Gemara Clarity

Gittin 88a

גיטין פ״ח ע״א

Learn Gittin 88a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Gittin 88a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

A גט over two columns, where witnesses must sign, the scribe as witness, ancestral nicknames, and aggadot on why ישראל went into exile

Overview

The amud finishes a discussion of a גט written over two columns. Blank space above the second column, or the sentence "הרי את / מותרת" running across the break, shows it is one continuous גט. רב אשי gives a different answer: the sheet itself shows it was never cut. Next, the גמרא asks how רב could sign on the side when the משנה says such a גט is invalid. After one answer is knocked down, it concludes that רב signed only letters that way. רבי ירמיה then teaches that a scribe counts as a witness only if he signed, and he applies this to a real כתובה brought before רבי אבהו. The גמרא discusses how many generations an ancestral nickname stays valid in a גט, and רב הונא learns three generations from 'ונושנתם'. This leads into aggadic teachings: the land was destroyed only after seven idol-worshipping royal houses, and the exile came in הושע בן אלה's days because the people chose not to go up for the רגל. Finally, two answers explain how God's bringing the exile was צדקה: the scholars were already waiting in בבל, or the exile came two years early so the threat of total destruction never came true.

Opening lines

הָכָא נָמֵי –

So too here,

כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ רֶיוַח מִלְּמַעְלָה.

it is where there is space above.

וְדִלְמָא אִימְּלוֹכֵי אִימְּלִיךְ

But perhaps he changed his mind

(וּכְתַב)!

(and wrote)!

The steps (31)

  1. ResolutionBlank space above the second column shows it continues
  2. ChallengeMaybe the husband changed his mind partway through
  3. ResolutionThe sentence runs straight across the two columns
  4. ChallengeMaybe he happened to stop right in the middle
  5. ResolutionWe don't worry about something so unlikely
  6. Resolutionרב אשי: the sheet itself shows nothing was cut
  7. StatementQuoting the משנה about witnesses signing at the top of the sheet
  8. ChallengeBut רב used to sign on the side
  9. Resolutionרב turned the top of his signature toward the text
  10. ChallengeThen why not check which bill the signatures face?
  11. ResolutionThe signatures were written crosswise, like a bolt
  12. ChallengeThe next clause shows the signatures belong to one bill
  13. Resolutionרב only signed letters on the side
  14. StatementQuoting the משנה: a scribe's writing plus one witness
  15. Statementרבי ירמיה: the scribe must have signed
  16. Statementרב חסדא: the משנה follows רבי יוסי
  17. StatementA כתובה with the scribe's writing and one witness
  18. Rejectionרבי ירמיה stops רבי אבהו
  19. StatementThe משנה: writing a nickname is valid
  20. StatementHow many generations an ancestral nickname lasts
  21. QuestionWhose view is רבי חנינא's three-generation rule?
  22. ResponseIt follows רבי שמעון בן אלעזר
  23. Statementרב הונא's source: 'ונושנתם'
  24. StatementSeven idol-worshipping royal courts before the destruction
  25. StatementThe verse behind the seven royal courts
  26. ChallengeWhy was the exile in the days of a less wicked king?
  27. ResolutionThe people did not go up for the festival
  28. QuestionHow can God's righteousness bring disaster?
  29. ResponseGod was kind by sending the scholars into exile first
  30. StatementWhy the scholars are called 'חרש' and 'מסגר'
  31. Responseעולא: the exile came two years early