Aligned sentence by sentence
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Mishnah [1]
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R. Yehuda's statement "until four hours" means up to the end of the fourth seasonal hour, which is a third of the day, as we explained at the beginning of the tractate. And the law follows R. Yehuda.
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The explanation of *pelag*: "half"; the Targum renders *ḥatzi* (half) by it. *Mincha* is a name applied to a portion of the day, namely when two and a half seasonal hours remain of it; the second prayer is called *Mincha* because its earliest time falls within that period. *Pelag ha-Mincha* (half of the Mincha period) is when an hour and a quarter, seasonally, remain of the day.
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Whoever has prayed "until evening"—that is, until the sun sets—has prayed *Mincha*, and this is no compelling of the prayer, because the ruling in this matter is "whoever acts according to one [view] has acted [validly], and whoever acts according to the other has acted [validly]."
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His statement "the evening prayer has no fixed time" is because it is not obligatory like *Shacharit* and *Mincha*; rather it is optional—I mean only recommended. For this reason no precision was insisted upon regarding its earliest and latest time, and a person may pray it until the sun rises.
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As for any of these three prayers that a person has missed, he makes it up after its time together with the prayer that follows it, and he places the made-up prayer last.
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His statement "that of the *Musaf* offerings [may be said] all day"—but he is called negligent [if he delays], for its [proper] time is only until the end of the seventh seasonal hour. If one prays after the seventh hour, he has indeed gone outside its required time, as we said "all day," but he is termed a transgressor (*poshe'a*).
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Mishnah [2]
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The explanation of *tara*: "stumbling-block"—it brings about an excuse [for failure]. *Ve-hodaya ʿal ḥelki*: "thanksgiving for the portion that God has apportioned to me."
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They [the Sages] have set out the text of these two prayers, saying: "On entering [the study house], what does he say? 'May it be Your will, O Lord my God, that I not stumble in a matter of law, that I not declare the impure pure or the pure impure, nor the permitted forbidden nor the forbidden permitted; and may I not stumble in a matter of law and have my colleagues rejoice over me, nor may my colleagues stumble in a matter of law and have me rejoice over them.'
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And on leaving, what does he say? 'I give thanks before You, O Lord my God, that You have set my portion among those who sit in the study house and have not set my portion among those who sit at the street-corners; for I rise early and they rise early—I rise early for words of Torah, and they rise early for idle matters; I labor and they labor—I labor and receive reward, and they labor and receive no reward; I run and they run—I run toward the life of the world to come, and they run toward the pit of destruction'" (BT Berakhot 28b).
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These two prayers are obligatory for everyone who enters the study house in order to study. Do you not see that he did not say "On entering, what did he [used to] say?"—which would have been a description of what R. Neḥunya ben ha-Kana used to say, in which case we would have a choice in the matter? Rather he said "On entering, what does he say?"—meaning, when the one who enters comes into the study house, what is he to say.
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And he may recite these two prayers seated or standing or however it comes about, and he need not face the [direction of] prayer, nor pronounce a blessing, nor is there any bowing in them. He called it *tefilla* (prayer) only on the basis of the original sense of the language, which calls supplication *tefilla*.
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Mishnah [3]
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The explanation of *ʿein*: "the purport," "the gist." They set this out in the following text: "Give us understanding, O Lord our God, to know Your ways; circumcise our hearts to fear You; forgive us so that we be redeemed; keep us far from pain; let us flourish, and settle us in the pastures of Your land; and gather in our scattered ones from the four [corners]; let those who err against Your knowledge be judged; raise Your hand against the wicked; and let the righteous rejoice in the rebuilding of Your city, in the restoration of Your sanctuary, in the flourishing of a horn for David Your servant, and in the kindling of a lamp for the son of Jesse, Your anointed; before we call, may You answer; before we speak, may You hear—for You are the One who answers in every time of trouble and distress, who redeems and rescues from every distress. Blessed are You, O Lord, who hears prayer" (BT Berakhot 29a).
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The first three [blessings] and the last three he must not add to nor subtract from. The ruling of the law is that one does not pray *Havineinu*—and that is the "abridgement of the Eighteen"—except in time of pressing need. The explanation of *shagra*: "fluent"—meaning that his tongue did not stammer. And the law follows R. Akiva.
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Mishnah [4]
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By his statement here "fixed" (*keva*) he means that one makes his prayer like a man who takes up a task imposed upon him in order to be rid of it and have its burden removed from him. His statement "and one says, 'Save, O Lord,' etc."—this language adds nothing beyond "an abridged prayer"; it is only a clarification of what "an abridged prayer" is.
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As for his statement *parashat ha-ʿibur*, they explained in the Talmud that it derives from *ʿevra* (wrath), and its meaning is: even at a time of wrath before You, may You be pleased with them and grant their requests. The law does not follow R. Yehoshua.
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The text of the prayer one prays at a time of danger and preoccupation of the mind is as follows: "The needs of Your people Israel are many and their understanding is scant. May it be Your will, O Lord our God, to give to each and every one his sustenance, and to every body what it lacks; and do what is good in Your eyes. Blessed are You, O Lord, who hears prayer" (BT Berakhot 29b).
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He may pray it while walking or riding, however it falls out, and there is no bowing in it. When he reaches a settled place and there remains time in which it is possible to make up that prayer, he prays it as it ought to be prayed.
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Mishnah [5]
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His statement "let him dismount" is not the law; rather, even if he were able to dismount and had with him someone to hold his mount for him, he is not obliged to dismount from his mount, but prays while riding, so that he not be distracted by it.
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The explanation of *yekhaven et libo* (let him direct his heart): let him ready his heart and call to mind that he is facing the Holy of Holies.
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Mishnah [6]
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*Karon*: a kind of wagon. *Asda*: a very small boat by which the great rivers are crossed; its common name among the people is *al-maʿdiya* (the ferry).
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Mishnah [7]
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*Ḥaver* is a term for a Torah scholar. The explanation of *ḥaver ʿir*: "a scholar of the city," and it is an allusion to the prayer of the congregation, since they gather only for [the sake of] their scholar.
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R. Elazar ben Azarya says that the *Musaf* prayer is prayed only in a congregation, and does not at all obligate an individual. R. Yehuda relates in his name that it does obligate an individual: if there is no congregation [praying], he prays the *Musaf* prayer.
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But if there is a congregation praying the *Musaf* prayer in the city, then the individual in that city is not obliged to pray *Musaf*, since the community has discharged it. And the law follows the Sages.