Why didn’t you say that first? TB Gittin 4

On Friday the Gemara spent a whole amud, one side of a daf, discussing whether Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Eliezer supported Rabba’s reason why the agent has to say that the get was written and signed for him. As I wrote on Thursday, neither tanna fully supported Rabba’s reason.

At the very end of the sugiya on today’s daf TB Gittin 4, Rav Ashi provides a completely different tanna, Rabbi Yehuda, who supports Rabba’s reason that the agent has to say both for me it was written and before me was signed 

“Rav Ashi said a different explanation: In accordance with whose opinion is this mishna? It is in accordance with a third opinion, that of Rabbi Yehuda. As we learned in a mishna (21b): Rabbi Yehuda invalidates a bill of divorce unless its writing and signing are performed on an item that is detached from the ground. According to this opinion, both the writing and the signing must be done for her sake.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara asks the obvious question why wasn’t Rabbi Yehuda consider first since he is a perfect match. “The Gemara asks: And initially, what is the reason we did not establish the mishna in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda? Since Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion is explicitly stated in a mishna, isn’t it obvious that this mishna also follows his ruling?

"The Gemara answers: We seek to explain the mishna in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, as there is a general principle that a ruling in an unattributed mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir. Likewise, we seek to interpret the mishna in accordance with the ruling of Rabbi Elazar, as we maintain in general that the halakha is in accordance with his opinion with regard to bills of divorce. For these reasons, the Gemara first attempted to interpret the mishna in accordance with the opinion of one of these tanna’im, not that of Rabbi Yehuda.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rabbi Akiva began to organize the Mishnah and his student Rabbi Meir continued his work. Ultimately Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi finished editing a Mishna around the year 200 CE. A stam Mishna is a Mishna that is not attributed to any Rabbi. It looks authorless. There is a tradition that a stam Mishnah’s author is Rabbi Meir according to Rabbi Akiva. Since our Mishna is unattributed, our first assumption is Rabbi Meir is author of the Mishna. When he does not align perfectly with Rabba, the Gemara then goes on to Rabbi Eliezer because the halakha follows him concerning the laws of divorce. When he does not align perfectly with Rabba, the Gemara only now suggests a rabbi from left field who has been mentioned, Rabbi Yehuda.

There is an important tosefot on our daf ד"ה דְּקַיְימָא לַן הִילְכְתָא כְּווֹתֵיהּ בְּגִיטִּין . In the middle it tells us: “Therefore it is important to be careful that the witnesses who transmit the get be present when the get is delivered because Witnesses of the transmission of the bill of divorce effect the divorce (and not the witnesses who signed the get-gg). If the witnesses of transmission are not present-the woman is not divorced even though there are witnesses who signed the get. There is no benefit of the witnesses who sign the get unless the witnesses of transmission die or go overseas. Then based on the witnesses who signed the get, the woman may remarry for the assumption is everything was done in a kosher way.” (My translation)