Monday, September 29, 2008

Gittin 80 - Errors in Get

If one deviated from the rules of a Get, such as being in Babylon, dating it according to the calendar of Rome or Greece, or even dating it from the construction or destruction of the Temple, or incorrectly naming the city of writing, the Get is invalid.

According to Rabbi Meir, the woman must leave her new husband if she re-married but can not return to her previous husband. She also loses her Ketubah payment from both and many other benefits.

However, the prevailing ruling is that she does need another Get but is not penalized as above.

Art: Bathsheba Receiving David's Letter by Jan Steen

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Gittin 79 - Get is Thrown from the Roof

If she was standing on top of a roof that belonged to her and he threw the Get from the courtyard that belonged to him - once it reached the airspace of the roof, she would be divorced.

If he was on his roof above and she was in her courtyard below, and he threw the Get to her, once it leaves the domain of the roof – even if it is erased or burnt before it lands in the courtyard – she is divorced.

After the Get is written, the husband and wife can not be alone together.

Art: View through an Architectural Setting, Courtyard at Rubens' House by Anton Gunther Gheringh or Jacob Balthasar Peeters

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Gittin 78 - Tricks to Give a Get

If a man handed a Get to his wife and said, “Please receive this note of indebtedness,” or she found a document next to him, read it, and it was a Get – it is not a valid Get until he says to her, “Here is your Get.”

If he placed it in her hand while she was sleeping, and she awakes, and it is her Get, - it is not a valid Get.

If she stood in the street and he threw the Get to her, she would be divorced if it landed close to her. Otherwise, she is not divorced.

Art: Sleeping Girl by Domenico Fetti

Friday, September 26, 2008

Gittin 77 - He Throws Her the Get

If someone throws a Get to his wife while she is inside her house or inside her courtyard, she is divorced because her property has acquired the Get for her. If he threw the Get while she was inside his house, even if the Get is with her in the same bed, - she is not divorced because the Get has not been placed in her domain.

If he threw the Get into her lap or into her sewing basket hanging from her, she would be divorced.

Later authorities prohibited divorcing a wife without her consent.

Art: Interior with Painter, Woman Reading, and Maid Sweeping - Pieter Janssens

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Gittin 76 - Divorce for Services

If a husband told his wife, “This is your Get on condition that your take care of my father,” and the father died, - it is a valid Get. The condition was based on need, and the need was fulfilled.

If a man told his wife, “This is your Get on condition that you nurse my son for two years,” and the son died, the Get is void. The husband wanted to harass her and failed. Others say that the husband wanted to profit and that the Get is valid. Practically, we rule stringently, but they should have been more specific!

Art: Cardinal Richelieu on his Deathbed by Philippe de Champaigne

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Gittin 75 - Contracts Based on Unfulfilled Conditions

A man said to his sharecropper, "Sharecroppers usually water the field three times a year and take one-fourth of the produce as payment for their work. However, you will water four times a year and take one-third of the crop." The sharecropper accepted the proposal. Eventually, the rain came and made it unnecessary to water the crops for the fourth time.

One side: since the sharecropper did not actually irrigate a fourth time, only one-quarter of the produce is due him. Another: since irrigating the fourth time was unnecessary, the sharecropper takes one-third. The second point of view is preferred.

Art: Landscape with Conversing Peasants by Pieter de Molyn

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Gittin 74 - Divorce on Condition of Payment

If a man tells his wife, "This is your Get on condition that you give me 200 zuz coins (~$10,000)," then she is divorced, and the Get takes effect retroactively to the time of giving the Get at the moment when she gives the money. Therefore, if the Get is meanwhile lost or destroyed, it still works.

If he said, "On condition that you give me the money within 30 days," - then if she gave him the money within 30 days, she is divorced, but if not, she is not divorced.

If he says, "On condition that you give me a certain garment," and the garment is lost - she is not divorced. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says that she can pay money for the garment, as it once happened in the city of Tzidon, but this is one of the three cases where the law does not follow him.

Art: A Business Transaction by Isidor Kauffman

Monday, September 22, 2008

Gittin 73 - Results of Conditional Divorce

The Get of a seriously ill person has the same law as his gift; if he recovers, it is assumed that he changed his mind. The possession of the gift returns to him, and the Get should be void. However, the Get is decreed to take effect to avoid people thinking that the Get can work after the husband’s death. Such a mistake could lead to serious consequences.

After receiving a conditional Get, the wife should not be alone with her husband unless it is in the presence of witnesses – even witnesses not normally qualifying to give testimony.

Art: Bride and Groom by Modigliani 

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Gittin 72 - Conditional Divorce

If a husband told his wife, “This is your Get if I die,” or, “This is your Get if I die from this illness,” or “This is your Get after my death,” he has not said anything. In all three cases, the Get is void because the husband stipulated that it would take effect after his death, and this is impossible.

If he said, “This is your Get from today if I die from this illness,” - it is a valid Get. It takes effect retroactively, but care must be taken not to invalidate the Get by living together.

Art: The Convalescent by Carolus-Duran

Gittin 71 - A deaf-mute

If one became mute and they asked him, "Shall we write a get for your wife?" and he nodded his head, they should test him six times with questions requiring "yes" or "no" in random order. If he answers all questions correctly, they may write and give a get.

A person born deaf-mute is presumed to lack clear understanding and can not contract a biblically binding marriage. Rabbinical enactments validated his marriage and divorce. Therefore, if his brother marries a woman and dies, and the wife falls to him in a levirate marriage, he lacks the legal power to divorce.

Art: Old Suitor - Young Girl by Jan Steen

Friday, September 19, 2008

Gittin 70 - Healthy living

Healthy living: eat 1/3 of the stomach's capacity, drink 1/3, and leave 1/3 of the stomach's capacity unfilled. If you get angry after a meal, you will be filled to capacity but not become ill.

One who is impotent should bring 3 vessels of 3 reviit (~3 ounces) of saffron that grew in a field fertilized with sheep manure, grind them up, boil them in wine, and drink. Rabbi Yochanan said, “It is exactly this which made me like a teenager again.”

Three things drain a person's strength: anxiety, travel, and regret of sin.

Art: Still Life With Cheese Fruit Olive Bread By Floris Van Dyck Repro

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Gittin 69 - Talmud remedies

Many remedies are recorded in the Talmud. One can not use them nowadays because we are not certain of the exact meaning of the words and because the nature of people and medicines has changed. Here is one such remedy.

For cataracts – bring a scorpion that is spotted with seven colors because of its age, dry it out in the shade, grind it, and make a powder consisting of two parts antimony and one part ground scorpion. Apply three doses to one eye and three doses to another. One must beware not to apply more, or the eyes may burst.

Art: The Alchemist by William Fettes Douglas 

Friday, September 12, 2008

Gittin 63 - Divorce through a messenger

The husband can appoint another man as an agent to deliver a Get to his wife, and the wife can appoint another woman as an agent to accept a Get – because they appoint others like them to do what they are empowered to do.

Moreover, the husband can appoint a woman for the delivery of a Get, and the wife can appoint a man for the receipt. Since they can be a party to divorce, they can also act as agents in any capacity.

Art: Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Francis William Edmonds

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Gittin 62 - Problems of the unlearned

A Sage should not help an unlearned person to separate the priest's portion from dough. The unlearned person's dough is presumed to be ritually impure, but the priest might think it pure since it comes from the sage.

In contrast, a Sage is allowed to knead the dough for the unlearned, then separate the priest's portion - but teach the unlearned not to touch the dough.

Man can appoint an agent to take a Get to his wife but can retract while the Get is on the way. If he appoints the agent for receiving the Get, she is divorced immediately.

Art: Still Life with Bread and Eggs by Cezanne


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Gittin 61 - Baking bread

A woman can loan to her friend a sieve or a hand mill, even if her friend uses forbidden produce of the seventh year, because her friend may use the implements for permitted produce - but she should not cook with her.

One can deposit his tithed produce with a friend who is not careful about tithes and should not suspect that the friend will substitute it. But what about the rule that one should tithe flour when he gives it to his mother-in-law and also after she bakes it into bread? His mother-in-law would substitute burned bread to help her daughter.

Art: The Baker by Job Adriaensz Berckheyde