23. Divorce - Geirushin
If a man wishes to divorce his wife he must give her
a bill of divorce (get) before witnesses, as it says "And
if she does not find favor in his eyes ... he shall write
her a bill of divorce and put it in her hand and send
her out of his house".1,a He should not divorce her
unless he has found her behavior improper, as it says "If
he has found something improper about her".1 A man should
not live with his wife if he intends to divorce her, except
by mutual agreement.b
If a man divorces his wife and she becomes betrothed
to another man she is forbidden to return to her first
husband even if the second one divorces her or dies, as
it says "And if she leaves his house and goes and becomes
(wife) to another man... her first husband who sent her
away cannot take her again to be his wife".2,c A woman
who is divorced or widowed should not remarry for 90 days
in order to determine whether she is pregnant, so it
can be decided whether the child is the first man's or the
second's.d A man should not marry a woman who is pregnant
with or nursing another man's child.e
Sources: |
| 1. Deut. 24:1
| a. 1:1-3
|
| 2. Deut. 24:2-4 |
b. 10:21; Issurei Biah 21:28 |
|
c. 11:12-13 |
|
d. 11:18 |
|
e. 11:25 |
