If one brings a get in Eretz Yisrael, he need not say: "Before me, it was written, and before me it was signed." If there are "protestors" against it, [the husband protesting that it is forged], it is confirmed through its signatures. [If witnesses testify to (the authenticity of) their signatures, or if other witnesses recognize their signatures, it is valid. And nowadays, if one brings a get, whether in Eretz Yisrael or abroad, he must give it to her in the presence of two witnesses and say: "Before me, it was written, and before me it was signed."] If one brings a get from abroad, he cannot say: "Before me, it was written, and before me it was signed" [(as when he gave it to her when he could speak, and he did not get to say: "Before me, it was written, and before me it was signed" before he became mute)]. If there are witnesses signed on it, it is confirmed through their signatures.
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
ואם יש עליו עוררים – that the husband complains that it [the Jewish bill of divorce] is forged.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Introduction
This mishnah continues to deal with which messengers must recite the formula “In my presence it was written and in my presence it was signed.”
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
יתקיים בחותמיו – if the witnesses will testify on their own signatures, or other witnesses who recognize their signatures [of the original witnesses], it is valid. And in our times, a person who brings a Jewish bill of divorce whether from the land of Israel or from outside the land of Israel must give it to her [the wife] in the presence of two [witnesses] and must say: ”It was written my presence and signed in my presence.” And if the signatures of the witnesses are recognized in the location where the Jewish bill of divorce is delivered and the Jewish bill of divorce is validated through its signatories, there is no need to say: “it was written in my presence and signed in my presence.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
One who brings a get within the land of Israel need not declare, “In my presence it was written and in my presence it was signed.” If there are those who protest [its validity] it must be established through the signatures. A messenger who brings a get from one place within the land of Israel to another place need not say the formula “In my presence” etc. The formula is only mandatory for cases where it will be difficult to locate witnesses to validate the get. Within the borders of the land of Israel this will not be difficult. Furthermore, it was only people outside of the land who did not know how to write and sign gittin, and therefore the messenger had to testify to its validity. Within the land there was no such concern. If someone should come and protest the get, saying that it is false, the court could summons the witnesses.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
ואינו יכול לומר – [it was written in my presence and signed in my presence] for example, that it [the Jewish bill of divorce] was given to her when he was lucid but he was not able to say: “it was written in my presence and signed in my presence” until he became a deaf-mute.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
If one who brings a get from abroad is not able to declare “In my presence it was written and in my presence it was signed”, if there are witnesses on it, its validity can be established through its signatures. This section discusses a messenger who did not see the get written and signed, and therefore cannot state, “In my presence…” In such a case, the default procedure is to validate the get through the witnesses who have signed on it. In this case the woman receiving the get cannot remarry until its validity has been proven. In contrast, in the above case, if the get is brought within Israel, she may remarry without validating the get. She only needs to validate if others protest its validity.
