Grounds for Divorce

m. Gittin 9:10

70–220

About This Entry

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.

Beth Shammai says: A man should not divorce his wife unless he has found her guilty of some unseemly conduct, as it says: Because he has found some unseemly thing in her (Deuteronomy 24:1). Beth Hillel says [that he may divorce her] even if she has merely burnt his dish, since it says: Because he has found some unseemly thing in her (ibid.). R. Akiva says: [He may divorce her] even if he finds another woman more beautiful than she is, as it says, it happens that she is not pleasing to him (ibid.).

Adapted from the translation of Joshua Kulp.

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Credits

m. Gittin 9:10, adapted from Mishnah Yomit, trans. Joshua Kulp, www.sefaria.org. Originally from https://learn.conservativeyeshiva.org. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) License.

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