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Gittin 20b

גיטין כ׳ ע״ב

Learn Gittin 20b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Who must own the material of a גט: the ציץ's writing, a גט on gold as כתובה payment, keeping the paper, and גיטין on a slave or a slate

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the discussion of the ציץ: its letters stood out like the design on a gold coin but were worked from the outside, so they count as 'writing'. רבא asks רב נחמן about a גט written on a gold plate that the husband also gives as the כתובה payment, and רב נחמן says both take effect. A ברייתא seems to say only the blank leftover can pay the כתובה, but רב נחמן explains that blank space is part of the גט's margin unless the husband says otherwise. A ברייתא then teaches that if the husband keeps the paper she is not divorced, but a condition to return it is fine. רב פפא's question about keeping only the spaces between lines or words stays unresolved (תיקו). רמי בר חמא asks about a גט on the hand of the husband's slave who is found with the wife. After a debate with רבא about forgery, resolved by saying the writing is a tattoo, ריש לקיש's rule about wandering animals shows that this proves nothing. רמי בר חמא then asks about the wife's slate found with the husband. אביי tries to prove from the old man who wrote his own loan documents that she transferred it to him, and רבא begins to reject the proof, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

הָא בָּעֵינָא ״מִכְתַּב״, וְלֵיכָּא!

But we need 'a writing', and there is none!

כְּדִינְרֵי זָהָב, וְלֹא כְּדִינְרֵי זָהָב.

Like gold dinars, and not like gold dinars.

כְּדִינְרֵי זָהָב – דְּבוֹלֵט;

Like gold dinars, in that it stands out;

וְלֹא כְּדִינְרֵי זָהָב –

and not like gold dinars,

The steps (28)

  1. ChallengePushed-out letters are not real writing
  2. ResolutionLike gold coins in one way, unlike them in another
  3. QuestionA גט on a gold plate that also pays the כתובה
  4. ResponseBoth the גט and the כתובה take effect
  5. ChallengeA ברייתא where only the leftover pays the כתובה
  6. ChallengeWithout a leftover, the כתובה is not paid
  7. ResolutionThe leftover is not required; the ברייתא teaches that he must say it
  8. QuestionWhy must he say it?
  9. ResponseBlank space is the margin of the scroll
  10. StatementKeeping the paper versus a condition to return it
  11. QuestionWhat about keeping the space between lines or words?
  12. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
  13. ChallengeWhy not answer רב פפא from 'one ספר'?
  14. ResolutionThe question is about intertwined letters
  15. Questionרמי בר חמא asks about a גט on a slave's hand
  16. QuestionThe two sides of the question
  17. Challengeרבא: writing on skin can be forged
  18. ChallengeThe משנה allows a גט on a slave's hand
  19. ChallengeThe משנה fits רבא, but רמי בר חמא's question is still in trouble
  20. Resolutionרמי בר חמא meant a tattooed גט
  21. ResolutionThe tattoo answer also explains the משנה for רבא
  22. QuestionSo what is the answer to רמי בר חמא's question?
  23. Responseריש לקיש: wandering animals give no presumption of ownership
  24. QuestionA new question: the wife's slate shows up in the husband's possession
  25. Proofאביי cites the case of the old man who lent to his village
  26. ChallengeWhy were the old man's documents valid?
  27. ProofHe must have given the paper to the borrowers first
  28. Rejectionרבא begins to reject the proof