Gittin, Daf Yod, Part 5

 

 

מַתְנִי׳ כׇּל הַשְּׁטָרוֹת הָעוֹלִים בְּעַרְכָּאוֹת שֶׁל גּוֹיִם אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁחוֹתְמֵיהֶם גּוֹיִם כְּשֵׁירִים חוּץ מִגִּיטֵּי נָשִׁים וְשִׁחְרוּרֵי עֲבָדִים

רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר אַף אֵלּוּ כְּשֵׁירִין לֹא הוּזְכְּרוּ אֶלָּא בִּזְמַן שֶׁנַּעֲשׂוּ בְּהֶדְיוֹט

 

All documents which are accepted in the courts of non-Jew, even if those who signed on the documents are non-Jews, are valid except bills of divorce and of writs of emancipation.

Rabbi Shimon says: these also are valid; they were only pronounced [to be invalid] when done by ordinary persons.

 

This mishnah deals with documents that were upheld by non-Jewish courts or even signed by non-Jews. These documents are generally valid with the exception of divorce and emancipation documents. Monetary documents are valid, because non-Jews are trustworthy to adjudicate monetary matters. However, since they do not know the laws of Jewish divorce and emancipation, bills of divorce and writs of emancipation could not be upheld in non-Jewish courts, nor could those who signed them be non-Jewish.

According to Rabbi Shimon, the earlier opinion that said that divorce and emancipation documents done in non-Jewish courts are invalid, referred only to those done by courts which lack knowledge of the laws. However, if the court was an expert court, they may draw up divorce and emancipation documents, even though they are not Jewish.