Every bill on which a Cuthite witness is signed is invalid, except the gittin of women and the manumissions of bondsmen, [which are valid if one of the witnesses is a Cuthite. But if both are Cuthites, the first tanna invalidates it, even with the gittin of women.] The get of a woman on which Cuthite witnesses were signed was once brought before R. Gamliel in Kfar Otnai, and he validated it. [R. Gamliel validated it even where both were Cuthites. And today, after the decree that Cuthites be considered like gentiles in all respects, the gittin of women are not different from other writs; even one Cuthite witness renders a writ invalid.] All writs which are adjudicated in gentile courts, [the witnesses having testified before the judge in their place of judgment], even if they are signed by gentiles, are valid. [This, where we know the judge and the witnesses not to take bribes], except for the gittin of women and the manumissions of bondsmen. [(The validity obtains) only in respect to writs of loans and sales, where the witnesses beheld the transfer of money. But writs of indebtedness and the gittin of women, and all things which are enactments of beth-din — all such things are invalid in their courts.] R. Shimon says: These, too, are valid. They were not mentioned [in the house of study as being invalid] except where they were enacted by [gentiles who were] laymen, [not judges. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Shimon.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
חוץ מגיטי נשים – that if there was upon it [a Jewish bill of divorce] one witnesses who is a Cuthean/a member of the sect of the Samaritans (on occasion, this word is used in place of גוי/non-Jew; עכו"ם /idol worshiper or מין/sectarian as a result of censorship), it is valid, if both of the them are Cutheans, the first teacher of the Mishnah disqualifies them for Jewish bills of divorce, but Rabban Gamaliel relates a story where he validated [it], even where both of them [the witnesses] were Cutheans. But nowadays, they [the Rabbis] decreed [against] the Cutheans as they were [to be considered] as non-Jews in all matters, making no distinction between other documents and Jewish bills of divorce, for even if one witness was a Cuthean, it [the document] is invalid.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Introduction
The first section of this mishnah deals with documents whose signators are Samaritans. The Samaritans were a Jewish splinter group whose history is somewhat blurry. For more information on the Samaritans, see the introduction to Nedarim 3:10.
The second section of the mishnah deals with documents pertaining to Jews which were validated in non-Jewish courts. This was certainly a common phenomenon in the mishnaic periods. The Greco-Roman court system was well-developed, as were their laws. As subjects, if not always citizens, of the Roman Empire, Jews would have had some legal recourse to Roman courts and justice. Therefore, the rabbis had to discuss the validity of documents which were upheld in these courts.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
בערכאות של גוים – that the witnesses would offer their testimony before the sitting judge in the place where their matters of justice take place. But this is where they knew that judge and of those witnesses who do not accept bribes. And this specifically [refers to] loan documents and documents of sale where the witnesses saw funds exchanged. But documents of admission and Jewish bills of divorce, and any thing which is a legal matter in their [i.e., Roman] gentile offices, everything is invalid.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Any document which has upon it the signature of a Samaritan is invalid, except for bills of divorce or a writ of emancipation. It happened that a bill of divorce was once brought before Rabban Gamaliel at Kefar Otnai and its witnesses were Samaritan, and he declared it valid. The mishnah teaches that all documents which have upon them signatures of people known to be Samaritans are invalid, except for bills of divorce or writs of emancipation. According to Albeck, Samaritans were suspected by the rabbis of lying with regard to issues of money, and therefore they could not serve as witnesses for matters such as loans and acquisitions. However, they were evidently not suspected of lying in matters of divorce or emancipation and hence they could serve as witnesses in these matters. Furthermore, they were assumed to be knowledgeable enough in matters of divorce and emancipation. Indeed, according to the mishnah, Rabban Gamaliel once allowed even two Samaritans to serve as witnesses on a get. This occurred at Kefar Otnai, in the southern Galilee.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
רבי שמעון אומר כשרים – they were not mentioned in the Jewish academy (Bet Midrash) to be invalidated.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
All documents which are accepted in the courts of non-Jew, even if those who signed on the documents are non-Jews, are valid except bills of divorce and of writs of emancipation. Rabbi Shimon says: these also are valid; they were only pronounced [to be invalid] when done by ordinary persons. This section of the mishnah deals with documents that were upheld by non-Jewish courts or even signed by non-Jews. In this case, these documents are generally valid with the exception of divorce and emancipation documents. Monetary documents are valid, because non-Jews are trustworthy to adjudicate monetary matters. However, since they do not know the laws of Jewish divorce and emancipation, bills of divorce and writs of emancipation could not be upheld in non-Jewish courts, nor could those who signed them be non-Jewish. Rabbi Shimon partially disagrees with the opinion in the previous clause. According to him, the earlier opinion that said that divorce and emancipation documents done in non-Jewish courts are invalid, referred only to those done by courts which lack knowledge of the laws. However, if the court was an expert court, they may even draw up divorce and emancipation documents, even though they are not Jewish.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
אלא בזמן שנעשו בהדיוט – through non-Jewish commoners who are not judges, but the Halakha does not follow like [the opinion of] Rabbi Shimon.
