Gittin 62b

גיטין ס״ב ע״ב

Learn Gittin 62b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Agents for a גט: when the husband can retract, whether 'הולך' is like 'זכי', who can serve as a receiving or delivering agent, and an agent who changes the wife's words

Overview

The משנה separates two kinds of agents for a גט. If the husband sends someone with the גט, he can change his mind until it reaches his wife. If the wife appointed someone to receive it for her, she is divorced as soon as her agent gets it, so the husband can no longer take it back, unless he openly refuses and says 'only bring it to her.' רבן שמעון בן גמליאל adds that 'take my גט for me' also makes a receiving agent. The גמרא tries three times to prove from the משנה that the husband's plain 'הולך' (deliver), said to the wife's receiving agent, counts like 'זכי' (acquire), and it pushes off each proof. Next it asks whether a man can be a receiving agent and a woman a delivering agent. It proves that a man can receive, since a father receives a גט for his young daughter. רב מרי and רב אשי prove from another משנה that a woman can deliver. Finally, רב rules on a case where the wife said 'bring,' the agent told the husband 'receive,' and the husband said 'as she said.' רב says she is not divorced even when the גט reaches her. The גמרא infers that the husband relied on the agent's words, and רב אשי begins to challenge that inference; his explanation continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (22)

1. StatementThe husband's own agent can be cancelled
2. StatementThe wife's receiving agent cannot be undone
3. StatementThe husband can refuse to use her agent as a receiver
4. Statement'Take my גט for me' also makes a receiving agent
5. ProofInference from the משנה: 'deliver' counts like 'acquire'
6. RejectionRejecting the proof: the משנה is teaching something else
7. ProofA second proof from the woman who said 'receive my גט for me'
8. RejectionRejecting the second proof: the ruling may only be about 'receive'
9. ProofA third proof that 'deliver' is like 'acquire'
10. RejectionMaybe he said 'here you are'
11. QuestionCan a man be a receiving agent, or a woman a delivering agent?
12. ProofA proof from the משנה that one agent can do both
13. RejectionNo, the משנה speaks of two different agents
14. ProofAnother proof: the husband turns the receiving agent into a delivering agent
15. ConclusionPartly accepted: a man can be a receiving agent
16. QuestionStill open: can a woman be a delivering agent?
17. Proofרב מרי: women who may not report a death may still bring a גט
18. Proofרב אשי: the end of that משנה proves it too
19. StatementNew case: the wife said 'bring,' the agent said 'receive,' the husband said 'as she said'
20. Statementרב rules she is not divorced even when the גט reaches her
21. ProofInference: the husband relied on the agent's words
22. Rejectionרב אשי objects to the inference