Shulchan Arukh Even HaEzer · Siman 131

Shulchan Arukh Even HaEzer 131 — English translation

Translation: Sefaria Community Translation. Section numbers match the Hebrew text above.

1. 1The writing of a get (writ of divorce) and the signature of the witnesses must be in the name of (for the sake of) the divorcing man and the woman being divorced. If it was not written with this knowledge, the get is invalid. For example, a scribe who wrote a get to teach or for practice, and the husband came and found that the sample get had been written with his name, and the woman's name was the same as his wife's name, and the city was as his city; and he took the get and divorced his wife with the sample get, it is not a valid get.
2. 2In addition, if he wrote to divorce his wife and changed his mind, and a resident of his city found him and told him, "My name is as your name, and my wife's name is as your wife's name," and he (the second man) took the get and divorced his wife, even though this get was originally written to effect a divorce, the get is not valid.
3. 3Furthermore, a man who has two wives with identical names, and he wrote to divorce the elder, changed his mind, and used the get to divorce the younger woman, it is not a valid get, for even though it was written in the name of the divorcing man, it was not written for the purpose of divorcing the woman who received the divorce.
4. 4What is more, if he said to the scribe: Write, and I will divorce the one I wish [to divorce] with it, and the scribe wrote on this condition, and he divorced one of them with it, behold this is doubtful divorce. And that is the ruling if he said to him: Write, to whichever one goes out of the door first [and] I will divorce her with it.
5. 5A divorce document that he wrote not for its own sake(without intent), even if the scribe goes over it with intent, it is not a divorce document. And there are those who doubt this.
6. 6אֲפִלּוּ נִכְתַּב לִשְׁמוֹ, אִם לֹא חָתְמוּ הָעֵדִים לִשְׁמוֹ, אִם נְתָנוֹ לָהּ בְּלֹא עֵדֵי מְסִירָה, אֵינוֹ גֵּט. וְאִם נְתָנוֹ לָהּ בְּעֵדֵי מְסִירָה, הֲרֵי זֶה פָּסוּל. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שֶׁגַּם זֶה אֵינוֹ גֵּט: Even if it were written in his name, if the witnesses did not sign in his name, if he gave it to her without witnesses of transfer, it is not a divorce document. And if he gave it to her with witnesses of transfer, behold it is unfit. And there are those that say it is not even a divorce document(as opposed to just being unfit).
7. 7Therefore, one needs to be cautious when the husband commands the scribe to write that he say before witnesses that they should sign the divorce document: "Write this divorce document in the name of so and so, my wife. And so too the scribe should vocalize when he begins to write that he is writing for such an such a person, the wife of so and so, in the name of so and so. Ramah-gloss: And he should say this before the signing witnesses of the document, and they should write it with consistency and not in intervals, in order that they write his and her name like it was from the beginning. However, after the fact, if he wrote in intervals, it is kosher. (an opinion on its own). There are those that say emending the parchment, outline of the quill and all the more so, tracing, all need to be done with intention. However, if he did all these without intention, it is not invalid.
8. 8The two signatory witnesses should be there at the time in which he starts to write the divorce document, in order that they know it was written with intention and they identify the timing of the signing.
9. 9When he says to the witnesses to sign the bill of divorce, he should say to them that they should sign in the name of his wife. And so too each one should say, orally, when he signs, that he is signing it in the name of so and so, the wife of so and so, with his(husband's) name. Rem''a: And if he started to sign a little of his name and he didn't orally say his(husband) and her name, and afterward he remembers and says it, there are those who permit such a situation.

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