PEH150

A man sent a divorce document (get) to his wife through a messenger and instructed the messenger to obtain the annulled ketubah (marriage contract) and a receipt for the ketubah amount in exchange for the divorce document. However, due to a formality error during the handover, the messenger only received the ketubah document but no receipt. When the wife now attempted to collect the amount as a simple debt, the husband declared the divorce document, which had already been handed over, invalid because the messenger had not followed the prescribed conditions. Jacob Chiskijahu ben Chacham David Israel Athias ruled that the wife must provide the receipt; only then would the divorce be valid. If the husband died in the meantime, she would need to perform Halitzah (a ceremony releasing her from levirate marriage). Due to the formality error, the messenger would have been liable if any harm had occurred, and his excuse of not knowing the rules was not valid.

1

150

1740-01-02

1740-05-27

Athias, David Israel