Gemara Clarity

Gittin 90a

גיטין צ׳ ע״א

Learn Gittin 90a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Grounds for divorce: the משנה's three opinions, their sources in the פסוק, and related teachings about how a husband should treat his wife

Overview

The amud opens with a one-line הלכה that closes the previous discussion: the woman is permitted to both men. Then a new משנה brings a three-way מחלוקת about the grounds for divorce. בית שמאי allow it only for ערוה, בית הלל allow it even for burning his food, and רבי עקיבא allows it even if he found a prettier woman. In a ברייתא, בית הלל and בית שמאי argue over the two words ״ערות דבר״. בית שמאי use ״דבר״ to require two witnesses, while בית הלל say the joined phrase carries both readings. The גמרא then explains that רבי עקיבא's dispute with בית שמאי depends on ריש לקיש's rule that ״כי״ has several meanings. רבא rules that a divorce given for no reason still stands, and he condemns a man who plans to divorce his wife while she still lives trustingly with him. Finally, רבי מאיר compares types of husbands to people who find a fly in their drink, and his list continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְהִלְכְתָא:

And the halakha is:

מוּתֶּרֶת לִשְׁנֵיהֶם.

she is permitted to both of them.

מַתְנִי׳

MISHNA:

בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים:

Beit Shammai say:

The steps (22)

  1. ConclusionFinal ruling: she is permitted to both
  2. Statementבית שמאי: divorce only for forbidden relations
  3. Statementבית הלל: divorce even for burning his food
  4. Statementרבי עקיבא: divorce even if he found a prettier woman
  5. Challengeבית הלל challenge בית שמאי from the word 'matter'
  6. Challengeבית שמאי answer back from the word 'unseemly'
  7. Resolutionבית הלל explain why the Torah needed both words
  8. QuestionWhat do בית שמאי learn from the word 'matter'?
  9. Response'Matter' teaches that two witnesses are needed
  10. Rejectionבית הלל: the פסוק does not say 'immorality in a matter'
  11. Rejectionבית שמאי: the פסוק does not say 'either immorality or a matter'
  12. Resolutionבית הלל explain why the verse says ״ערות דבר״
  13. QuestionWhat is the basis of רבי עקיבא's opinion?
  14. ResponseThe dispute depends on ריש לקיש's rule about ״כי״
  15. Responseבית שמאי read ״כי״ as 'because'; רבי עקיבא reads it as 'or if'
  16. Questionרב פפא asks about a divorce when nothing at all was found
  17. Responseרבא: Only a rapist must take back his divorced wife
  18. Questionרב משרשיא asks about planning a divorce while living together
  19. Responseרבא applies a verse: Do not plot against someone who trusts you
  20. Statementרבי מאיר: People treat wives like food; the overly strict man
  21. Statementרבי מאיר: The ordinary man
  22. StatementThe third type: the man who eats the food even with the fly