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Week 87 - Friday - 27 July 2001

GITTIN: CHAPTER 8: MISHNAH 10

Anyone may complete a get kere'ah so Ben Nanas. Rabbi Akiva says, Only relatives who are eligible to testify in another place may complete it. And which is a get kere'ah? One that has more folds than witnesses.

Kehati

Our mishnah continues to discuss the topic of get kere'ah, mentioned at the end of the previous mishnah. The mishnah teaches that a get kere'ah can be validated by completing the unsigned folds. The Tannaim differ as to which witnesses may complete the signatures.

Anyone may complete a get kere'ah - even relatives, bondmen, or thieves may complete the unsigned folds, since the completion is only required because we fear that the Court will at a later date invalidate the get on the assumption that the husband summoned witnesses for all the folds of the get, and not all the witnesses signed, as explained in the previous mishnah. Therefore, if we know that the husband did not summon the same number of witnesses as folds, it is permissible to complete the folds with people who are otherwise not qualified to testify, since they only sign so that the Court should not invalidate the get; so Ben Nanas - the Gemara explains that a get mekushar must have at least three folds with three valid signatures on them, and our mishnah, which allows even unqualified witnesses to sign, refers to a get mekushar which has more than three folds, and which is signed by at least three qualified witnesses, and Ben Nanas therefore permits unqualified witnesses to complete it as explained above.

Rabbi Akiva says, Only relatives who are eligible to testify in another place may complete it - Rabbi Akiva disagrees with Ben Nanas, and holds that the folds may only be completed by relatives, whose testimony is valid elsewhere, i.e., for people to whom they are not related, but not by bondmen or thieves, whose testimony is not valid under any circumstances, because if a bondman signs we fear that people will think that he has been released and he will be permitted to marry an Israelite daughter and if a thief signs people might think he repented, and he will be allowed to give other testimony as well. However, no harm can be caused if relatives sign, since everyone knows that they are relatives.

And which is a get kere'ah? One - get mekushar - that has more folds than witnesses, as was explained in the introduction to the preceding mishnah. According to all opinions in the Gemara, a get mekushar with three folds but only two witnesses may not be completed by a servant or a thief, as mentioned above in Ben Nanas's statement: the Amoraim differ, however, regarding a relative: one holds that a relative may complete the third space because Torah law does not require three witnesses on a get; and one holds that a relative may not complete the third space, since three witnesses on a get mekushar are as indispensable as two witnesses on a regular get. The halakhah follows Ben-Nanas. However, only one witness may be unqualified to complete the get, whereas all the others must be qualified (Rambam; Bartenura).

GITTIN: CHAPTER 9: MISHNAH 1

If one divorces his wife and says to her, "You are permitted to marry any man, except so-and-so" - Rabbi Eliezer permits, but the Sages forbid. What should he do? He should take it from her and give it to her again, and say to her, "You are permitted to any man," but if he wrote it in it, even if he erased it - it is invalid.

Kehati

We learned in the Introduction to the Tractate that the get must completely sever the relationship between the husband and the wife and must not leave the husband any authority over her or connection to her. This is also taught in the chapter (mishnah 3): "The essence of a get: 'You are permitted to every man" - i.e., the husband releases his wife, and permits her to marry any person. Our mishnah teaches the law regarding one who gives a get to his wife, and says to her, "You are permitted to every man, except so-and-so." Rabbi Eliezer and the Sages have differing views.

If one divorces his wife - with a valid get, and says to her - at the time when he gives the get, "You are permitted to marry any man, except so-and-so" - Rabbi Eliezer permits- her to marry anyone on the strength of this get, except the person the husband indicated as forbidden and although there is a residuary clause in the get, and the separation between them is not complete, she is nevertheless divorced. The Gemara explains that Rabbi Eliezer learns it from the verse referring to the priests, "neither shall they take a woman who is divorced from her husband" (Lev. 21:7) - even if she is divorced only "from her husband," e.g., a woman whose husband said to her, "You are divorced from me, and you are not permitted to marry any man," - is forbidden to marry a priest by Rabbinic Law. Rabbi Eliezer holds that if a get which does not permit her to marry any man, and through which she is divorced only from her husband, is sufficient to forbid her to marry a priest, then a get which permits her to marry anybody except for one person is certainly a get (Gemara, Rashi and Tosafot - Git. 82b),

But the Sages forbid-her to marry on the strength of this get since the husband retained partial control when he released her, and did not permit her to marry any man, the get does not separate completely and is not a "bill of divorce," and the law in the Gemara regarding priests is only an additional stringency. What should he do? He should take it - the get, from her and give it to her again, and say to her, "You are permitted to any man" - even though in the case of "Take in this bond of indebtedness" (8:2, above), it was taught that he only has to say to her, "This is your get," and he is not required to take it from her and give it to her again, this case is different, because when he first gave her the get it disqualified her from marrying a priest. Therefore his speaking alone is not effective and he must take the get back from her and give it to her again (Gemara and Rashi, Git. 84b). But if he wrote it - the condition, "except so and so" in it - in the get, even if he erased it - it is invalid - because the get was written on this condition and cannot be considered "a document of separation" (Tosafot).

According to one opinion in the Gemara, the Sages invalidate the get only if the husband says to his wife, "You are permitted to marry any man except so-and-so," but if he says to her, "This is your get on condition that you will not marry so-and-so," even the Sages agree that the get is valid, since on giving her the get, he freed her to marry any man, and only stipulated that she not marry a certain person. It is therefore valid like any other condition which a husband makes when he gives a get. This is the opinion of most legal authorities (Alfasi, Rosh, Rambam). When the husband stipulates a condition prior to the writing of the get, however, even though the condition is not written in the get, the get is invalid, because when it was written it was not a "book of separation." The husband may only stipulate the conditions he desires at the time of the giving of the get (Rambam, Hil. Gerushin 8:3; Bartenura; Tosefot Yom Tov; see also Tosefot Rabbi Akiva Eiger).

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