Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna, by D. A. Sola and M. J. Raphall, [1843], at sacred-texts.com

CHAPTER VI.

§ 1. When one person says to another, "Receive this Get for my wife," or, "Bring this Get to my wife," he may, if he likes, take it back again; 1 but when the wife said [to the messenger], "Receive for me my Get," the husband cannot resume it. Therefore, should a husband say to the messenger, "I do not wish that you should receive it for her [as her messenger], but go and give it her [as my messenger]," he may, if he likes, resume it again. Rabbon Simeon ben Gamaliel saith, "Also, when the wife said, 'Fetch me my Get,' the husband cannot take it back."

§ 2. A wife who had said, "Receive for me my Get," must produce two [sets or] pairs of witnesses; two must testify [and say], "She uttered this [order] in our presence," and two more to say, "The messenger received the Get, and tore it up 2 in our presence;" the same witnesses may however testify to the truth of both assertions, or one of the first and one of the second pair of witnesses may conjoin with them a third person to bear testimony. A betrothed girl may either receive her Get herself, or her father may receive it for her. R. Jehudah saith, "That right cannot be possessed at the same time by both parties; but her father only has a right to receive her Get." Any female who is too young to take proper care of her Get, cannot be divorced at all.

§ 3. When a female minor said, "Receive my Get for me," the Get is ineffective until it has reached her hands. Therefore, should the husband wish to revoke the Get, he is at liberty to do so, because a minor has not the power of appointing a messenger [or deputy]; but if her father said [to the messenger], "Go and receive my daughter's Get," the husband cannot revoke it. When a husband says,

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[paragraph continues] "Give this Get to my wife in the place N. N." and the messenger gave it her elsewhere, the Get is void. [But if the husband had only said] "My wife is in the place N. N." and the messenger gave it her in another place, it is valid. When a woman says, "Receive for me my Get in such a place," and the messenger received it for her in another place, it is void; but R. Eleazar declares it valid. If she said, "Bring me my Get from such a place," and he fetched it from elsewhere, it is valid.

§ 4. When a wife says, "Bring me my Get," she may [if married to a priest] continue to eat heave till the Get has been delivered into her hands. When she said to a messenger, "Receive my Get for me," she may not, from that instant, eat any longer of the heave. If she said, "Receive my Get for me, and bring it to the place N. N." she is permitted to eat heave till the time the Get can have reached that place; but R. Eleazar prohibits it immediately. 3

§ 5. When a husband says, "Write a Get, and give it to my wife," or, "Divorce her," or, "Write a letter [‏אגרת‎] and give it her," they are to write the Get, and give it her. If he said, "Release her," or, "Provide her her maintenance," or, "Do with her as is customary," or, "Do with her as is proper," what he has said amounts to nothing. Formerly, it was held that when a criminal was led out with an iron collar [to the place of execution], and he said, "Write a Get for my wife," they should write it, and deliver it to her. It was afterwards decided, also those that are about going to sea, or to travel with a caravan [in the desert]. R. Simeon Sazuree saith, "Also those who are dangerously ill."

§ 6. If a person who was cast into a pit, called out from thence, that whoever should hear his voice should write a Get to his wife, they shall write it and deliver it to her. When a person in health says, "Write a Get for my wife," he must be considered as if joking with her. It once happened that a person in health said, "Write a Get for my wife," and then went on his roof, from whence he fell and died; Rabbon Simeon ben Gamaliel saith, "The sages decided upon that occasion, that if he fell down with premeditation [on his part] the Get is valid, but not if the wind blew him down." 4

§ 7. If a husband says to two [men], "Give a Get to my wife," 5 or to three, "Write a Get, and give it to my wife," they shall write,

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and deliver it to her. 6 If he said to three, "Give a Get to my wife," the latter can depute others to write it, because he constituted them a tribunal. Such is the dictum of R. Meir, and this doctrine R. Hanina of Ono 7 brought with him from prison; 8 [he said] "I have received a tradition, that when the husband said to three men, 'Give my wife a Get,' that they may depute others to write it, because the constituted them a tribunal." R. José saith, "We tell this emissary, 9 We [also] have a tradition, that when a husband had said even to the Great Tribunal in Jerusalem, 'Give my wife a Get,' the latter are bound to study [the laws of Get], 10 write a Get, and deliver it to the wife." When a husband says to ten [men], "Write ye and deliver a Get to my wife," one of that number shall write, and two others sign it, but if he said, "Write it all of ye," then one shall write, and all must sign it. Therefore, if one of them should die, 11 the Get becomes void.

Footnotes

293:1 That is, he may revoke the commission he gave. Note that in this as in the following sections, this revocation is admissible only before the Get was delivered to the wife.

293:2 This relates to a time of persecution, when the Get was torn up as soon as a divorce had taken place.

294:3 That is, immediately the messenger left her to proceed on his mission.

294:4 Or that he fell owing to any other accidental circumstance.

294:5 Without adding that they were to write it.

295:6 And require no other writer or witnesses.

295:7 The name of a place.

295:8 Where R. Akivah was incarcerated, and from whom he learned the above narration.

295:9 Viz. R. Hanina of Ono, who was deputed to communicate this doctrine to the sages.

295:10 If necessary, or if they had no practice in the writing of a Get. [See Maimonides’ Commentary, ad literam.]

295:11 Before the delivery of the Get.