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Text Excerpt
דרא רבי אבינא לסילתיה, ואזל לגבי דרב הונא רביה – דאמר רב הונא: גיטו כמתנתו, מה מתנתו, אם עמד – חוזר, אף גיטו, אם עמד – חוזר.
Let R' Avina lift his basket and go to Rav Huna his teacher, as in order to acquire the item he must rely on the opinion of his teacher, as Rav Huna said: The legal status of one’s bill of divorce is like that of his gift. Just as with regard to a gift given by one on his deathbed, if he recovered from his illness and arose from his deathbed, he revokes his gift, so too, with regard to his bill of divorce given by one on his deathbed, if he recovered from his illness and arose from his deathbed, he revokes the bill of divorce.
ומה גיטו, אף על גב דלא פריש, כיון דאמר ״כתבו״ – אף על גב דלא אמר ״תנו״; אף מתנתו, כיון דאמר ״תנו״ – אף על גב דלא קנו מיניה.
And just as with regard to the bill of divorce of one on his deathbed, even though he did not specify, once he said: Write the bill of divorce, even though he did not say: Give it to my wife, they write and give it to his wife, as it was taught in the Mishnah. So too, with regard to a gift given by one on his deathbed, once he said: Give the gift, even though the recipients did not acquire the item from him by means of an act of acquisition, the one on his deathbed has given the gift. Based on the parallel drawn by Rav Huna between a bill of divorce and a gift, R' Avina can go and collect the gift given him by Geneiva.
מתקיף לה רבי אבא: אי – מה מתנה ישנה לאחר מיתה, אף גט ישנו לאחר מיתה?! הכי השתא?! בשלמא מתנה – איתה לאחר מיתה, אלא גט – לאחר מיתה מי איכא?!
R' Abba objects to that conclusion. If that parallel is valid, extend it and say: Just as a gift is valid after death, so too, a bill of divorce is valid after death. The Talmud rejects this: How can these cases be compared? Granted, a gift is valid after death; however, is a bill of divorce valid after death? A bill of divorce severs the bond between husband and wife. After the husband dies, the bill of divorce is pointless. Therefore, the parallel certainly does not extend to after death.