About this episode
The Mishna said that one who is convicted in a court is not fully presumed dead. There are two versions of Rav Yosef's limitation of this Mishna - whether specifically in a Jewish court or specifically in a Gentile court. The sources that were brought to question one understanding are then brought to support the other. Can a messenger who is meant to deliver a get appoint a new messenger in his/her place? Does it depend on what motivated this - because the messenger is unable or simply doesn't want to? How is it different if they are bringing the get within Israel or from abroad? If the husband asked the messenger to bring something back from his wife, the messenger cannot appoint a different messenger to bring it instead as one does not necessarily trust others with his items. If the Mishna is specifically referring to a messenger who gets sick, what were the circumstances by which the husband send the messenger (i/e/ what wording did he use) and how can this be understood in light of the debate between the rabbis and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel regarding appointing a new messenger? In the Mishna in Gittin 66a, there is a case where the messengers cannot appoint another messenger. How can that case be reconciled with our Mishna? Can a messenger who was appointed by another messenger appoint a third messenger? Does the appointing of a new messenger need to take place in a court? What if the first messenger dies, does that cancel the other messengers? There are two stories in which messengers were appointed by the court on behalf of the original messenger and there were differences of opinion about whether this was legitimate or not because of the circumstances.