1,694. Beginning Hilchos Geirushin

Hilchos Geirushin 1:1

A woman can only be divorced by delivering to her a document called a get. The Torah requires ten things of a divorce: (1) the husband must be giving it voluntarily; (2) he must grant the divorce only through a written document; (3) this document must state that he is divorcing his wife and that he releases her from his domain; (4) it must completely sever the bond between the man and his wife; (5) the get must be written for this particular woman; (6) once written, there should be no action required other than delivering it to the woman; (7) he must deliver the get to her; (8) the get must be delivered in front of witnesses; (9) the get must be delivered for purposes of divorce; (10) the husband or his agent must be the one to give her the get. Other requirements of a get, such as including the date and having the witnesses sign it, are rabbinic enactments.

Hilchos Geirushin 1:2

We see that the aforementioned requirements come from the Torah from Deuteronomy 24:1: “If it should happen that she doesn’t find favor in his eyes, and he writes a bill of divorce for her, puts it in her hand and sends her from his home.” “She doesn’t find favor” tells us that the man must initiate the divorce. If a divorce is granted against a husband’s will, it is invalid. A woman, however, may be divorced voluntarily or against her will. (Continued in halacha 1:3)