| פרק ט משנה ו | |
| שני גטין | Two gittin |
| שכתבן זה בצד זה | that are written [on the same parchment] next to each other |
| ושנים עדים עברים | and two Jewish witnesses |
| באים מתחת זה | [have written their names beneath them, so that] they come from beneath this [the right-hand get] |
| לתחת זה | to beneath that [the left-hand get], |
| ושנים עדים יונים | and then two Greek witnesses |
| באים מתחת זה | [have written their names beneath them, so that] they come from beneath this [the left-hand get] (see Fig. 1 below) |
| לתחת זה | to beneath that [the right-hand get], |
| את שהעדים הראשונים נקראין עימו | that which the first [Jewish] witnesses are read with (i.e. the right-hand get) |
| כשר | is valid. |
| עד אחד עברי ועד אחד יוני | If one Jewish witness [signed, followed by] one Greek witness, |
| עד אחד עברי ועד אחד יוני | and one Jewish witness [signed, followed by] one Greek witness, |
| באין מתחת זה לתחת זה | coming from beneath this to beneath that (see Fig. 2) |
| שניהם פסולין | both are invalid. |
| פרק ט משנה ז | |
| שיר מקצת הגט | If part of the get was left over |
| וכתבו בדף השני | and was written in the second column |
| והעדים מלמטה | and the witnesses are below (the second column) |
| כשר | it is valid. |
| חתמו עדים בראש הדף | If the witnesses signed at the top of the column |
| מן הצד או מאחוריו | or the side (margin) or the back |
| בגט פשוט פסול | of a standard get, it is invalid. |
| הקיף ראשו של זה | if the top of one was attached |
| בצד ראשו של זה | to the top of another |
| והעדים באמצע | and the witnesses were between them (see Fig. 3) |
| שניהן פסולים | both are invalid. |
| סופו של זה | If the bottom of one |
| בצד סופו של זה | [is attached] to the bottom of the other |
| והעדים בעמצע | and the witnesses were between them (see Fig. 4) |
| את שהעדים נקרין עמו | the one with which the [signatures of the] witnesses are read at its bottom |
| כשר | is valid. |
| ראשו של זה | If the top of this one |
| בצד סופו של זה | was [attached] at the bottom of that one |
| והעדים בעמצע | and the witnesses were between them (see Fig. 5) |
| את שהעדים נקרין בסופו | the one with which the [signatures of the] witnesses are read at its bottom |
| כשר | is valid. |
NOTES
משנה
וNote: The following is based on the רמב"ם and רע"ב; for a somewhat different פשט in this משנה see רש"י.
The Greek witnesses referred to are Jews from Greek. While Hebrew reads from right to left, Greek, as English, reads from left to right. The layout of the first set of גטין described in this משנה is illustrated in Fig. 1.
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Fig. 1
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We can assume that the first two witnesses signed the גט that their signature lines up with, the right-hand one, or Get #1 in the in Fig. 1. However, although it would appear that the second two witnesses signed for the גט that their signatures align with (the left-hand one, or Get #2 in the Fig. 1), the גמרא says that we are afraid that they are actually additional witnesses on the right-hand get, and when signing their names after the Hebrew names above them, wrote from right to left. This would appear to mean that the witnesses' signatures should be read backwards, with the witnesses' names on the right (below Get #1), and their fathers' names are on the left.
Note that if the Greek witnesses are first, than the left-hand גט is valid, and the one on the right is not.
The second case of the משנה is illustrated in Fig. 2 below. (Again, note that רש"י has a different פשט.)
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Fig. 2
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In this situation, both גטין are פסול, as after the first witness, who clearly signed for the right-hand גט (Get #1), we cannot tell what happened. We do not know if the second witness signed for the left-hand גט (Get #2) or if he modified his signature from the Greek form, to follow the Hebrew form of the preceding witness, and he was signing the right-hand גט (Get #1). And as for the third and fourth witnesses, we cannot be sure with them either: were they signing in their native forms, or did they modify their signatures to follow the form of their predecessor?
משנה ז
בגט פשוט - As opposed to a גט מקושר, which would have signatures on the back of each fold.
הקיף ראשו של זה בתד ראשו של זה - This resulted in the text of the two documents oriented in opposite directions, one upside-down from the other, and the signatures at the bottom of neither, as shown in Fig. 3.
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Fig. 3
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סופו של זה בתד ראשו של זה - In this orientation, the witnesses' signatures are at the bottom of one of the documents; As illustrated in Fig. 4, that would be Get #1.
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Fig. 4
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ראשו של זה בצד סופו של זה - In this case, both documents are oriented in the same direction, and so one of them has the signatures at its bottom. As illustrated in Fig. 5, that would be Get #1.
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Fig. 5
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