Gittin 18: When Can a Woman Remarry?; Fighting; How Many Witnesses?

The Sages wish to clarify how long a woman must wait after divorcing until she may remarry.  Specifically they wish to know when to begin counting the days toward three months. Rav says that giving the get counts as day one.  Shmuel says that the moment that the get is written, the three month period commences.  Three months is significant because the rabbis wanted to ensure that we would always know who was the baby's father.   If a woman conceives just before she receives the get, (or before it is written), and she marries within the next three months, we might not know who the father is.  This might create concerns regarding forbidden and/or undesirable sexual relationships.

What if the document was written early?  What if the agent takes his time delivering the get?  While the rabbis have different opinions, they are swayed by the fact that there is no chance that the husband would be secluded with his wife while an agent delivered her her get from overseas.  The halacha is that the three months begins at the time that the get is written.  The rabbis then question when the ketubah becomes a debt that must be paid out before the shemita year (when all debts are forgiven). 

The rabbis discuss what to do if a man changes his mind about the divorce within the first 10 days after the get was written - when there is a delay in delivery of the get.  Is leniency allowed here?  Again, such a situation would be bizarre and unusual.  However, the rabbis note that this would be a public matter, where many witnesses could attest to when the couple could be heard fighting and when the fighting ended.

That last point shed light on a number of points - was fighting the only reasonable sign of a divorcing couple?  Or was a fighting couple that was also divorcing thought to be having sexual relations when they stopped fighting?  Further, did everyone hear everyone else's fights all of the time?  Was there any privacy at all in ancient times?  Was the only reason for 'seclusion' sexual in nature?

Our daf ends with a conversation about who can sign the get as a witness.  How many people are at the signing of the get if one says "all of you" to those present? What should be done about disqualified witnesses, such as relatives?  What about those who witness but sign at a later time?  Are gets valid in such questionable circumstances?