Commentary for Gittin 1:2

מרקם למזרח – from Rekem until the end of the world to its east is called outside the land of Israel. But Rekem itself is judged as being in the eastern part of the world and not in the land of Israel.

Introduction In this mishnah the tannaim continue to debate the definitions of what is inside the land of Israel and what is considered “abroad”, such that a messenger who brings a get from there must state, “In my presence it was written and in my presence it was signed.” Whereas in the previous mishnah, Rabban Gamaliel and Rabbi Eliezer debated the borders, in this mishnah Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Meir, who lived two generations later, debate. We should note that the Hebrew word for “abroad” is literally translated, “the province of the sea.” This may mean a place accessible by sea travel but it may also mean coastal towns contiguous with the land of Israel. Often people would travel to coastal towns by sea, so there would be difficulty in bringing witnesses from there to the hinterland. Furthermore, these towns were usually more populated by Greek speakers, who settled on the coasts to control the trade. Jews, or at least Aramaic speaking, less Hellenistic Jews, tended to live inlands. Hence, the rabbis feared that those who live on the coast, “abroad”, do not know how to properly write a divorce document.

Rabbi Judah says: From Rekem eastwards, Rekem being like the east; from Ashkelon southwards, Ashkelon being like the south; and from Acco northwards, Acco being like the north. Rabbi Meir says: Acco counts as the land of Israel in the matter of bills of divorce. Rabbi Judah defines cities that he considers outside of the land of Israel, at least for issues of divorce. Rabbi Meir disagrees with him concerning Acco.