Click here for audio

פרק א משנה ה
כל גט שיש עליו עד כותי

Any legal document that has a Cuthean witness

פסול is invalid
חוץ מגטי נשים except for women's divorce documents
 ושחרורי עבדים  and slaves' bills of emacipation.
מעשה There was an occurrence
שהביאו לפני רבן גמליאל that they brought before Rabban Gamliel
לכפר עותנאי גט אשה to Kfar Osnai a woman's divorce document
והיו עדיו עדי כותים and its witnesses were Cuthean
והכשיר and he validated it (Rabban Gamliel disagreed with the first opinion of this mishna).
כל השטרות All documents
העולות בערכאות של גוים that are admitted in non-Jewish courts
אף על פי שחותמיהם גוים even though their signatories are gentiles
כשרים are valid
חוץ מגטי נשים ושחרורי עבדים except women's divorce documents and slaves' bills of emancipation.
רבי שמעון אומר Rebbi Shimon says
אף אלו כשרין These are also valid;
לא הוזכרו

they did not invoke [the rule invalidating divorce documents and bills of emancipation signed by non-Jews]

אלא בזמן שנעשו בהדיוט except when the document was made by laymen.
   
פרק א משנה ו
האומר תנו גט זה לאשתי

One who says "give this get to my wife

ושטר שיחרור זה לעבדי

or this bill of emancipation to my slave"

אם רצה להחזיר בשניהם

if he wants to retract by both [of these cases]

יחזיר

he can retract;

דברי רבי מאיר

this is the opinion of Rebbi Meir.

וחכמים אומרין

And the Sages say,

בגיטי נשים

[he may retract] by women's divorces

אבל לא בשיחרורי עבדים

but not by bills of emancipation (which would be considered to have already been delivered once sent)

לפי שזכין לו לאדם שלא בפניו

because one may act for a person [as their surrogate] to their benefit outside of their presence

ואין חבין לו אלא בפניו 

but one may not act for a person [as their surrogate] to their detriment outside of their presence;

שאם ירצה שלא לזון את עבדו

for if he wanted to abstain from sustaining his slave

רשאי

he may do so,

ושלא יזון את אשתו

but if he wanted to abstain from sustaining his wife

 אינו רשאי 

he may not do so.

 אמר להם

[Rebbi Meir] said to them:

והרי הוא פוסל את עבדו

But he disqualifies his slave [by freeing him]

מן התרומה

from eating terumah [if the master is a Cohen]

 כשם שהוא פוסל את אשתו

just as he disqualifies his wife [by divorcing her]

מן התרומה

from eating terumah [if the husband is a Cohen].

אמרו לו

They said to him,

מפני שהוא כקניינו 

Because [a slave] is considered an asset (and therefore may be freely transferred to a non-cohen at any time.  Thus, a slave is never assured of the right to eat terumah).

האומר תן גט זה לאשתי

One who says "give this get to my wife

ושטר שיחרור זה לעבדי

or this bill of emancipation to my slave"

ומת

and then dies,

לא יתנו לאחר מיתה

we do not give it after [his] death (because these transactions, which are consummated with the delivery of the papers, cannot be completed after his death).

תנו מנה לאיש פלוני ומת

[If a persons says] "give this one hundred [zuz] to a certain person" and then dies

יתנו לאחר מיתה

it is given after [his] death (because the directions of the mortally ill to send money are treated as if written and delivered).

NOTES

משנה ה

עד כותי - The Cutheans were a nation that converted to Judaism, but possibly while under duress.  While some held their conversions to be invalid, the ת"ק held that they were considered Jewish.  Nonetheless, their religious observance was suspect, and so they could not be trusted as witnesses.

חוץ מגטי נשים ושחרורי עבדים - These documents differ because their witnesses are required to sign in each other's presence.  As such, although one witness may be Cuthean, because the other is not, we assume that he would not have signed the get unless he knew this Cuthean to be trustworthy.

כל השטרות העולות בערכאות . . . חוץ מגטי נשים - Most documents signed by witnesses (such as loans or other agreements) serve an evidentiary purpose, but do not effectuate the actual transaction.  However, divorce documents and bills of emancipation are the means by which the transaction occurs, and do not merely bear witness to the actions of their parties.  As such, their witnesses must be Jewish.

רבי שמעון אומר אף אלו כשרים - According to Rebbi Shimon, עדי מסירה כרתי, that is to say, it is the witnesses to the delivery of the divorce that effectuate it, not the witnesses who sign the document.  Rebbi Shimon does require, however, that if the signatories are non-Jews, their names must be identifiably in order to prevent readers of the document to rely on those witnesses in other circumstances.

בזמן שנעשו בהדיוט - Even if the names on the document are recognizably gentile, Rebbi Shimon held that when issued by laypersons others might mistakenly believe the witnesses are acceptable in other circumstances.  On the other hand, when issued by courts there is enough publicity accompanying these documents to assure us that anyone reading them in the future will not know that the signatories were not Jewish.

 

 

Click here for the Hebrew/English for פרק א from emishna.com