Gittin 28 - June 13, 24 Sivan

Study Guide Gittin 28 The Mishna states that we presume one is alive even if one is sick, old, or went abroad. Therefore, a messenger can deliver a get without being concerned that the husband who was ill or elderly died in the interim, a woman can eat teruma even if her husband who was a kohen went abroad and perhaps died, and the kohanim can offer in the Temple a sin offering sent from abroad without concern the owner has died. Rava makes exceptions for an elderly person over eighty or one on their death bed. Abaye questions this from a braita where a one hundred-year-old is presumed to be still alive. Abaye raises a contradiction to the Mishna from a braita where a woman can no longer eat teruma if her husband said, "This will be your get an hour before my death if I die."She is forbidden to eat teruma immediately. This contradiction is resolved in three different manners. Why did the Mishna need to bring all three cases? Rabbi Elazar ben Parta distinguished between two cases - in a case where there is a danger to one's life but not immediate, we assume the person is still alive, but if the danger is imminent, we have to be strict in both ways, and presume the person is both alive and dead. One case mentioned is where one has been sentenced to the death penalty. Rav Yosef limits this case to one who was sentenced in a Jewish court and that's why there is a concern for both possibilities as perhaps they will reopen the case, however, in a gentile court we can presume he is dead and they will not reopen the case. They raise three different difficulties with Rav Yosef's opinion but resolve all of the issues.