Just as they prepare a substitute Kohen for the High Priest, they prepare a substitute wife for him – if his wife will die. Since the Torah said, “He will atone for himself and his house (euphemism for wife)” - he must have one – this is the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah. The Sages, however, say that if so, they would have to prepare another wife, and another wife, and so on, to no end – therefore, conclude the Sages, they don't prepare a second wife for him.
The second wife, however, leads to some complications. First, he is not married to her. The Talmud suggests that he should marry her. But then he has two wives, and the Torah said to atone “for his house,” not “for his houses.” Then he should divorce her! - If so, he has no substitute wife! Rather, what we mean is that he should divorce her conditionally: if she does not die before the end of Yom Kippur, the divorce takes effect retroactively from the time it was given. Thus, if she does not die, it transpires that he only had one wife, and if his present wife dies, he has a substitute. But what if she does not die (the divorce takes effect), and his present wife does die, and he is left without any wife during Yom Kippur!
After considering a few more conditional divorces, the Talmud decides to make it dependent on her action (if she goes into a synagogue, she is divorced) and then on his action. Finally: he divorces both wives conditionally: to one, he says, “This is your divorce (Get) on the condition that your fellow wife does not die,” and to the other - “This is your Get on the condition that I enter a synagogue.”
Art: Self-Portrait with His Wife, by Jan de Baen
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