukkot ? This statement also indicates that one begins to mention rain from the evening service of the Eighth Day of Assembly.
11The Gemara asks another question: And, furthermore, that which is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of ben Beteira: With regard to the one who passes before the ark on the concluding Festival day of the festival of Sukkot , the Eighth Day of Assembly, the last prayer leader mentions rain. To which of the halakhot of ben Beteira is Rabbi Yehuda referring here? If we say he is referring to the ruling of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira, this cannot be the case, as he said that one begins to mention rain on the second day of Sukkot .
12Rav Naḥman Bar Yitzḥak said: Let the ben Beteira mentioned by Rabbi Yehuda in the baraita be understood as a reference to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Beteira, and this will resolve all the above difficulties. At times, Rabbi Yehuda calls him by his name, Rabbi Yehoshua, despite the fact that the name Rabbi Yehoshua generally refers to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya. At other times, Rabbi Yehuda calls him by his father’s name, e.g., in the second baraita , when the ruling is attributed to ben Beteira. And the Gemara explains the reason for the different names: This baraita , where he is called by his father’s name, was written before he was ordained, and this baraita , where he is called simply Rabbi Yehoshua, was from after he was ordained.
13§ It is taught in another baraita : With regard to dew and with regard to wind, the Sages did not obligate one to mention them by reciting: He makes the wind blow and the dew fall, in the second blessing of the Amida , but if one seeks to mention them, he may mention them. The Gemara asks: What is the reason that this recitation is optional? Rabbi Ḥanina said: Because winds and dew are consistent and not withheld, since the world could not exist without them, their mention is optional.
14The Gemara explains: And dew, from where do we derive that it is not withheld? As it is written: “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab: As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be no dew or rain in these years but according to my word” (I Kings 17:1), and it is written: “Go, show yourself before Ahab, and I will send rain upon the land” (I Kings 18:1). God stated that He will resume rainfall, whereas He did not say to Elijah that He will restore dew. What is the reason? Because dew