1,755. Witnesses to a Delivery Agent

Hilchos Geirushin 6:13

Let’s say that a man sends his wife a get but, when the agent tries to give it to her, she refuses delivery and tells the agent in front of witnesses to hold onto it for her, or she appoints him an agent to accept it for her. In such a case, divorce is doubtfully effected until the get is given to her. Once it is in her possession, divorce is definitely effected.

Hilchos Geirushin 6:14

When an agent delivers a get, he must give it to the woman in front of two witnesses, who must read it and then have it handed over in their presence. This is because the laws of the transaction between the agent and the woman are the same as those between the woman and her husband, the agent serving as the husband’s stand-in. Therefore, if the agent gave the woman her get without it being read by the witnesses to its delivery and the woman subsequently threw it in the ocean, then the divorce is in doubt.