Gittin - Daf 72
- A get made contingent on the husband’s death, and the connotation of "אם מתי"
The next Mishnah states: One who says: זה גיטיך אם מתי – “This is your get if I die,” זה גיטיך מחולי זה – or, “This is your get from this illness (i.e., when it ends with his recovery or death), זה גיטיך לאחר מיתה – or, “This is your get after my death,” לא אמר כלום – he has said nothing, meaning the get is invalid because it was set to take effect after his death. But if he says: מהיום אם מתי מעכשיו אם מתי – “This is your get from today if I die,” or “from now if I die,” הרי זה גט – this is a valid get because it takes effect retroactively. If he says: מהיום ולאחר מיתה – “From today and after death,” it is unknown if the get is effective, and she would require chalitzah if the husband dies childless. The Gemara wonders about the connotation of "אם מתי" – if I die. The first case of the Mishnah (where such a get is invalid) indicates that it implies “after death,” yet if he says, “From today if I die,” the get is effective (but one who says “From today after death” is a safek)!? Abaye answers that "אם מתי" carries both connotations. Saying “From today if I die” is understood to mean from now and would be valid, but saying “if I die” by itself, is understood to mean “when I die” and would be invalid because it implies giving the get לאחר מיתה.
- Rebbe Yose holds זמנו של שטר מוכיח עליו
The Mishnah taught that if one says, “This is your get if I die,” the get is invalid. Rav Huna says: וחולצת – If her husband dies childless, she requires chalitzah. After the Gemara proves that our Mishnah clearly holds she does not require chalitzah, it explains that Rav Huna is speaking according to Rebbe Yose, who holds: זמנו של שטר מוכיח עליו – the date of the document proves its intent to be effective retroactively. He holds that writing the date indicates he wants it to take effect on that date. The Gemara asks that according to Rebbe Yose, חליצה נמי לא תיבעי – she should not require chalitzah, because the get definitely takes effect before his death!? After the Gemara proves that Rav Huna rules definitively like Rebbe Yose (not just out of doubt), and that Rebbe Yose’s ruling applies even when a verbal stipulation is added (such as our Mishnah, where he added, “when I die,” which might be viewed as a retraction from the written date), it concludes that Rav Huna was unsure about ruling like Rebbe Yose where a verbal stipulation is added.
- The laws of an ill person’s get are the same as those for his gift
Rav Huna said, regarding transactions of someone gravely ill: גיטו כמתנתו – the laws of his get are the same as those of his gift. He explains: מה מתנתו אם עמד חוזר – Just as with his gift, if he recovers from his illness he automatically retracts from the gift (since he only gave it because he thought he would die), אף גיטו אם עמד חוזר – so too with his get, if he recovers, he automatically retracts from the get (which he presumably gave for the same reason). ומה גיטו אף על גב דלא פריש – And just as with his get, even if he was not explicit to give it, כיון דאמר כתובו אף על גב דלא אמר תנו – still, once he said, “Write,” even though he did not say, “Give it,” it is still given, אף מתנתו כיון דאמר תנו – so too with his gift, once he said, “Give it,” the recipient acquires it, אף על גב דלא קנו מיניה –even though they did not [make a kinyan to] acquire it from him. This is challenged from our Mishnah, which teaches that his get is not necessarily voided when he recovers, and the Gemara explains it means: שניתק מחולי לחולי – he passed from one illness to another without actually recovering.
