Mishneh Torah, Divorce 1-3

Sugya Map

• Core Issue: The constitutive requirements of a valid Get (bill of divorce) as established in Deuteronomy 24:1.
• Nafka Mina: Distinguishing between de-oraita (Scriptural) and de-rabbanan (Rabbinic) elements, specifically regarding the signature of witnesses and the dating of the document.
• Primary Sources:
  • Deuteronomy 24:1 (“v'katav lah sefer keritut”).
  • Gittin 2a–b, 17b, 19b, 78a.
  • Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Gerushin 1:1–3.
  • Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 124–130.

Text Snapshot

The Rambam opens with a rigorous classification: "A woman may be divorced only by receiving a bill [of divorce]." He proceeds to codify ten principles, the failure of any one rendering the Get fundamentally void or technically unacceptable (pasul).

• Leshon nuance: The Rambam uses the phrasing "ten principles as fundamental [for a divorce to be effective]" (עשרה דברים הן עיקר הגירושין). The precision here is vital; he distinguishes between the ikkar (essence) and the takanot (ordinances) like dating, which are later categorized as Rabbinic safeguards to prevent future litigation regarding adultery or succession (cf. 1:15, 1:24).

Readings

The Ohr Sameach (R. Meir Simcha of Dvinsk)

The Ohr Sameach focuses on the principle of lishmah (writing for the sake of the specific couple). He notes a profound difficulty: why does the Rambam not explicitly list the requirement that the Get must be written "for her and not for her counterpart" (לה ולא לחברתה) as one of the ten? He argues that the concept of lishmah is a broader, overarching category that subsumes the "not for her counterpart" rule. If a scribe writes a Get intended for two different women, the two intentions collide, nullifying the lishmah of both. He brilliantly links this to the laws of korbanot—if one slaughters a chattat for the sake of chullin, it is invalid because the lishmah requirement is violated by the conflicting intent.

The Sha’ar HaMelekh (R. Isaac Nunez Belmonte)

The Sha’ar HaMelekh enters the fray regarding the timing of the divorce. He critiques the suggestion that a Get cannot be given at night. He cites the Rivash and R. Yosef Mintz, who suggest that because divorce is a gezerah shavah (or a conceptual linkage) to marriage (havayah), and marriage is likened to the exit (yetzirah), some argue for a daytime requirement. However, Sha’ar HaMelekh provides a rigorous deconstruction, noting that the Talmud in Kiddushin 8a clearly implies that marriages—and by extension, divorces—can be performed at night. He argues that the daytime requirement is merely a le-chatchilah (preferred) measure for court-supervised documents, not a Scriptural nullifier.

Friction

The Strongest Kushya: The "Attached" Object

A Get written on a plant still attached to the ground is void (Hilchot Gerushin 1:11-12). The kushya is: why does the mere physical connection to the earth invalidate the Get? If the scribe detaches it after writing but before giving, the Get is still void.

The Terutz

The terutz rests on the requirement that "there should be no action [necessary] except its transfer" (שלא יהיה בו שום מעשה אלא נתינה). The Rambam explains that the Torah sequence ("he will write... place it in her hand") mandates that the Get exists as a finished legal instrument at the moment of writing. If it is attached to the ground, it is not yet "a bill" in the sense of a portable, independent legal document. The act of detachment is a constitutive action that must precede the writing, not follow it. This reveals the Rambam's meta-halachic insight: a Get is not merely a piece of paper; it is a k'ritut (severance) that must exist as a complete, autonomous entity before the husband can effect the transfer of authority.

Intertext

• Parallels: The requirement of lishmah echoes Hilchot Tefillin 1:11, where the sanctity of the object depends entirely on the scribe's intent. The difference, however, is that Get requires lishmah specifically for the husband (the giver) and the wife (the receiver), whereas Tefillin requires lishmah for the sanctity of the object itself.
• SA Ref: Even HaEzer 124:3–4 mirrors the Rambam’s ruling on attached items, reinforcing that the Get must be a "severed" object before the ink hits the parchment.

Psak/Practice

The modern psak follows the Rambam’s rigorous standard: a Get is a document of such gravity that even minor deviations in "intent" (e.g., using a scribe who does not understand the specific mandates of lishmah) can render the divorce void me-ikkar ha-din. In contemporary practice, the Get is written in the presence of witnesses who monitor the scribe, and the document is read aloud to ensure the "severance" is communicated precisely. The heuristic remains: if a Get is a sefer keritut, it must be an absolute and finalized legal fact, not a process.

Takeaway

The Get is the ultimate legal performative act in Judaism; its validity hinges not just on the text, but on the metaphysical "severance" achieved through the absolute alignment of the husband's will, the scribe's intent, and the physical independence of the document itself.