Study Kiddushin folio 44B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
נערה, מהו שתעשה שליח לקבל גיטה מיד בעלה? כיד אביה דמיא, או כחצר אביה דמיא? כיד אביה דמיא, מה אביה משוי שליח – אף היא נמי משויא שליח. או דילמא כחצר אביה דמיא, ועד דמטיא גיטא לידה לא מיגרשה.
According to the Rabbis, who hold that a young woman can accept her own bill of divorce, what is the halakha with regard to the ability of a young woman to appoint an agent to receive her bill of divorce from the hand of her husband? The Talmud explains the two sides of this question: Since a young woman is under her father’s jurisdiction, is she, with regard to acquisitions, considered like an extension of her father’s hand, or is she considered like her father’s courtyard? The Talmud clarifies: She might be considered like her father’s hand, and just as her father can appoint an agent, so too she can appoint an agent. Or perhaps she is considered like her father’s courtyard, and therefore she is not divorced until the bill of divorce actually reaches her possession, as a courtyard cannot appoint an agent, but it can receive a bill of divorce, in the sense that a bill of divorce thrown in his courtyard is considered to be in his possession.
ומי מספקא ליה לרבא הא? והאמר רבא: כתב גט ונתנו ביד עבדה ישן ומשמרתו – הרי זה גט. ניעור – אינו גט. ניעור אמאי אינו גט – דהויא לה חצר משתמרת שלא לדעתה. ואי סלקא דעתך כחצר אביה דמיא, כי מטא גיטה לידה נמי לא תיגרש, דהויא לה חצר המשתמרת שלא לדעת אביה!
The Talmud asks: And is Rava uncertain about this matter? But doesn’t Rava say: If one wrote a bill of divorce and placed it in the hand of his wife’s slave, who is sleeping, but she is guarding him, then it is a valid bill of divorce. If the slave was awake, then it is not a valid bill of divorce. Why is it not a valid bill of divorce if he is awake? It is because the slave is for her a courtyard that is not consciously secured by her, i.e., when the slave is awake, he is not fully controlled by her. And if it enters your mind that a young woman is considered like her father’s courtyard, then even when the bill of divorce reaches her possession she should not be divorced, since she is like a courtyard that is not consciously secured by her father.