Gittin 76: The Specifics; Timing is Everything

The rabbis continue to discuss conditions that a husband might add to the get.  Two examples are caring for the husband's ill father and nursing the husband's baby.  The rabbis have questioned how one would know that she's met that condition: how long does a baby nurse?  eighteen months or two years?  And what if the father dies almost immediately?  The rabbis consider whether or not one day of work might meet the condition set out by the husband.  Further, they debate about whether or not the get will be valid if a second condition is added to the first.  Apparently conditions are always compounded in the Torah, and the rabbis question how this might fact might apply to gittin with conditions.

A new Mishna teaches us that a person travelling from Judea, one part of Israel, to the Galilee, which was likely considered to be another part of Israel, might offer his wife a conditional get - if he does not return within 30 days.  The get is void if he returns within that time frame.  Similar travels are mentioned with the same result - the get is void if the husband returns within his given time frame.  However, if a person says that the get is based on being away from his wife for 30 days and he sees her briefly on and off - but without being intimate with her - throughout that time, the get is valid.  The Gemara shows us that the rabbis will continue to doubt whether the people will be able to carry out their obligations regarding gittin.

Another new Mishna tells us of a husband who gives his wife a get that is conditional on his travel overseas lasting more than twelve months.  If his wording specifies that the get is "from now", then if  dies before he returns, the get is retroactively valid.  If his wording does not specify "from now", then his death within twelve months renders the get void.  The Mishna specifies a number of other cases where it is necessary to specify specifically whether the get will be valid: in cases of the timing of writing the get, and in cases where it is not clear whether the husband died before or after giving the get to the wife.

The Gemara wonders whether or not the date written on a document verifies when the document takes effect.  The Gemara goes on to discuss whether or not a woman is permitted to marry immediately after receiving the get or whether she should wait for twelve months to be sure that her husband will not return.  

This type of questioning is what has led is into the situation that exists today, where agunot are left without enough proof to support their claim of grounds for divorce.  Agunot are denied their gittin and cannot remarry or move on with their lives due to the power given to their husbands and to the beit din.