Grounds for Divorce

This mishnah presents three views on the grounds necessary for a man to divorce his wife, all based on Deuteronomy 24:1. Beth Shammai, focusing on the phrase “some unseemly thing,” maintains that there must be evidence of unseemly conduct (probably a reference to sexual misconduct, as the Hebrew term for “unseemly” in the verse means “nakedness”). Beth Hillel, focusing on the word “thing,” maintains that essentially anything can be grounds for divorce, even if the wife merely burns her husband’s food. Akiva’s view, which is based on the first part of the verse, is that no grounds are required: a man may divorce his wife simply because he prefers another woman.