Gittin 37

כדאי הוא ר"ש לסמוך עליו בשעת הדחק

R. Simeon's authority<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That it may be written by day and signed by night. ');">¹</span>

והאמר ריש לקיש לא הכשיר ר"ש אלא לאלתר אבל מכאן ועד עשרה ימים לא בההיא כרבי יוחנן סבירא ליה

is good enough to follow in an emergency.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Supposing the husband has gone away or she has married again. ');">²</span>

והאמר ר' יוחנן שנים משום עדים וכולן משום תנאי בההיא כריש לקיש סבירא ליה:

But did not Resh Lakish say that R. Simeon declared [the Get] valid only if it was signed [the night] immediately [following] but not if it was signed ten days later? — On that point he [R. Joshua ben Levi] agreed with R. Johanan. But did not R. Johanan say that only two [of them sign] as witnesses and the rest [simply because he made it] a condition?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And therefore it should he valid even according to the Rabbis. ');">³</span>

<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> בכל כותבים בדיו בסם בסיקרא ובקומוס ובקנקנתום ובכל דבר שהוא של קיימא אין כותבין לא במשקין ולא במי פירות ולא בכל דבר שאינו מתקיים

— On that point he agreed with Resh Lakish.

על הכל כותבין על העלה של זית ועל הקרן של פרה ונותן לה את הפרה על יד של עבד ונותן לה את העבד רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר אין כותבין לא על דבר שיש בו רוח חיים ולא על האוכלים:

<b><i>MISHNAH</i></b>. THE GET MAY BE WRITTEN WITH ANY MATERIAL, WITH DEYO,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'Ink', ');">⁴</span>

<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> דיו דיותא סם סמא סיקרא אמר רבה בר בר חנה סקרתא שמה קומוס קומא קנקנתום אמר רבה בר [בר חנה אמר] שמואל חרתא דאושכפי:

WITH SAM,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'Paint'. ');">⁵</span>

ובכל דבר שהוא מתקיים וכו': לאתויי מאי לאתויי הא דתני ר' חנינא כתבו במי טריא ואפצא כשר תני ר' חייא כתבו באבר בשחור ובשיחור כשר

WITH SIKRA,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'red'. ');">⁶</span>

איתמר המעביר דיו על גבי סיקרא בשבת רבי יוחנן וריש לקיש דאמרי תרוייהו חייב שתים אחת משום כותב ואחת משום מוחק דיו ע"ג דיו סיקרא על גבי סיקרא פטור סיקרא ע"ג דיו אמרי לה חייב ואמרי לה פטור

WITH KUMUS<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [G], 'gum'. ');">⁷</span>

אמרי לה חייב מוחק הוא אמרי לה פטור מקלקל הוא

AND WITH KANKANTUM<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Calcanthum, vitriol. These terms are explained infra. ');">⁸</span>

בעא מיניה ריש לקיש מר' יוחנן עדים שאין יודעים לחתום מהו שיכתבו להם בסיקרא ויחתמו כתב עליון כתב או אינו כתב א"ל אינו כתב

OR WITH ANYTHING WHICH IS LASTING. IT MAY NOT RE WRITTEN WITH LIQUIDS OR WITH FRUIT-JUICE OR WITH ANYTHING THAT IS NOT LASTING. [THE GET] MAY BE WRITTEN ON ANYTHING — ON AN OLIVE LEAF [ETC.] [HE MAY WRITE IT] ON THE HORN OF AN OX AND GIVE HER THE OX, OR ON THE HAND OF A SLAVE AND GIVE HER THE SLAVE. R. JOSE THE GALILEAN SAYS: [A GET IS] NOT [TO BE WRITTEN] ON ANYTHING LIVING OR ON FOODSTUFF.

א"ל והלא לימדתנו רבינו כתב עליון כתב לענין שבת א"ל וכי מפני שאנו מדמין נעשה מעשה

<b><i>GEMARA</i></b>. DEYO: this is ink.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Chiefly made in Talmudic days of soot hardened into a tough pitchy substance by means of olive oil or balsam-gum, and finally dissolved in liquid before use; v. Blau, Buchwesen, pp. 153ff.] ');">⁹</span>

איתמר עדים שאין יודעים לחתום רב אמר מקרעין להם נייר חלק וממלאים את הקרעים דיו ושמואל אמר באבר

SAM: this is paint.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Orpiment; v. Krauss, op. cit. III, pp. 150 and 511.] ');">¹⁰</span>

באבר סלקא דעתך והתני רבי חייא כתבו באבר בשחור ובשיחור כשר לא קשיא הא באברא הא במיא דאברא

SIKRA: Rabbah b. Bar Hanah says: Its name is dekarta [red paint]. KUMUS: this is gum. KANKANTUM: Rabbah b. Samuel says: This is blacking used by bootmakers.

רבי אבהו אמר במי מילין והתני רבי חנינא כתבו במי טריא ואפצא כשר

ANYTHING THAT IS LASTING. What do these words add [to the list]? — They add the content of the following [teaching] which R. Hanina learnt: If [the Get is] written with the juice of wine-lees<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] meaning uncertain: either rain water or juice of some fruit.] ');">¹¹</span>

ל"ק הא דאפיץ הא דלא אפיץ שאין מי מילין ע"ג מי מילין

or gall-nut [juice], it is valid.

רב פפא אמר ברוק וכן אורי ליה רב פפא לפפא תוראה ברוק וה"מ בגיטין אבל בשטרות לא

R. Hiyya taught: If the Get is written with lead, with black pigment or with coal,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [So Jast. Rashi 'with coal or blacking used by bootmakers'. Here too the Hebrew terms [H] and [H] are of uncertain meaning, but the Syriac 'Shekiro' for vitriol is in favour of Rashi; Krauss, op. cit. p. 311.] ');">¹²</span>

דההוא דעבד עובדא בשאר שטרות ונגדיה רב כהנא

it is valid. It has been stated: If a man goes over red paint writing with ink on Sabbath, R. Johanan and Resh Lakish both agree that he is punishable on two counts, one for writing and one for effacing.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The effacement of writing on Sabbath is an offence if it is done with the purpose of writing afresh, otherwise not. ');">¹³</span> If he goes over ink with ink or red paint with red paint, he is not punishable.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because he neither writes nor effaces. ');">¹⁴</span> If he goes over ink with red paint, some say he is punishable and some say he is not punishable. Some say he is punishable because he effaces [the previous writing], some say he is not punishable because he only spoils [the previous writing]. Resh Lakish inquired of R. Johanan: If witnesses are unable to sign their names, is it permissible to write the names for them in red paint and let them go over in ink? Does the upper writing count as writing or not? — He replied: It does not count as writing. But, said he, has not your honour<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'our master'. ');">¹⁵</span> taught us that in respect of Sabbath observance the upper writing is counted as writing?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' When ink is written over red paint. ');">¹⁶</span> — He replied: Because we have a certain idea, shall we base our practice upon it?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., shall we go so far as to permit a doubtful action on Sabbath, or similarly count such a signature as valid in the case of a Get? ');">¹⁷</span> It has been stated: If the witnesses are unable to sign their names, Rab says that incisions are made for them on the sheet<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H], a leaf of white papyrus. v, however Krauss, op. cit. III, pp. 146ff.] ');">¹⁸</span> which they fill in with ink, and Samuel says that a copy is made with lead. 'With lead'? How can this be, seeing that R. Hiyya has taught that if the Get is written with lead, with black pigment or with coal it is valid?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And therefore lead counts as writing, and so if it is gone over in ink, we have writing on top of writing, which is not permissible. ');">¹⁹</span> — There is no contradiction; the one case speaks of lead, the other of water in which lead has been soaked. R. Abbahu said that the copy is made with water in which ground gall-nuts<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [ [H] juice made from the rind of the ash-tree ([G]), a popular writing material prepared by the Romans, v. Kraus, op. cit. III, 148.] ');">²⁰</span> have been soaked. But has not R. Hanina taught that if the Get is written with juice of wine-lees or of gall-nuts it is valid? — There is no contradiction: in the one case the sheet has been prepared with gall-nut juice, in the other not; gall-nut water does not show on gall-nut water.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And therefore where the sheet has been prepared with gall-nut juice, it is permissible to make a copy with gall-nut water. ');">²¹</span> R. Papa says [that the copy may be made] with spittle, and so R. Papa actually showed Papa the cattle dealer. All this applies only to writs of divorce, but not to other documents;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For which it is necessary to find witnesses who can sign their names. ');">²²</span> for a man who actually did this with another document was ordered by R. Kahana to be flogged.