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The fourth perek of Massekhet Gittin begins on our daf and deals with a wide variety of rabbinic enactments that were made for the betterment of society: mipnei tikkun ha-olam.
As we have learned, a geṭ can be sent by a husband to his wife by means of a messenger. Since the geṭ is only meaningful if the husband desires that the divorce take place, in theory up until the time that the geṭ is actually delivered, the husband can choose to nullify the geṭ – even without the knowledge of the messenger and without notifying his wife.
Thus, a situation could be created where the woman may enter unknowingly into an adulterous relationship, thinking that she can remarry, unaware that she is legally still her first husband’s wife. To avoid this situation, the Sages decreed that a person cannot nullify a geṭ unless he is in the presence of the messenger.
As we have learned, the Mishna quotes Rabban Gamliel as forbidding a husband to nullify the geṭ unless he does so in the presence of the messenger.
We explore this unique Rabbi and his interactions with Rome, Christianity and his appropriation by the church as a convert to Christianity.