Bava Metzia 18a

בבא מציעא י״ח ע״א

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Topic

Why a גט cannot serve as a כתובה document, and when found documents such as גיטין may be returned

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the question of why אביי took back his challenge to רבי יוחנן. רבי יוחנן holds that a woman with only a גט still collects her כתובה. The גמרא first rejects two outside sources, the betrothed-widow משנה and the ברייתא of רב חייא בר אמי, because each could be about a written כתובה. The real reason comes from our משנה itself. A גט never mentions the 100 or 200 דינרים, and even if it counted as written, the husband could claim he already paid. Tearing the גט or writing a note on its back does not fix this, since not every payment happens in a בית דין. Next, a new משנה rules that found documents such as גיטין, release documents of slaves, wills, gift documents and receipts are not returned, because the writer may have changed his mind. The גמרא infers that if the writer says 'give', we return them even after a long time. That seems to contradict a משנה in גיטין, and רבה answers that it depends on whether caravans pass through often. The גמרא then limits the worry about a second person with the same name to cases where such a person is known to live in the city. To prove this, it begins a story about a גט found in רב הונא's בית דין, and that story continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (16)

1. Rejection'Collects everything' must mean a written כתובה
2. ProofTrying the ברייתא of רב חייא בר אמי instead
3. RejectionMaybe he wrote her a כתובה
4. ChallengeThen why state the obvious?
5. ResolutionThe new point is that he does not inherit her
6. Conclusionאביי retracted because of the משנה itself
7. RejectionEven if the amount counts as written, the husband could claim he paid
8. RejectionHe could say she would not let him tear it
9. RejectionWriting a note on the torn גט does not help, since not all collection is in court
10. StatementNew משנה: found documents that should not be returned
11. StatementInference from the משנה: if the writer says 'give,' we return it even after a long time
12. ChallengeContradiction from the משנה in Gittin about a lost גט
13. Resolutionרבה: the answer depends on whether caravans pass through
14. StatementEven where caravans are common, the worry applies only if two people share the name in one city
15. ProofOtherwise רבה would contradict himself
16. StatementA divorce document found in רב הונא's court