Gittin, Daf Tet, Part 5

Introduction

The Talmud continues its discussion of ways in which divorce documents and documents of manumission are the same.

וְתוּ לֵיכָּא וְהָאִיכָּא הָאוֹמֵר תְּנוּ גֵּט זֶה לְאִשְׁתִּי וּשְׁטַר שִׁחְרוּר זֶה לְעַבְדִּי וּמֵת לֹא יִתְּנוּ לְאַחַר מִיתָה תְּנוּ מָנֶה לִפְלוֹנִי וּמֵת יִתְּנוּ לְאַחַר מִיתָה

כִּי קָתָנֵי מִילְּתָא דְּלֵיתַיהּ בִּשְׁטָרוֹת מִילְּתָא דְּאִיתַיהּ בִּשְׁטָרוֹת לָא קָתָנֵי

And are there no more? But is there not the case of one who says: Give this get to my wife and this document of manumission to my slave and then dies, they should not be given after death.

Give a maneh to So-and-so and he dies, they should give after his death.

When it was taught, they taught it about things that do not apply to typical documents, but it did not teach things that do apply to typical documents.

The Talmud locates another similarity between the divorce documents and documents of manumission if one says give them and then dies, they do not give them. But if one says to give money and then dies, they do give money.

The Talmud resolves that these similarities refer only to things that do not apply to other documents. But this rule also applies to other documents. If one writes a document gifting something to another person, and then the one giving the gift dies, they should not give the gift after his death.

דִּשְׁלַח רָבִין מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי אֲבָהוּ הֱווּ יוֹדְעִין שֶׁשָּׁלַח רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר לַגּוֹלָה מִשּׁוּם רַבֵּינוּ שְׁכִיב מְרַע שֶׁאָמַר כִּתְבוּ וּתְנוּ מָנֶה לִפְלוֹנִי וּמֵת אֵין כּוֹתְבִין וְנוֹתְנִין שֶׁמָּא לֹא גָּמַר לְהַקְנוֹתוֹ אֶלָּא בִּשְׁטָר וְאֵין שְׁטָר לְאַחַר מִיתָה

For Ravin sent in the name of Rabbi Abbahu: Know that R. Elazar sent to the Diaspora in the name of our rabbi: A dying person who said, Write a document and give a maneh to So-and-so and then died, they do not write and give, lest he only wanted to give the gift through a document, and one cannot give a document after his death.

The Talmud now explains why the same law applies to other documents as well. Documents cannot be written up after one s death. So while one can direct that money be given after one s death, if one says that a document should be written up and then dies, they do not write up the document.