Gittin 28: Presumed to be Alive

A new Mishna teaches that a woman who receives a get from the agent of a man who is overseas, the man is assumed to be alive.  The get is assumed to be valid.  Similarly, a the wife of a priest who is overseas is allowed to partake of teruma, and the sin-offering of a person who is overseas may be sacrificed in his/her name.  In both of these last cases, the man could be dead, but he is presumed to be alive.

The Gemara asks a number of questions.  What about a very elderly husband?  Is he presumed to be alive?  A note reminds us that people had similar lifespans to those of today but that the very high infant mortality rate lowered the average age of the population.  And what about a person who gives his wife a get, telling her that it will go into effect one hour before he dies?  In such a case, the get goes into effect immediately.  This is because he could die at any time.  It could always be his last hour.  And so the couple is divorced and thus the wife cannot partake of teruma if she is an Israelite married to a priest.  Conversely if she is the daughter or a priest married to an Israelite, she can now partake of teruma again.

Rabbi Elazar ben Parata suggests that there are three cases where people are presumed to be alive.  These are when a town is surrounded by a besieging group, when people are stranded on a ship at sea, and when a person is about to be sentenced to the death penalty.  In these cases, rulings are both stringent and lenient.  The example provided in the Mishna is are two women who does not partake of teruma. The first is married to a priest; she can only partake of teruma if her husband is alive.  The second is the daughter of a priest married to an Israelite; she can only partake of teruma is her husband is dead.

Of course, the Gemara questions the differences between Jewish and Gentile witnesses; Jewish and Gentile courts.  Using this distinction, the rabbis also question differences in the meanings of the words "died" and "was killed".