Gittin - Daf 87
- Machlokes defining a common text vs. separate טופס for multiple gittin in one document
The previous Mishnah stated: חמשה שכתבו כלל בתוך הגט – If five men wrote a common text in a single get, with witnesses signed below, all the gittin are valid (because the signatures attest to all five divorces), and it is given to each one in turn. היה כותב טופס לכל אחד ואחד – But, if a separate טופס was written for each one, only the last one, under which the signatures appear, is valid. Rebbe Yochanan explains: זמן אחד לכולן זהו כלל – If one date is written for all [five divorces], that is a common text, and they are all valid. זמן לכל אחד ואחד זהו טופס – But if a date was written for each one, that is a separate טופס. Reish Lakish holds they are considered separate even with a common date. He explains a “common text” is where they wrote: אנו פלוני ופלוני גירשנו נשותינו פלונית ופלונית – We, Ploni and Ploni, have divorced our wives, Plonis and Plonis. Ravina asked that such language would be divorcing two women with a single get, and the Torah says: "וכתב לה" ולא לה ולחברתה – “And he will write for her,” but not for her and her friend in one get!? The Gemara answers that separate statements of divorce are written afterwards.
- Two gittin written side-by-side, with Hebrew and Greek signatures running under both
The next Mishnah states: שני גיטין שכתבן זה בצד זה – Two gittin written side-by-side on one document, with two Hebrew signatures written across underneath them (whereby their names appear under the first get and their father’s names, under the second), and additionally, two Greek witnesses are signed (who sign their father’s names first and their own, second, whereby their father’s names appear under the first get, and their own, under the second get), the Mishnah rules: את שהעדים הראשונים נקראין עמו כשר – the [get] with which the first two witnesses are read is valid, and the other is not. Thus, if the two Hebrew witnesses are first, the first get is valid (because their names appear under that get), and if the Greek witnesses are first, the second get is valid. The Gemara asks: וליתכשר האי בראובן והאי בבן יעקב עד – Let this first get be validated with “Reuven” underneath it, and this second get also be validated with the words “son of Yaakov, witness” underneath it!? It answers that he wrote “Reuven ben” under the first get, and “Yaakov” (without “witness”) under the second get. Alternatively, it is known that the name “Yaakov” under the second get was not written by Yaakov (but his son).
- A get of two columns, and other irregular placements of signatures
The next Mishnah states: שייר מקצת הגט – If one left over part of the get, וכתבו בדף השני – and he wrote it in a second column, והעדים מלמטה כשר – and the witnesses signed under the second column, it is valid. If they signed at the top of the text, the side, or on the back, it is invalid. The Mishnah then discusses signatures on adjoining gittin, and other cases. The Gemara asks about the first case that perhaps it was originally two separate gittin, with the second get written higher on the paper, and he cut off the witnesses of the first get (at its bottom) and the date of the second get (at its top) to remove some undesirable term or stipulation, giving the appearance of a single get!? The Gemara explains that the Mishnah refers to a get which has space below the first column and above the second, proving that nothing else was written there. The analysis continues on the next Daf.
