Overview
This chapter discusses a Get given on condition. The validity of the divorce depends on whether the specified condition is fulfilled.
The central principle is:
A conditional Get is valid only when the condition is fulfilled, and the exact wording of the condition determines when the divorce takes effect.
Halachah 1
A divorce made on a condition works like any other conditional legal act:
- If the condition is fulfilled, she is divorced.
- If the condition is not fulfilled, she is not divorced.
Halachah 2
If he says:
“If you do X, you are divorced”
the divorce takes effect only when the condition is fulfilled.
Until then:
- He may revoke the Get.
- Change the condition.
- Add a new condition.
Even though she already received the Get.
Halachah 3
If before fulfillment of the condition:
- The husband dies,
- The Get is lost,
- The Get is burned,
then:
The divorce fails.
Halachah 4
Ideally she should not remarry before the condition is fulfilled.
If she remarried and the condition is later fulfilled:
The marriage remains valid.
Halachah 5
If he says:
- “From now on, if…”
- “From today, if…”
- “On condition that…”
then fulfillment causes the divorce to take effect retroactively from the moment she received the Get.
Halachah 6
Therefore, if the husband dies after giving such a Get but before the condition is fulfilled:
She may still fulfill the condition after his death.
The divorce takes effect retroactively from delivery.
Halachah 7
Because the divorce is already partially in effect, she may remarry even before fulfillment when the wording used was:
- “Me’achshav” (from now)
- “Al menat” (on condition)
However, husband and wife should not be secluded together before the condition is fulfilled.
If they are secluded together:
She becomes a Safek Megureshet (doubtfully divorced).
Halachah 8
How are conditions attached to a Get?
The condition is usually spoken when the Get is given.
The Get itself should generally be written as a completely valid unconditional Get.
Halachah 9
If a condition is written into the Get after the essential text is completed:
The Get is valid.
If the condition appears before the essential text (to’ref):
The divorce is doubtful.
Halachah 10
If he says:
“You are permitted to everyone except Ploni.”
If Ploni is someone she can never marry anyway, such as:
- Her father
- Her brother
- A non-Jew
- A slave
the Get is valid.
Halachah 11
If Ploni is someone to whom kiddushin could potentially apply:
The Get is invalid.
Because the husband left part of the marriage intact and there is no complete severance (keritut).
Several similar reservations create Safek Gerushin.
Halachah 12
If he excluded Reuven and Shimon and later explicitly permits both:
She becomes fully divorced.
Halachah 13
If he later permits only one of them:
The divorce remains invalid or doubtful.
The original restriction was not fully removed.
Halachah 14
If he says:
“Today you are not my wife, but tomorrow you are my wife.”
She is not divorced.
A Get must permanently sever the marriage.
For this reason Gittin state:
“From today and forever.”
Halachah 15
If he says:
“This is your Get on condition that you never drink wine for the rest of your life.”
It is not a valid Get.
This is not complete severance.
However:
“For my lifetime”
or
“For Ploni’s lifetime”
is valid, because the restriction eventually ends.
Halachah 16
If he says:
“On condition that you never visit your father’s house.”
Not a Get.
If he limits the restriction:
“For thirty days”
it is a valid Get.
The same rule applies to other permanent versus temporary restrictions.
Halachah 17
If he says:
“On condition that you never marry Ploni.”
The Get is invalid.
This is comparable to a permanent restriction that destroys complete severance.
If he says:
“Do not marry Ploni for fifty years”
the Get is valid.
If she nevertheless marries him during that period:
The Get is retroactively annulled.
Halachah 18
If he says:
“This is your Get on condition that you marry Ploni.”
The condition is legally valid.
However Chazal ruled:
She should not marry him.
People may mistakenly think husbands exchange wives.
If she violates the instruction and marries him:
The divorce remains valid.
Halachah 19
If she marries another man before fulfilling the condition of marrying Ploni:
The Get becomes void.
Children from the second relationship carry the severe consequences discussed by the Rambam.
Halachah 20
If he says:
“This is your Get, but the paper remains mine.”
She is not divorced.
The document itself must be given to her.
If he says:
“On condition that you return the paper to me.”
The Get is valid.
Halachah 21
If a Get is engraved on a valuable gold plate and he says:
“This is your Get and your ketubah.”
The Get is valid.
The value of the plate may satisfy the ketubah obligation.
Halachah 22
If an invalid condition was written into the Get and then erased:
The result is often:
Safek Gerushin.
When the condition was only oral, the Get may usually be taken back and redelivered properly.
Halachah 23
If he initially gave a defective Get saying:
“You are divorced except for Ploni,”
and then takes it back and redelivers it saying:
“You are permitted to everyone,”
the divorce becomes valid.
Halachah 24
If he first conditioned the divorce on paying:
200 zuz
and later adds a completely different condition:
Serve my father for two years
she may fulfill either one.
The second did not cancel the first.
Halachah 25
If the second condition simply changes the amount:
First:
200 zuz
Then:
300 zuz
the later condition replaces the first.
She must pay:
300 zuz.
Halachah 26
An unspecified service condition is interpreted minimally.
Examples:
- Work for me.
- Nurse my child.
- Serve my father.
One day is generally sufficient unless a time period is specified.
Halachah 27
If he explicitly says:
“Nurse my child for two years”
or
“Serve my father for two years”
she must complete the entire period.
If the child or father dies before completion:
The condition fails and the divorce does not take effect.
Halachah 28
If he says:
“Give me 200 zuz within 30 days.”
She must pay:
- Within 30 days.
- With his consent.
Payment after 30 days does not work.
If he dies before fulfillment:
The condition cannot be met and the divorce fails.
Halachah 29
If he says:
“Give me 200 zuz”
without specifying a deadline,
and then dies before receiving the money:
She cannot give it to the heirs.
Yet the Get is not fully void, creating a complex status.
The Rambam rules:
She is divorced but should not remarry without chalitzah if yibbum is relevant.
Halachah 30
If the condition requires giving a specific object:
“Give me this garment”
or
“Give me this vessel”
and the item is lost,
even if she pays many times its value:
The condition is not fulfilled.
The actual object must be delivered unless the husband waives the condition.
Halachah 31
If another man betroths her before the condition is fulfilled:
- If she later fulfills the condition, the second kiddushin is valid.
- If the condition is never fulfilled, the second kiddushin never takes effect.
If she actually married the second man, additional halachic complications arise and a Get from the second may be required.
Main Themes of Chapter 8
| Topic | Ruling |
| Ordinary condition | Divorce occurs when fulfilled |
| “Me’achshav” / “Al Menat” | Divorce is retroactive |
| Husband dies before fulfillment | Depends on wording |
| Permanent restriction | Not a valid Get |
| Temporary restriction | Valid Get |
| Excluding one potential husband | Not Keritut |
| Returning the paper | Valid condition |
| Specific object condition | Must provide exact object |
| Multiple conditions | Usually either/or unless contradictory |
| Unfulfilled condition | Divorce never takes effect |
Chapter Theme
Chapter 8 centers on the Torah requirement of “Keritut” (complete severance). A condition is valid only if it does not leave the husband with an ongoing marital bond. The Rambam distinguishes between temporary restrictions, which allow a valid Get, and permanent restrictions, which undermine the complete termination of the marriage and invalidate the divorce.