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2 ‎[1] With regard to **one who brings a bill of divorce from a country overseas and says:** The bill of divorce **was written in my presence but it was not signed in my presence;** or if he said: **It was signed in my presence but it was not written in my presence;** or: **All of it was written in my presence and half of it was signed in my presence,** i.e., he observed the signing of only one witness; or: **Half of it was written in my presence and all of it was signed in my presence,** in all these cases the document is **invalid.** If **one** agent bringing a bill of divorce **says: It was written in my presence, and one** other agent **says: It was signed in my presence,** it is **invalid.** If **two** agents **say: It was written in our presence, and one says: It was signed in my presence,** it is **invalid. And Rabbi Yehuda deems** the document **valid.** If **one** agent **says: It was written in my presence, and two** agents **say: It was signed in our presence,** it is **valid.**
‎[2] If a bill of divorce **was written during the day and signed on** the same **day;** or if it was written **at night and signed on** that same **night;** or if it was written **at night and signed on** the following **day,** then it is **valid.** The new calendar day begins at night, so that in all of these cases the writing and the signing were performed on the same date. However, if it was written **during the day and signed on** that same **night,** it is **invalid,** as the writing and the signing were not on the same calendar day. **Rabbi Shimon deems** the bill of divorce **valid.** The mishna explains the ruling of Rabbi Shimon: **As Rabbi Shimon would say: All documents that were written during the day and signed at night are invalid** because the date recorded in the document is a day prior to the day the document takes effect, **except for women’s bills of divorce.** Since a bill of divorce is not used to collect money, it is of no concern if the date that appears on it is before the time when it was signed.
‎[3] **One may write** a bill of divorce **with any** material that can be used for writing: **With *deyo*, with paint [*sam*], with *sikra*, with *komos*, with *kankantom* or with anything that** produces **permanent** writing. However, **one may not write with** other **liquids, nor with fruit juice, nor with anything** that does **not** produce **permanent** writing. Similarly, with regard to the document itself, **one may write on anything,** even **on an olive leaf, or on the horn of a cow. And** the latter is valid if **he gives her the** entire **cow.** Likewise, one may write a bill of divorce **on the hand of a slave, and** that is valid if **he gives her the slave. Rabbi Yosei HaGelili** disagrees and **says: One may not write** a bill of divorce **on any living thing, nor** may it be written **on food.**
‎[4] **One may not write** a bill of divorce **on** anything that is **attached to the ground.** If **one wrote it on** something that was **attached** to the ground, and afterward he **detached it, signed it, and gave it to her,** then it is **valid. Rabbi Yehuda deems** a bill of divorce **invalid unless its writing and its signing** were performed when it was already **detached.** **Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: One may not write** a bill of divorce **on erased paper or on unfinished leather** [***diftera***], **because** writing on these surfaces **can be forged. And the Rabbis deem valid** a bill of divorce that was written on either of these items.
‎[5] **Anyone is qualified to write a bill of divorce, even a deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor.** Additionally, **a woman may write her** own **bill of divorce** and give it to her husband so that he can present it to her. **And a man may write his** own **receipt,** which must be given to him by the woman to confirm that he has paid her the value of her marriage contract. This is because **the ratification of a bill of divorce is only through its signatories,** and it is irrelevant who wrote it. **Anyone is fit** to serve as an agent **to bring a bill of divorce** to a woman **except for a deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor, or a blind person, or a gentile.**
‎[6] If **a minor received** the bill of divorce **and** then **reached** the age of **majority,** or one received it when he was **a deaf-mute and** then **became able to hear,** or one received it when he was **blind and** then **became able to see,** or one received it when he was **an imbecile and** then **became** halakhically **competent,** or one received it when he was **a gentile and** then **converted,** in all of these cases he is **unfit** to bring the bill of divorce. **However,** if one received it when he was **able to hear, and** then **became a deaf-mute, and** then **again became able to hear;** or if one received it when **he was able to see, and** then **became blind, and** then **again became able to see;** or one received it when he was halakhically **competent, and** then **became an imbecile, and** then **again became** halakhically **competent,** in all of these cases he is **fit** to bring the bill of divorce. **This is the principle: Anyone who is** halakhically **competent in the beginning and in the end** is **fit,** even if there was time in the interim when he was unfit.
‎[7] There are instances in which a woman’s testimony that another woman’s husband has died is not deemed credible (*Yevamot* 117a). If there is a presumption that due to their familial relationship the two women hate each other, there is concern that the woman is testifying falsely in order to harm the other woman. By doing so, she can cause the other woman to remarry. If her original husband then proves to be living, she will be required to leave her second husband. This mishna teaches: **Even the women who are not deemed credible to** testify on behalf of a woman and **say: Her husband died,** and she is permitted to remarry, **are deemed credible to bring her bill of divorce.** The relatives of the woman who are not deemed credible to testify that her husband has died are: **Her mother-in-law; and her mother-in-law’s daughter; and her rival wife,** i.e., another wife of her husband’s; **and her *yevama*,** i.e., her husband’s brother’s wife; **and her husband’s daughter.** The mishna explains: **What is** the difference **between a bill of divorce and death,** that certain women are deemed credible to testify about one but not the other? With regard to a bill of divorce, it is so **that the writing proves** that the husband is divorcing his wife, and the testimony is needed only to supplement the bill of divorce. Similarly, **the woman herself may bring her** own **bill of divorce, provided that she is required** by the court **to state** in its presence: **It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence,** as the Gemara will explain.
Version: William Davidson Edition - English
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