Gemara Clarity

Gittin 6a

גיטין ו׳ ע״א

Learn Gittin 6a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Gittin 6a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

When a שליח must say בפני נכתב ובפני נחתם: hearing the writing is enough, the status of בבל, and local rulings based on קיום.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing רב אשי's ruling: a שליח can say בפני נכתב even if he only heard the scratch of the quill on the parchment. A ברייתא about a שליח and a סופר on different floors supports him. The גמרא then explains the ברייתא's line about going in and out all day: it means a סופר who went to the market and came back, and we do not worry that someone there hired him to write a different גט. Next, רב and שמואל argue whether בבל counts like ארץ ישראל for גיטין. Both agree the concern is קיום, and they argue only over whether the ישיבות make witnesses easy to find. רבי ירמיה challenges רב from the borders in the משנה, then answers himself that בבל is an exception. The גמרא discusses where בבל ends, explains רב חסדא's one-way rule between אקטיספון and בי ארדשיר by who recognizes whose signatures, and shows why רבא required the declaration even within one neighborhood in מחוזא. The amud ends with רב telling רב כהנא that he did not need to make the declaration, and רב's answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֲפִילּוּ קַן קוּלְמוֹסָא

Even the sound of the quill

וְקַן מְגִילְּתָא.

and the sound of the scroll.

תַּנְיָא כְּווֹתֵיהּ דְּרַב אָשֵׁי:

It is taught in a ברייתא in line with Rav Ashi:

הַמֵּבִיא גֵּט מִמְּדִינַת הַיָּם –

One who brings a bill of divorce from overseas,

The steps (29)

  1. StatementEven hearing the sounds of writing is enough
  2. ProofA ברייתא that fits רב אשי
  3. ProofWhy the ברייתא proves that hearing is enough
  4. QuestionWho is the one going in and out?
  5. RejectionIt can't mean the שליח
  6. ChallengeIf it means the סופר, it's obvious
  7. ResolutionThe scribe went to the market and came back
  8. StatementIs בבל like ארץ ישראל or like חוץ לארץ for גיטין?
  9. QuestionSuggestion: they argue over the reason for saying בפני נכתב
  10. RejectionRejected: רבה also agrees with רבא's reason
  11. ResolutionBoth agree the issue is confirming the signatures
  12. ProofSupport for רב from רב הונא
  13. Challengeבבל is north of the border
  14. ChallengeEven רבי מאיר only included nearby עכו
  15. Resolutionבבל is an exception
  16. QuestionWhere does בבל end?
  17. Responseרב פפא: the same argument as for family lineage
  18. Responseרב יוסף: for גיטין everyone agrees on the bridge
  19. Statementרב חסדא's one-way requirement
  20. QuestionIs it because בי ארדשיר knows about לשמה?
  21. RejectionBut רבה also agrees with רבא
  22. ResolutionThe real reason: who knows whose signatures
  23. ResponseWhy בי ארדשיר doesn't know the signatures
  24. StatementThree אמוראים make the declaration rule stricter, even inside one town
  25. Challengeרבא's own reason does not seem to fit his strict ruling
  26. ResolutionThe people of מחוזא move around
  27. Statementרב חנין's story: רב כהנא brings a גט
  28. Questionרב כהנא asks רב whether he must say the declaration
  29. Responseרב answers: you do not need to