Commentary for Gittin 141:18

ומי גזרינן חרש אטו פיקח

is the case only with one who was a deaf-mute from the outset, but one who was originally whole and became a deaf-mute after marriage can write a Get for himself which others can sign.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In agreement with R. Kahana. ');">¹⁶</span> But cannot one who was originally a deaf-mute give a Get? As he married her by gesture, cannot he also divorce her by gesture? — If [we were speaking] of his wife, this would indeed be the case, but [in fact] we are dealing with his sister-in-law.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A deaf and dumb man cannot give halizah (v. Glos.), because he cannot say 'I do not desire to marry her'. He must therefore contract the levirate marriage, and as the betrothal of the first husband was effected by word of mouth, he cannot undo it by a gesture or by writing. ');">¹⁷</span> His sister-in-law from whom? Are we to say, one who fell to his lot from his [de ceased] brother who was also a deaf-mute? [In that case], just as she was married by gesture,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By the first husband. ');">¹⁸</span> so she can be put away by gesture! No; it is one who fell to his lot from a brother in possession of his faculties.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And as the betrothal of the first husband was effected by word of mouth, he cannot undo it by a gesture or by writing. ');">¹⁹</span> Alternatively I may say that she did fall to his lot from a brother who was a deaf-mute, and we forbid the [wife of a] deaf-mute to be divorced by gesture so as not to set a precedent for [the wife of] one who was sound. If that is the case, should we not forbid him to divorce his wife also?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lest she should set a precedent for the sister-in-law. ');">²⁰</span> — A sister-in-law can be confused with a sister-in-law, but not with a wife. But do we indeed forbid [a deaf-mute] because [of a sound one]?

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