Gittin 8:8-9

Gittin 8:8

Let’s say that the scribe wrote a get for the husband and a receipt for the wife but he mistakenly gave each one the other document, with the result that the man hands his wife the receipt and she hands him the get (the opposite of what should happen). The woman, thinking she’s divorced, remarries and the error is only subsequently discovered. The woman is prohibited to both her original husband and her new husband and all of the conditions described in mishna 8:5 apply. Rabbi Eliezer says that if the error is immediately discovered, she needs a new get but if the error is only discovered later, she does not because her first husband does not have the ability to deprive the second husband of his rights. (We are concerned for the possibility that he may have contrived the situation to sabotage his ex-wife’s new marriage.) If a man wrote a get to divorce his wife but he changed his mind and did not follow through, Beis Shammai say that she is prohibited to marry a kohein. Beis Hillel say that even if a man actually hands his wife a conditional get, if the condition is not fulfilled, she remains permitted to marry a kohein.

Gittin 8:9

Let’s say that a man divorced his wife and they subsequently spent a night together in an inn. In such a case, Beis Shammai say that she does not require a new get but Beis Hillel say that she does. This is only when the couple divorced after actually being married; if they divorced after betrothal, she does not require a second get because they are not as intimate. If a man married a woman who was divorced with a get keireiach (a type of invalid get, which will be defined in the next mishna), she is prohibited to both her original husband and her new husband, and all the conditions outlined in mishna 8:5 apply.