Condition-Free Divorce

m. Gittin 9:1

70–220

If a man divorces his wife and said to her, “You are free to marry any man but so-and-so,” R. Eliezer permits her [to marry on the strength of this get], but the rabbis forbid her. What should he do? He should take it back from her and give it to her again, saying, “You are free to marry any man.” If he wrote [the restriction] in the get, even though he went back and erased it, it is invalid.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

This ruling states the principle that a divorce cannot be subject to conditions of remarriage. The verbal formula of divorce permits the wife to marry any other man, and it cannot be modified. However, if the condition is written into the actual bill of divorce, it renders the bill of divorce invalid. Thus, the divorce is based on multiple elements that need to be satisfied: a written bill of divorce, the delivery of that document, and the unequivocal verbal relinquishment of all claims to the wife.

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Condition-Free Divorce

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