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3 ‎[1] **Any bill of divorce that was not written for the sake of** a specific **woman** is **invalid. How so?** In a case of a man who **was passing through the marketplace and heard the sound of scribes** who write bills of divorce **dictating** the text to their students: The **man so-and-so divorces so-and-so from the place** of **such and such; and** the man **said: This is my name and that is the name of my wife,** and he wishes to use this bill for his divorce, this bill is **unfit** for him **to divorce** his wife **with it,** as it was not written for the sake of any woman. **Moreover,** if one **wrote** a bill of divorce with which **to divorce his wife but** later **reconsidered,** and **a resident of his town found him and said to him: My name is** the same **as your name, and my wife’s name is** the same **as your wife’s name,** and we reside in the same town; give me the bill of divorce and I will use it; the bill of divorce is **unfit** for the second man **to divorce** his wife **with it.** **Moreover,** if **one had two wives and their names were identical,** and he **wrote** a bill of divorce **to divorce the older** one and then reconsidered, **he may not divorce the younger** one **with it.** **Moreover,** if **he said to the scribe: Write** a bill of divorce **for whichever** one of them **that I will want** and **I will divorce** her with it, this bill of divorce is **unfit** for him **to divorce** either wife **with it.**
‎[2] With regard to a scribe **who writes the standard** part **[*tofes*] of bills of divorce** in advance, so that when one requests a bill of divorce, he will need to add only the details unique to this case, **he must leave** empty the **place** in the bill of divorce for the name **of the man, and** the **place** for the name **of the woman, and** the **place for the date.** If a scribe writes the standard part of **loan documents, he must leave** empty the **place** of the name **of the lender,** the **place** of the name **of the borrower,** the **place** of the amount **of the money** being loaned, and the **place of the date.** If the scribe writes the standard part of **documents of sale** of land, **he must leave** empty the **place** for the name **of the purchaser, and** the **place** for the name **of the seller,** the **place** for the amount **of the money** for which the land is being purchased, the **place** for the description **of the field** that is being purchased, **and** the **place of the date** when the sale occurs. This is necessary **due to the ordinance,** as the Gemara will explain. **Rabbi Yehuda invalidates all of** these documents if their standard parts were written in advance. **Rabbi Elazar deems all of them valid except for bills of divorce, as it is stated** in the Torah: **“And he writes for her”** (Deuteronomy 24:1), indicating that he must write the bill of divorce **for her sake.** Therefore, one may not write even the standard part of the bill of divorce in advance, as that would not qualify as writing the bill of divorce for her sake.
‎[3] With regard to an agent **who brings a bill of divorce and it** was **lost from him,** if he **finds it immediately** then the bill of divorce is **valid. But if not,** then it is **invalid,** as it is possible that the bill of divorce that he found is not the same one that he lost, and this second bill of divorce belongs to someone else whose name and wife’s name are identical to the names of the husband and wife in the lost bill of divorce. However, if **he found it in a *ḥafisa* or in a *deluskema*** that he knows is his, or **if he recognizes** the actual bill of divorce, then it is **valid.** In the case of an agent **who brings a bill of divorce** to a woman, **and** when **he had left** the husband was **elderly or sick,** the agent **gives her** the bill of divorce **based on** the **presumption that** the husband **is** still **alive,** and there is no concern that in the meantime he has died, thereby canceling the bill of divorce. Similarly, with regard to **an Israelite woman who is married to a priest** and may therefore partake of *teruma*, **and her husband went to a country overseas, she may** continue to **partake of *teruma* based on** the **presumption that** her husband **is** still **alive.** Similarly, in the case of **one who sends his sin**-**offering from a country overseas,** the priests may **offer it** on the altar **based on** the **presumption that** the one who sent it **is** still **alive.**
‎[4] **Rabbi Elazar ben Perata said three statements before the Sages** as testimony from previous generations, **and they upheld his statements:** He spoke **concerning** the residents of **a town that was surrounded** by **a camp of besiegers [*karkom*]; and concerning the** travelers in **a ship that is cast about in the sea; and concerning one who is going out to be judged** in a capital case; **that they are** all **presumed to be alive.** **However,** concerning the residents of **a town that was conquered** by **a camp of besiegers; and** the travelers on **a ship that was lost at sea; and one who is going out to be executed** after receiving his verdict; in these cases **one applies to them the stringencies of** the **living and the stringencies of** the **dead.** How so? **An Israelite woman** married **to a priest** in one of these situations **or a daughter of a priest** married **to an Israelite** in one of these situations **may not partake of *teruma*.** The first woman may not do so because she may partake of *teruma* only while her husband is alive, and the second may not do so because she may partake of *teruma* only if he has died.
‎[5] With regard to an agent **who brings a bill of divorce in Eretz Yisrael,** where his only responsibility is to transmit the bill of divorce to the wife, **and** the agent **became sick, this** agent may **send it in the possession of another** agent. **But if** the husband **said to** the agent: When you transmit the bill of divorce to my wife, **take for me such and such an item from her** that I left with her as a deposit, then **he may not send it in the possession of another** agent. This is because it is assumed **that it is not** the **desire** of the husband **that his deposit be in the possession of another** person whom he did not appoint as his agent.
‎[6] With regard to an agent **who is bringing a bill of divorce from a country overseas,** who must attest to the fact that he witnessed the writing and signing of the bill of divorce, **and he became sick** and cannot complete his agency, **he appoints another agent in court and sends him. And** the first agent **says before** the court: **It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence,** and on the basis of this the court deems the bill of divorce to be valid. **And the final agent does not need to say: It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence. Rather,** it is sufficient that **he says: I am an agent of the court.**
‎[7] The mishna continues the discussion of the presumption that a person remains alive. With regard to **one who lends money to a priest, or to a Levite, or to a poor person,** with the understanding that **he will separate their portion** of the *teruma* and tithes from his produce **on the basis of that** money, i.e., he will subtract from the debt owed by the priest or Levite the value of the *teruma* and tithes separated from the produce, **he may separate** the *teruma* and tithes from his produce **on the basis of that** money **with the presumption that they are** still **alive, and he need not be concerned** that **perhaps the priest or the Levite died** in the interim, **or** that **the poor person became rich** and is no longer eligible to be given the poor man’s tithe. The priest or Levite benefits from this arrangement, as he receives his gifts up front in the form of a loan. The Israelite benefits in that he does not need to seek out a priest or Levite each time he has produce from which he must separate *teruma* and tithes. If in fact **they died,** then **he must obtain permission from the heirs** in order to continue the arrangement. However, **if he lent** money **to** the deceased, and he stipulated **in the presence of the court** that the debt would be repaid in this manner, then **he does not need to obtain permission from the heirs.**
‎[8] With regard to **one who sets aside produce** with the understanding that **he will separate *terumot* and tithes with it,** so that when he has untithed produce he can render it fit by declaring that the *teruma* and tithes that must be separated will be from the produce that he had set aside for this purpose, or one who sets aside **money** with the understanding that **he will separate** and to redeem **second tithe with it,** then he may later **separate** the *teruma* or tithe **with them, based on the presumption that** the produce or the money **are extant.** He need not be concerned that perhaps the produce or money was lost in the meantime. **If** he discovers that **they were lost,** then **he must be concerned** that the produce or money that he set aside was lost, **from the time until the** same **time,** as will be explained in the Gemara, and he must separate *teruma* and tithes from the produce a second time; this is **the statement of Rabbi Elazar.** **Rabbi Yehuda says: One checks the wine** that is set aside to be used for separating *terumot* and tithes for other wine to see if it has turned to vinegar, which would render it unfit for this purpose, **at three times** during the year: **When the east wind** blows **at the conclusion of the festival** of *Sukkot*, **and when the** blossoms fall and the **grape buds emerge** and appear as small clusters, **and at the time** when **water enters** and fills **the unripe grape.** Since there is a change in the weather at these times, one should check to ensure that the wine has not turned to vinegar.
Version: William Davidson Edition - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-noe-edition-koren-talmud-bavli-1
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