Study Gittin folio 67A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
״אמרו לסופר ויכתוב, ולפלוני ופלוני ויחתמו״; ומשום כיסופא דסופר – חיישי ומחתמי חד מהנך סהדי, וסופר בהדייהו, ובעל לא אמר הכי!
Tell a scribe and he will write the document and tell so-and-so and so-and-so and they will sign it. And due to the shame of the scribe, who asks: Don’t you consider me a sufficiently upright person to sign the document as a witness, the agents are concerned to avoid that disgrace and have one of those witnesses and the scribe sign together with him, and the husband did not say to do so. The bill of divorce is invalid because it was signed contrary to the husband’s instructions, and the agents will mistakenly think it is valid.
כיון דאמר מר: ״כשר, ולא תעשה כן בישראל״ – לא שכיח.
The Talmud answers: Since the Master said, as cited later, that such a bill of divorce is valid, however, it should not be done in Israel, as the husband himself should appoint the scribe and the witnesses, it is an uncommon case for the husband to appoint an agent to arrange the bill of divorce, and the rabbis do not issue a decree for cases that are uncommon.
וליחוש דילמא אמר להו לבי תרי: ״אמרו לסופר ויכתוב, ואתם חתומו״, ואזלי הנך משום כיסופא דסופר, ומחתמי ליה לסופר בהדי חד מינייהו, ובעל לא אמר הכי! אמרי: הא נמי ״כשר ולא תעשה״ הוא.
The Talmud asks: And let us be concerned lest the husband say to two people: Tell the scribe and he will write the document and you sign it, and these two, due to the shame of the scribe, go and have the scribe sign the document together with one of them, and the husband did not say to do so. The rabbis say: In this case too, it is valid; however, it should not be done. This too is uncommon, and there is neither concern nor a decree.