About this episode
If the messenger loses the get and then finds it, under what circumstances can we assume it was the same get and wasn't switched with another? Our Mishna rules that it must be found immediately or in a container into which the messenger had placed it, or if it had identifying signs. A Mishna in Bava Metzia 18a is brought as one can infer from there that if the husband wanted to use the get after it had been lost for a while, he could. This contradicts our Mishna which says it can only be used if it were found immediately. Raba resolves it by distinguishing between a place where caravans are/are not frequently found. However, even in a place with many caravans, it is not an issue unless there are two people with the same name as appears in the document. Rabbi Zeira brought a contradiction to our Mishna from a braita, as the braita says explicitly that the husband can decide to send the get to his wife after it was lost in the marketplace, even after a long time has passed. Again, it is resolved by distinguishing between a place where caravans are/are not frequently found. Why didn't Raba bring the contradiction from the braita and Rabbi Zeira from the Mishna in Bava Metzia? Rabbi Yirmia and Rav Ashi each resolve the same contradictions in a different manner, by providing more unique circumstances for the cases in the braita and the Mishna in Bava Metzia. Rabbi Yirmia: the witnesses signed on the get testified that they only signed on this particular get and identified the person for whom the get was written. Rav Ashi: it had clear identifying features ( siman muvhak ). However, if it was a regular siman , he would not permit it to be returned as perhaps simanim are only by rabbinic law and this would not be sufficient in the laws of a married woman to permit her to another man. What is considered "immediate" as mentioned in our Mishna? There are several different explanations.