daf bit: Gittin 13

[cellio]

The mishna teaches: if a man says "give this get (bill of divorce) to my wife and give this bill of emancipation to my slave" but dies before they are given, then they are not given after his death. In the g'mara the rabbis debate whether the declaration was made when the man was healthy or when death was imminent. The instruction of a man on his deathbed has the force of a formal document, which must be heeded, so this mishna, the rabbis say, must apply to a healthy man. (13a)

(I understand why it would be beneficial for the get to not take effect in this case; it is, so far as I know, always advantageous for a woman to be a widow rather than divorced (support, remarriage options). I don't understand the case of the slave, though, unless it's not about the slave but is to ensure that his sons inherit him?)

Comments

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

I would imagine it's simpler than analyzing who would benefit. In general, shelichut does not survive the death of the meshulach. Since gittin are not effective when written, they are effective when delivered, if the man dies before the shtar is delivered, its delivery cannot serve any purpose.

Now I'd imagine the Gemara continues with the question of what happens if he dies at about the same time as the shtar is delivered, and we're not sure which happened first. :-)

[sethg]

You're looking at this from a good-public-policy perspective; I would suggest looking at it from, umm, a law-as-state-machine perspective.

ISTM that the chiddush [new information about the law that we would not otherwise know] here is that the slave is not actually emancipated until a formal document is delivered to him. So if the owner declares an intent to emancipate the slave but dies before the document is actually delivered, then the slave was still enslaved at the time of death and therefore ownership of the slave passes into the dead man's estate.

[talvinamarich.livejournal.com]

Could it also be a matter of intent?

A man who is on his deathbed who says, "Take care of these affairs for me" is planning for his death. If it comes sooner rather than later, that should not be used to deny his intent.

A man in good health who makes such statements is planning for his life rather than his death. If he dies before they are carried out, then it cannot be said that they are being carried out in accordance with his intent. Thus, they are null and void.

[zevabe.livejournal.com]

A childless man who likes his wife may wish to divorce her to prevent her falling in yibum (levirate marriage, which likely doesn't mean much to those who didn't understand the Hebrew).