If the first three fasts were not answered by rain, the Court decrees three more fasts. People stop eating before sunset; all other restrictions are similar to Yom Kippur or Tisha B'Av, and even work is not allowed. If these fasts pass and still there is no rain, the Court decrees another seven fasts. On these last fasts, even stores are closed.
More than thirteen fasts for rain are not decreed on the congregation. Instead, construction and planting of joyous nature are forbidden; people reduce engagements, marriages, do not greet each other, and behave like people censured by God. After this, exceptional individuals continue fasting until the spring month of Nissan, since after that, the rain, even if it falls, is no longer a sign of blessing.
Why did the Sages prohibit work on these fast days? Granted, all other prohibitions are against enjoyment, but work is no pleasure!? They are similar to Holidays – both are called "a gathering," and just as work is prohibited on the Holidays, it must be prohibited on these stringent fast days.
Art: Morning Greeting by Daniel Ridgway Knight
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