Gittin - Daf 89
- Rumors of marriage, relations, etc.
The Mishnah on the previous Daf taught that if a woman was rumored to have accepted kiddushin (that day), meaning two witnesses testified in Beis Din they heard people say she was mekudeshes to a man, and saw circumstantial evidence, she cannot marry anyone else before receiving a get from that man. Rava says: יצא לה שם מזנה בעיר – If [an unmarried woman] was rumored to have had illicit relations with someone who would disqualify her to Kehunah, אין חוששין לה – we are not concerned for it, and assume the rumor was based on promiscuous behavior, but not actual relations. The Gemara quotes a machlokes Tannaim on this subject. A Baraisa lists numerous other rumors which are disregarded, including rumors that a woman has had relations (prohibiting her to a Kohen Gadol), rumors that she has been married for some length of time, rumors of marriage without identifying the husband, and others. Ulla defines the rumor of the Mishnah: לא ששמעו קול הברה – Rumors of marriage are not heeded where they heard mere noise (gossip), אלא כדי שיהו נרות דולקות – rather, where they saw a room arranged for a marriage celebration, with lamps burning, ומטות מוצעות – couches set up, ובני אדם נכנסין ויוצאין ואומרים פלונית מתקדשת היום – and people going in and out saying, “Plonis is getting married today,” which the Gemara adjusts to be “Plonis was married today.”
- Laws of אמתלא – a mitigating factor which neutralizes a rumor
The Mishnah taught that a rumor which is accompanied by an אמתלא – a mitigating factor, may be disregarded. An example would be rumors that a man threw [money or a shtar] for kiddushin towards a woman, and it is unknown if it reached closer to her. Rebbe Yochanan was quoted to say: לא אמרו דבר זהו אמתלא – If they did not say anything, which Rashi below explains that the original rumor was incomplete, because it included an אמתלא (such as doubtful kiddushin), this is a mitigating factor which neutralizes a rumor. His point was that the אמתלא must accompany the original rumor, disagreeing with Rabbah bar bar Channah, who said an אמתלא is effective even if it surfaces ten days after the rumor. Later, Rav Zevid says: במקום אמתלא חוששין לאמתלא – where there is a basis for a mitigating factor, we consider the mitigating factor even it was not reported and disregard the rumor.
- If a woman rumored to have received kiddushin accepts kiddushin from another man
An inquiry was sent to Shmuel: ילמדנו רבינו – Let our teacher instruct us about the following case: יצא עליה קול מראשון – If a rumor circulated that a woman accepted kiddushin from one man, ובא אחר וקדשה קידושי תורה מהו – and another man came and married her with Biblical kiddushin (i.e., with witnesses), what is the halachah? He responded: תצא – She must leave the second husband (until she receives a get from the first), והעמידו הדבר על בוריו והודיעוני – and you should determine the truth of [the rumor] and notify me of your conclusion. The Gemara explains he meant that if they determined that the first husband did indeed marry her, she does not require a get from the second husband. He disagrees with Rav Huna, who said: אשת איש שפשטה ידה – a married woman who stretched out her hand, וקיבלה קידושין מאחר מקודשת – and accepted kiddushin from another man, she is considered married to the second man. Rav Huna’s opinion is based on Rav Hamnuna’s statement that a woman who tells her husband, “You divorced me,” she is believed, חזקה אין אשה מעיזה פניה בפני בעלה – because it is presumed that a woman would not be so brazen to lie before her husband that he divorced her. Similarly, accepting kiddushin is accepted as proof that she was divorced. Shmuel holds that accepting kiddushin when not in front her husband is insufficient evidence of a divorce.
