Se uno fosse stato catturato da Kordyakos [Se la sua mente era sconvolta da un demone potente contro uno che beve vino nuovo], e ha detto: "Scrivi a mia moglie", non ha detto nulla. Se dicesse: "Scrivi a mia moglie", e poi fu preso da Kordyakos, e poi disse: "Non scriverlo", non c'è nulla nelle sue ultime parole. [E non è necessario chiedergli di nuovo (se desidera divorziare da lei) dopo che è tornato in sé, ma contiamo sulle sue prime parole. In ogni caso, fintanto che la sua mente è distratta, il punto non è scritto.] Se è diventato muto, e gli hanno detto: "Scriveremo un messaggio a tua moglie", e annuì con la testa, è " esaminato "[da altre domande] tre volte. Se risponde (razionalmente) a no (cioè, qualcosa che richiede una risposta negativa), no; e sì, sì, l'ottenimento è scritto e dato a lei, [se annuiva "sì" per ottenere.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
מי שאחזו קורדייקוס – that his mind became confused as a result of a devil who reigns over those who drink new wine.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Introduction
This mishnah is about a husband who is gripped by some sort of mental illness and hence may not be in his right mind when he decides to divorce his wife.
The second section is about a mute husband’s ability to divorce his wife.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
אין בדבריו האחרונים כלום – And there is no need to return and request another when he was clear-minded once again, but we write the Jewish bill of divorce and rely upon his earlier words. However, as long as his mind is confused, we do not write the Jewish bill of divorce.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
If a man is gripped by the kordiakos illness and says, “Write a get for my wife”, he has not said anything. If he says, “Write a get for my wife”, and is then gripped by kordiakos and then says, “Do not write it”, his latter words are of no effect. “Kordiakos” is evidently some sort of mental illness. If a husband is gripped by this illness, his instructions to others to divorce his wife do not have any legal validity. Similarly, if a healthy person instructs others to divorce his wife, and then is gripped by “kordiakos” and then wishes to retract, his retraction is meaningless. In short, the instructions of a mentally sick person do not have legal validity.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
הרכין – tilted/bent
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
If he becomes mute, and they say to him, “Should we write a get for your wife”, and he nods his head, he is tested three times. If he answers ‘no’ and ‘yes’ properly each time, then they should write the get. A mute person is not considered someone who lacks “da’at” awareness or intelligence. Hence he can legally divorce his wife. However, since he cannot speak, it is a slightly more difficult to ascertain whether he wants to divorce. The mishnah rules that he may answer questions with head gestures. Those asking the questions must be certain what these gestures mean and therefore they test him with other questions. For instance, if his name is Reuven, they can say, “Is your name Reuven?” If he nods, that means that nodding signifies an affirmative answer. They would repeat this test three times.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
בודקין אותו – with other words
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
הרי אלו יכתבו ויתנו – if he inclined his head over the Jewish bill of divorce an inclination of “yes.”
