Gittin 87A

אפילו זמן אחד לכולן נמי הוי טופס, אלא היכי דמי כלל? דכתב ״אנו פלוני ופלוני גירשנו נשותינו פלונית ופלונית״.

Even if one date was written for all of them it is still considered a separate formula if the divorce of each couple is mentioned separately. Rather, what are the circumstances of the case of a general wording? It is a case where one wrote: We, so-and-so and so-and-so, have hereby divorced our wives so-and-so and so-and-so.

מתקיף לה רבי אבא: לרבי יוחנן דאמר זמן אחד לכולן ⁠– זהו כלל, ליחוש דלמא כי (חתמו) [חתימי] סהדי, אבתרא הוא דחתימי! מי לא תניא: עדים חתומין על שאילת שלום בגט ⁠– פסול, חיישינן שמא על שאילת שלום חתמו?!

R' Abba objects to this: According to R' Yoḥanan, who says that when there is one date written for all of them that is a general wording, we should be concerned that perhaps when the witnesses signed the bill of divorce they intended to sign for only the last couple. Isn’t it taught in a baraita (Tosefta 9:9) that if witnesses are signed on a greeting that was written in a bill of divorce, i.e., after the formulation of the bill of divorce the scribe extended greetings to someone and the witnesses signed underneath, it is invalid, as we are concerned that perhaps they signed the greeting and not the bill of divorce?

לאו איתמר עלה: אמר רבי אבהו, לדידי מפרשא לי מיניה דרבי יוחנן: ״שאלו״⁠ – פסול, ״ושאלו״⁠ – כשר; הכא נמי ⁠– דכתיב ביה: ״פלוני ופלוני ופלוני״.

The Talmud answers: Wasn’t it stated with regard to this baraita that R' Abbahu says: It was explained to me by R' Yoḥanan that if the wording of the greeting is: Ask about the well-being of so-and-so, it is invalid, as perhaps the witnesses intended to witness only the greeting. But if the wording is: And ask about the well-being of so-and-so, with the conjunctive prefix vav, thereby making it appear as a continuation of the previous matter, it is valid, as the witnesses presumably signed the bill of divorce as well. Here too, it should be explained that this is a bill of divorce in which it is written: So-and-so has divorced his wife so-and-so, and so-and-so has divorced so-and-so, and so-and-so has divorced so-and-so, as the conjunctive prefix indicates continuation.