No começo, ele convocava um beth-din em um lugar diferente e o anulava. [Ele anularia não na presença da mulher ou do mensageiro, mas onde quer que estivesse, na presença de três (um beth-din)]. R. Gamliel, o ancião, instituiu que eles não deveriam fazê-lo, para "o bem geral". [Para o mensageiro, não consciente (da revogação posterior) levaria para ela e ela se casaria novamente. E pelo poder da ordenança de R. Gamliel, as listras são administradas a quem anula ou protesta.] No começo, ele mudava seu nome e o nome dela, o nome de sua cidade e o nome de sua cidade. [Se ele tivesse dois nomes, um aqui e outro no exterior, ele a divorciaria pelo nome no lugar do get e não se importaria em escrever os dois.] R. Gamliel, o ancião, instituiu que ele escrevesse "este e este homem e todo (outro) nome que ele tem "; "esta e esta mulher e todos os outros nomes que ela tem" para "o bem geral". [para que seus filhos pelo segundo marido não sejam desonrados, a saber: "O marido não a divorciou; este não é o nome dele". E se um homem é conhecido por dois nomes, um no lugar da escrita (do get) e outro no local da entrega, ela não é divorciada até que ambos sejam escritos. Mas se ele fosse conhecido por dois nomes (diferentes) em um só lugar, e apenas um deles fosse escrito—se foi feito, é válido, mas ab initio, ambos devem ser escritos. E se ele mudasse seu nome ou o nome dela no get, mesmo que ele escrevesse depois: "e qualquer outro nome que eu tenha", o get será nulo.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
בראשונה – He would not nullify it in the presence of the woman nor in the presence of the agent, but in the place where he is standing, he would nullify it in the presence of three [judges].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Introduction
The first section of our mishnah continues to discuss a husband who attempts to cancel his get after he has already sent it to his wife. In this section, a “takkanah” of Rabban Gamaliel is mentioned. “Takkanah” literally means “a fixing”, and it refers to a rabbinic decree which remedies a problematic situation. The remainder of this chapter and the next chapter contain lists of “takkanot”, made because of “tikkun olam” fixing the world or other related reasons. Today this concept has come to mean good deeds such as charity done in order to make the world a better place. In the Mishnah its meaning was more specific and it usually refers to correct either problems created because of marital laws or economic injustices.
Throughout the Mishnah I will leave the term “tikkun olam” untranslated, as there is no word that precisely captures its meaning. I also think that the best way to understand the mishnaic meaning of “tikkun olam” is through the examples used by the Mishnah itself.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
מפני תקון העולם – that the agent who does not know of the matter would bring it to her and she would [as a result] marry [again] through it. And on the strength of the ordinance of Rabban Gamaliel, we flog whomever nullifies the Jewish bill of divorce [in a Jewish court in another place] or issues a protest/ declaration before witnesses against a forced or unduly influenced action concerning the Jewish bill of divorce.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Originally, a husband would bring together a court wherever he was and annul the get. Rabban Gamaliel the Elder established that this should not be done, because of “tikkun olam”. In yesterday’s mishnah we learned that if a husband catches up with someone delivering a get to his wife or arrives at his wife before the messenger gets there and delivers the get, he may annul the get. Today we learn that in older times the husband could gather together a court and in front of them annul the get i without getting to his messenger or his wife. This would be extremely problematic for the wife because she might not know that her husband had annulled the get. If she were to assume that the get was valid and that she was divorced, she might remarry and have children. In such a scenario, her second marriage would be illegitimate and her children with her new husband would be mamzerim, because she is still married. Another problem would be that women receiving gittin by messenger would not know if the get was valid, because their husbands may have annulled it. To avoid problems they wouldn’t remarry. To prevent these complications Rabban Gamaliel the Elder who lived during the time of the Second Temple established that people should not do this.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
בראשונה היה משנה שמו ושמה – when he (i.e. the husband) had two names – one here (in the land of Israel) and another abroad, he would divorce her with the name common used in the place where the Jewish bill of divorce was written, and he would not be exacting to write both [names].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Originally the husband would change his name, or his wife’s name, or the name of his town or of his wife’s town. Rabban Gamaliel the Elder established that he should write, “The man so-and-so or any name that he has,”; “the woman so-and-so or any name that she has,” because of “tikkun olam.” In mishnaic times people evidently would have several different names, names which may have been used in different regions or perhaps by speakers of different languages (i.e. a Greek name and a Hebrew name). The problem arose in identifying the get who was the husband or who was the wife. This is what the mishnah means “change his name” etc. The husband would write only one of his names, or his wife’s names or his town’s name and then he would claim that the get was not his and thereby annul it. Rabban Gamaliel established that the husband should write “The man so-and-so or any name that he has” so that annulling the get after the wife has received it would be impossible. Some commentators interpret this to mean that this formula itself should be written in the get, whereas other commentators hold this to mean that inside the get the husband must list all of the names that he goes by.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
מפני תיקון העולם – so as to not cast aspersion on [the legitimacy of] her children from the second [name of her] husband, to say, that her husband didn’t divorce her for that is not his name. And a person who is known by two names in two [different] places, one in the place where [the Jewish bill of divorce] was written and another in the place where it is delivered/given, she is not divorced until the name of the place where [the Jewish bill of divorce] is delivered/given, and the name of the place where it was written with it. But, if he was known by two names in one place and he wrote [in the Jewish bill of divorce] (only) one of those names, post facto, the Jewish bill of divorce is valid. However, ab initio, one must write both of [the names] and where he changed his name or her name in the Jewish bill of divorce, even though he wrote after it, “and every name that he has,” the Jewish bill of divorce is null and void.
