Who were the rabbis thinking of when they made the ordinance? TB Gittin 26

There are two components to every document. There is the standardize language of the document (the tofes- טוֹפֶס ) and the specific unique content of the document (the toref- תּוֹרֶף) like the names of the parties mentioned therein. The Mishnah on daf TB Gittin 26 teaches “With regard to a scribe who writes the standard part [tofes] of bills of divorce in advance, so that when one requests a bill of divorce, he will need to add only the details unique to this case, he must leave empty the place in the bill of divorce for the name of the man, and the place for the name of the woman, and the place for the date… This is necessary due to the (rabbinic-gg) ordinance”  

The reason for this rabbinic ordinance is ambiguous.  The Gemara provides 3 different answers (really four since the third is explained in two ways) why this rabbinic ordinance was enacted.

1.    “Rabbi Yonatan says: Due to the ordinance for the benefit of a scribe, i.e., to enable a scribe to write the standard part of a document in advance so that when a customer arrives he will not need to write the document hurriedly.”

2.    “Rabbi Shabbetai says that Ḥizkiyya says: The ordinance mentioned in the mishna was not instituted for the benefit of scribes, allowing them to prepare the standard part of bills of divorce in advance. The ordinance was instituted due to the desire to prevent a quarrel, and it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who says: Signatory witnesses on the bill of divorce effect the divorce, and there is no need for the bill of divorce to be written for the sake of the woman. He continues to explain the ordinance: And by right it should have been that the scribe would be permitted to write even the essential part of the bill of divorce as well. But sometimes there might be a wife who hears the scribe who by chance is writing in advance a bill of divorce with her name, and she thinks that her husband told him to write the bill of divorce on his behalf, and she will have a quarrel with him. Therefore, the Sages instituted an ordinance that the scribe may not write the essential part of the bill of divorce in advance, as it includes the names of the husband and the wife.”

3.    “Rav Ḥisda said that Avimi said: The reason for the ordinance is due to the desire to provide a remedy for deserted wives.” Rabbi Meir hope for marriage reconciliation while Rabbi Elazar was afraid of a deserted wife who could not marry another man.

 

a.     “During  Talmudic times, marriage for woman was her best option. She had a structure that provided her needs. Rabbi Meir was afraid that in a fit of anger the husband would divorce his wife and leave her in a bad situation. “Rabbi Meir, who said: Signatory witnesses on the bill of divorce effect the divorce; and by right it should have been that the scribe would be permitted to write, in advance, even the essential part of the bill of divorce as well. But sometimes there could be a situation when the husband has a quarrel with his wife and becomes angry with her, and he might throw the bill of divorce to her and desert her and leave her divorced because he possessed a bill of divorce that had been prepared in advance. The Sages therefore instituted that a complete bill of divorce may not be prepared in advance to ensure that it would take time for the husband to obtain one, in the hope that he would calm down in the interim and reconsider.”

 

b.    “Rabbi Elazar, who said: Witnesses of the transmission of the bill of divorce effect the divorce; and by right it should have been that scribes would not be permitted to write in advance even the standard part of the bill of divorce as well, due to a decree lest they come to write the essential part in advance. But sometimes the husband needs to travel to a country overseas, and he will not find a scribe who can write the bill of divorce for him, and he will abandon her and go and desert her and leave her in this position. The Sages instituted that scribes may write the standard part of the bill of divorce in advance, so that they can finish it quickly by simply adding the essential part.”

 

The rabbinic ordinance was written either for the scribe to make his work load easier or to reduce strife between husband and wife or to protect a woman from finding herself divorced after a bitter argument or becoming an abandon woman (agunah- עַגוּנָה) because a scribe could not be found.

Which explanation do you like best?

 

All quotes are from Sefaria.org translation