Responsa for Bava Batra 268:15

בתרי גופי פלגינן בחד גופא לא פלגינן

of the future.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If the husband states 'I divorced my wife', whether he specifies, 'now', or not, he is believed, since he can divorce her there and then; and the woman is regarded as divorced from that day onwards. ');">²⁸</span> The question was raised: [Is a husband who] testified retrospectively<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Declaring that the divorce took place prior to the date of his statement. ');">²⁹</span> believed as regards the future?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Is the woman regarded as divorced from that day onwards. ');">³⁰</span> Do we divide [his] statement<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., though he is not believed as regards the time that had passed, is his word nevertheless relied upon as regards the future? (V. previous note). ');">³¹</span> or do we not divide it?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since part of the statement (that relating to the past), is not relied upon, is the entire statement disregarded? ');">³²</span> — R. Mari and R. Zebid [are in dispute on the matter]. One said, 'we do divide', and the other said, 'we do not divide [it]'. Wherein [is this] different from [the law] of Raba? For Raba said: [If a husband testifies,] 'X had intimate intercourse with my wife', he and [one] other [witness] may combine to procure his death;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'to kill him'. ');">³³</span> his death, but not her death!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because a husband is not qualified to act as witness against his wife. Thus it follows that the evidence is divided; the part relating to the wife being disqualified, that relating to her seducer being accepted as valid. ');">³⁴</span> — In [the case of] two individuals<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Raba's case dealing with [1] the wife and [2] her seducer. ');">³⁵</span> we [may] divide [a statement]; in [the case of] one individual<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Retrospectively and prospectively in the case of one woman. ');">³⁶</span> [it is possible that we may] not divide.

Teshuvot Maharam

Teshuvot Maharam