Overview
This chapter explains:
- How a husband appoints agents to write and deliver a Get.
- Which instructions create a valid authorization.
- The difference between a valid, invalid, and rabbinically disqualified Get.
- The status of the sick, mute, deaf, and mentally incompetent.
- When coercing a husband to give a Get is permitted.
The central theme is:
A Get must be written and delivered only through the husband’s valid authorization and intention.
Halachah 1
Agency Works for Writing and Delivery
The Torah says:
“He shall write” and “He shall give.”
This includes:
- Writing it himself.
- Appointing others to write it.
And:
- Giving it himself.
- Appointing an agent to deliver it.
Halachah 2
Purpose of the Torah’s Language
“Write” teaches:
Divorce must be through a written document.
“Give” teaches:
The husband must actively give it.
The wife cannot simply take it herself.
Halachah 3
Tell Two People: Write, Sign, and Deliver
If he tells two men:
“Write, sign, and give a Get to my wife,”
they may do all three.
They function both as:
- His agents.
- The witnesses.
Halachah 4
Scribe and Witnesses
If he instructs:
- A scribe to write.
- Witnesses to sign.
They prepare the Get and give it to him.
He may use it whenever he wishes.
Halachah 5
Writing a Get While the Wife Is Absent
A Get may be prepared even if the wife is not present.
However:
The scribe and witnesses must know the identities of both husband and wife.
Halachah 6
Two Couples With Identical Names
If in one city there are:
- Two men with the same name.
- Their wives also have the same name.
A Get may not be written unless the other couple is present.
Otherwise confusion may result.
Halachah 7
Emergency Situations
In dangerous circumstances:
A Get may be written even without full identification.
The wife pays the scribe’s fee.
Halachah 8
The Husband Must Authorize the Writing
The husband himself must tell:
- The scribe to write.
- The witnesses to sign.
If others tell the scribe on their own:
The Get is void.
Halachah 9
“Tell the Scribe to Write”
If the husband says:
“Tell the scribe to write and tell witnesses to sign,”
the resulting Get is only:
Rabbinically invalid (pasul),
and courts treat such cases very cautiously.
Halachah 10
Batel vs Pasul
The Rambam defines his terminology:
Batel
Invalid by Torah law.
Pasul
Disqualified only by Rabbinic law.
This distinction applies throughout Hilchot Gerushin.
Halachah 11
Invalid Get Prepared
If agents wrote a Get that later turns out to be invalid:
They may prepare another one.
Even many times.
Their original authorization continues.
Halachah 12
Delivered to Another Agent
If the husband instructed:
Write it and give it to another messenger.
And the first Get was invalid,
the agents generally may not create another without consulting him again.
His original authorization may have ended.
Halachah 13
Words That Authorize Divorce
The following expressions authorize writing a Get:
- Divorce her.
- Send her away.
- Write a Get and give it.
- Write a letter and give it.
All indicate divorce.
Halachah 14
Ambiguous Expressions
Phrases such as:
- Support her.
- Take care of her.
- Do what is proper.
do not authorize a Get.
A Get written on that basis is void.
Halachah 15
Doubtful Expressions
Expressions such as:
- Release her.
- Leave her.
- Let her go.
create doubt.
A Get based on them creates:
Safek Gerushin (possible divorce).
Halachah 16
“Write a Get”
If a healthy husband says only:
“Write a Get for my wife,”
the agents write it and return it to him.
They may not themselves deliver it.
He never instructed delivery.
Halachah 17
Dangerous Situations
The rule changes for:
- A deathly ill person.
- Someone taken in chains.
- Someone leaving on a sea voyage.
- Someone leaving with a caravan.
If such a person says:
“Write a Get for my wife,”
we assume he meant:
Write and deliver it.
Halachah 18
Suicide Immediately Afterward
A healthy man says:
“Write a Get for my wife,”
and then immediately kills himself.
This proves he intended actual divorce.
The Get is valid.
Halachah 19
Person Trapped in a Pit
Someone trapped in a pit who cries out:
“Whoever hears my voice should write a Get for my wife,”
may be relied upon.
This is treated as an emergency situation.
Halachah 20
Mortally Wounded Person
Even someone who is clearly dying and unable to survive:
If he signals:
“Write a Get for my wife,”
they write and deliver it.
As long as he is alive, his instructions matter.
Halachah 21
Mental Illness
A person afflicted by severe mental disturbance cannot authorize a Get.
His understanding is unreliable.
Halachah 22
Severe Intoxication
A person drunk to the level of Lot:
Cannot authorize a Get.
If his level of intoxication is uncertain:
The Get is doubtful.
Halachah 23
Became Insane Afterwards
If he validly instructed:
“Write and give a Get,”
and only later became mentally unstable:
The agents wait until recovery.
Then they proceed.
If they act before recovery:
The Get is invalid.
Halachah 24
Mute but Mentally Sound
If a man can no longer speak but remains mentally competent:
The court tests him repeatedly.
If his responses show clear understanding:
A Get may be written and delivered.
Halachah 25
Written Instructions From a Mute Person
If the mute husband writes:
“Write and give a Get to my wife,”
and his mind is sound:
The instruction is valid.
Halachah 26
Deaf Person Who Became Deaf
A man who married while fully competent and later became deaf:
Cannot divorce through gestures or writing.
He must recover first.
Halachah 27
Deaf Person Who Married While Deaf
If he married while already deaf:
He may divorce through gestures.
Just as his marriage was created through rabbinic mechanisms, so too may it be ended.
Halachah 28
Minor Girl
If a father accepted kiddushin for his daughter:
While she is a minor,
The father receives the Get.
Once it reaches him she is divorced.
Halachah 29
Na’arah
For a × ×˘×¨×”:
Either:
- Her hand,
- Or her father’s hand,
can receive the Get.
Halachah 30
Father Dies
If the father dies and she is still a minor:
She may receive a Get herself only if she possesses sufficient understanding to distinguish its significance.
Halachah 31
Coerced Divorce
When Halachah requires divorce and the husband refuses:
A Jewish court forces him until he says, “I want to.”
The resulting Get is valid.
Halachah 32
Why Is This Not Considered Forced?
The Rambam gives his famous explanation:
Every Jew truly wants:
- To fulfill mitzvot.
- To avoid sins.
His evil inclination is preventing him.
Coercion merely removes that obstruction.
Therefore when he finally says:
“I want to,”
it is considered genuine consent.
Halachah 33
Non-Jewish Coercion
If non-Jews act only because a Jewish court instructed them:
The Get is valid.
If they coerce him independently:
The Get is invalid.
Halachah 34
Wrongful Coercion
If Beit Din mistakenly forces a divorce where Halachah does not require one:
The Get is invalid.
A court may compel divorce only where Halachah authorizes coercion.
Key Principles of Chapter 2
| Topic | Rambam’s Ruling |
| Agency for writing a Get | Valid |
| Agency for delivering a Get | Valid |
| Husband must authorize writing | Essential |
| “Tell the scribe” cases | Often pasul |
| Emergency situations | Greater leniency |
| Mentally incompetent person | Cannot authorize Get |
| Mute but competent person | May authorize |
| Deaf person who became deaf | Cannot divorce by gestures |
| Deaf person who married while deaf | May divorce by gestures |
| Minor daughter’s Get | Usually received by father |
| Coerced Get when Halachah requires divorce | Valid |
| Wrongful coercion | Invalid |
Chapter Theme
Chapter 2 establishes that a Get is effective only when it stems from the husband’s valid authorization and conscious intent. The Rambam carefully defines who may act as his agents, who is mentally competent to authorize divorce, and under what circumstances coercion is considered true consent rather than invalid force.