Introduction | Understanding Divorce through the Bible | Name Verification | Cancellation of Proclamations | Writing the Get | The Text of the Get and its Form | Giving the Get | After the Giving of the Get |

Introduction
The divorce ceremony combines fundamental elements, through which the judges seek to ascertain that you are fully aware of the ramifications of the steps you are taking, along with ceremonial elements, which also possess meaning. The modern day divorce ceremony is in effect a faithful reconstruction of the Biblical verses that describe divorce, and which are the basis for Jewish divorce law throughout the ages: "If a man takes a wife and marries her, if it comes to pass that she does not find favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemliness in her, then he may write her a 'sefer keritut' (a bill of divorce) and give it in her hand and send her out of his house (Deuteronomy 24:1)."

Understanding Divorce through the Bible
Several laws of divorce, which are requisite for a binding divorce ceremony, are learned out from these verses:
   1. Verification of the husband's free will in granting a divorce. From here we derive the requirements that he be 'a person capable of reason', in other words a person who has reached physical maturity, whose emotional state is suitable for making decisions. Regarding the woman, though according to the Torah, it sufficed that she merely be cognizant of the divorce, by the time of the Middle Ages, halacha had developed, requiring also the woman's full consent to the divorce, a condition that is still binding today;
   2. The existence of valid reasons for divorce. The interpretation and understanding of causes for divorce in Jewish law expanded over the years, particularly in cases where both sides expressed the desire to get divorced already in the beginning of the divorce process;
   3. Recording in writing the matter of the divorce, using writing implements that belong to the man who is divorcing his wife, and focusing on the specific couple, taking care to be absolutely precise with regard to their names;
   4. A physical transfer of the get from the man to the woman (only in exceptional cases, via their proxies), and the man's active involvement in the act of transfer;
   5. Awareness that the get is being given for the purpose of divorce, and from here the requirement that the man explicitly articulate his intention to divorce his wife at the time of the granting of the get.
   6. The presence of qualified witnesses at the time of the writing, signing, and delivery of the get.

The ceremony that takes place in bet din has four stages. The first stage, of name verification, can take place on a separate earlier date than the other three. The latter three stages, the cancellation of [prior] proclamations, writing of the get by a scribe, and transfer of the get - constitute the arranging of the get itself and they are always done one right after another.

Name Verification
At the name verification procedure, the officiating judge of the get will record in a painstaking comprehensive manner - your names, and the names of your parents, any previous names, nicknames, the spelling of all the names, etc. This process is likely to seem excessive and tedious, but it is part of the extreme precision that is shown for all the details of the ceremony, in order to insure it is binding and final.

This meticulousness with regard to the names is necessary for several reasons: Firstly, so as not to make an error in writing the names of the man and woman getting divorced, since a mistake in the names invalidates the get. Secondly, in order to avoid a situation of confusion regarding the marital status of another couple who are in fact still married but whose names are, coincidentally, the same as yours. For this reason, the bet din does not suffice with calling you by your first and family names, but it will want to identify you also by any nicknames, private names, foreign names, by the names of your parents and grandparents, etc. (Since identity card numbers are a relatively new phenomenon, Jewish tradition does not recognize it as a means of halachically identifying a person. Thirdly, the inclusion of all the names is necessary not only for evidentiary purposes, but also to fulfill a fundamental requirement of get, namely that the get be written specifically and expressly for the particular couple in question, and not in a general manner, for use by any divorcing couple.

You will come to the name verification ceremony on the date and at the time that is scheduled for you in bet din, after the divorce agreement certification. You and your former spouse will each need to bring with you 'witnesses', not of the traditional sort, that you are familiar with from your registration for marriage, objective witnesses, who are not related to you, abut rather specifically relatives who know you well. The ideal witnesses are the respective fathers of the divorcing couple. If one or both of the fathers cannot come, the bet din will request a different witness, based on their preferences, and the possibilities that exist. These witnesses can be a grandfather, paternal uncle, cousin, and even mother, or paternal aunt. If you are not sure who you are supposed to bring, contact the rabbinical court that is arranging your divorce before the date of the ceremony, since without witnesses, the ceremony will not take place.

The name verification procedure generally takes about 15 minutes, sometimes extending as long as an hour. In the course of it, you and your witnesses will be asked numerous questions about your names, with the same questions asked repeatedly in different forms. In addition to verifying the names, this inquiry also provides answers to other questions of lineage (e.g. Is it a family of kohanim), status (e.g. The witnesses will be asked to confirm that you were married to each other prior to this ceremony, and that you now wish to get divorced), and in a case where you were not married in Israel, they can certify that you are Jewish (and then you may be asked to return with your mother and her documents, in addition to your father). 

After the name verification, you are ready for the stages of the get ceremony itself. If the name verification took place early in the morning, it is likely that the get ceremony will take place that same day. Frequently, however, the bet din registrar will set another date for the get ceremony, a few days or even weeks later.

Cancellation of Proclamations
The first step in the get ceremony is the cancellation of prior proclamations. The three rabbinic judges who are arranging your get will invite you into the courtroom. One of the judges will speak to you for a few minutes, to confirm that you are getting divorced of your own volition, that you comprehend the meaning of the get that you are presently going to grant or accept, and realize that after the get is given, you will be allowed to marry other people. The judge will emphasize that the woman being divorced, may not marry into a family of kohanim, after her divorce, and that the get must be written expressly for the man and woman being divorced.

After a brief introduction, the judges will begin discussing the matter of 'prior proclamations and their cancellation. 'A proclamation is a form of declaration or announcement that a person makes regarding his future intentions, and it is legally binding. 'Cancellation of proclamations is in effect the cancellation of prior commitments, and the opening of a legal 'tabula rasa'. In this context, the prior commitments that are to be cancelled are all statements that the man might have made in front of others regarding the divorce (e.g. "I want a divorce only if my wife will give up the apartment" or "I am really being pressured to give the get), many of which would effectively invalidate the get, from the outset, or set conditions that would limit its application. In order to prevent such a situation, the court performs this ceremony of annulling all declarations made prior to the granting of the get. This annulment, done in the presence of witnesses, effectively cancels any pronouncements that preceded it, affording full force to the get that is about to be given. It should be noted that only statements related to the divorce process itself are cancelled, and not agreements that you made with regard to financial or child custody arrangements after the divorce.

At the start of the 'proclamations cancellation' process, the judges will ask the man if he took any action that invalidates the get from the outset. They will ask him if he took an oath or vow, or made an agreement either to divorce his wife or to not divorce her. Regardless of whether the man's answer is affirmative or negative, the bet din will instruct him to annul, in the presence of the witnesses in the room, any 'proclamations' that he might have made with regard to the get. If the man does not understand Hebrew well, the judge will explain the matter to him in simple Hebrew, or through an interpreter.

The man is requested to repeat after the judge, saying thus:
Listen to me!
You are witnesses that I am canceling before you any and every proclamation that I have made, and every statement that I have said, that could otherwise lead to the annulment of the get. I am, similarly, disqualifying all witnesses that know that I said any statement invalidating the get...

The bet din complies with the ceremonial request of the man and releases him from all commitments and conditions that he remembers making, and from all that he might have made and forgotten.

Writing the Get
After the cancellation of prior proclamations, the writing of the get takes place, a process that takes about an hour, and involves the man who is getting divorced and the scribe. The scribe is an expert in writing holy texts, such as Torah scrolls, tefillin, and mezuzot. The scribe writes the get with quill and ink on a parchment that is prepared ahead of time in the appropriate size, showing precision for each and every letter and crown. The scribe, in essence, serves as the man's agent for the writing of the get. Thus, the man's presence is necessary throughout the entire writing. In addition to the man and scribe, there are also two witnesses who are present at the time of the writing of the get whose role is to make the get binding. These are not the witnesses that you brought for the name verification ceremony, but rather employees of the court, who are not your relatives. The presence of the woman being divorced is not required, so she generally waits in the hallway of the court with her escorts, while the get is being written.

Before the writing of the get begins, the three rabbinical court judges enter, in order to ensure that all the aspects of the writing are being done properly and that the man does indeed want to divorce his wife, and appoint the scribe as his agent. Since it is the man's duty to write the get (via his agent), the writing implements, with which the get is written, must also belong to him. Thus, the bet din asks the scribe if the writing implements and parchment are his. The scribe responds affirmatively, and, in the presence of witnesses, presents them as an unconditional gift to the man getting divorced. The man raises the implements and parchment approximately 30 centimeters above the table, in a symbolic legal act of acquisition. The writing implements now belong to the man, and he will be asked by the judges to appoint the scribe his agent to write with them a get in his name, his wife's name, and the divorce. He will be asked to instruct the witnesses to sign the get that will soon be written for his divorce from his wife. The judges will warn the man to stand next to the scribe the entire time the get is being written, and that if he must leave for a minute, he should not speak to anyone (including his wife) about the get, so as not to render it invalid.

Now, the scribe prepares to write the get. He holds the quill in his hand, confirms, in the presence of the witnesses that he is writing the get in your names, the divorcee and divorce', and begins writing. The scribe must write the entire get at one time, reading each letter aloud to himself before he writes it. The presence of the witnesses is necessary at least during the writing of the first line (and again at the time of signing), while the husband remains at the scribe's side the whole while that he is writing. When the scribe finishes writing the get, the witnesses read it over very carefully, and once the ink has dried, they sign their names at the bottom of the parchment.

At this point, you will reconvene in the courtroom, where the judges will carefully read through the get. If they find an error in it, they direct the man who is getting divorced to instruct his agent, the scribe, to correct it. The bet din will again question the man as to whether he is divorcing his wife of his own free will, and then, for a second time, cancel any prior proclamations, just in case the man said something canceling the get while it was being written. The bet din questions the scribe and witnesses, and confirms that they know the man getting divorced, that the man did indeed instruct the scribe to write the get, giving him his own writing implements to do so, and that the instruction to the scribe was heard by the witnesses, and they were asked to sign the get. The witnesses are also asked whether they indeed signed for the divorce of this particular man and woman, and the scribe and witnesses are asked to confirm that the parchment in the hands of the judges, is in fact the get that the scribe wrote and that the witnesses had signed, and that the witnesses were at least present when the last sentence of the get was written. The bet din then interrogates each witness separately, as to whether he saw his friend sign. The witnesses and scribe are expected to answer these questions tersely, with as simple yes or no. Only once the bet din is fully convinced that the get was prepared properly and all of its details are correct, will it be possible to continue with the preparation of the get.

The Text of the Get and its Form
The get is written in a unique manner. The scribe must write it on the 12 ruled lines so that they will all be of equal length, forming the shape of a rectangle. The 12 lines symbolize the gematria (numerical value) of the word get (gimel-3 + tet-9), as well as the gematria of the word zeh (zayin-7 + heh-5), the first word of the verse, "This is the book of the generations of man (Genesis 5:1)." Under the 12 ruled lines of the get, another line is ruled that is divided into two, on which the witnesses sign their names, one under the other.

The get is written in first person, as if the divorcing man were speaking to the woman. Though it is written in Aramaic, it is important that the man getting divorced and the witnesses understand what is written in the get, and it should be translated for them into a language they know. Most of the get is written according to a set text that is standard for all gets, with only the personal details of the couple divorcing, such as their names, date of the writing of the get, and place the get was written, varying from get to get.
Aramaic text of the get arranged in the traditional 12 lines:

A translation of the get:
On ________ [day of the week], on __________ [day of the month], to the month of ______ [name of the month], in the year _________ [Hebrew year] to the creation of the world, according our reckoning here __________ in [name of the city], a city/place that is located near the river ___________ and spring waters, I ________ the son of _________, known by the nickname ___________, who reside today in __________, the city/place that is located by the river ________ of my own free will, and under no duress left and divorced, and sent you away, my wife _________ the daughter of ____________, who is living today in ________, a city/place that is located near the river __________ and spring waters. For you were my wife before that, and now I have left, and divorced and sent you away, so that you will be allowed and permitted to go and marry any man that you wish, and no person will object to your doing so from this day on. You are henceforth permissible to any man, and this should serve as a bill of divorce and a writ of separation, according to the law of Moses and Israel.

________ the son of ______ witness                              _______ the son of _____ witness 

The details which vary from get to get:
The day of the week, e.g. Sunday, Monday;
The date, e.g. the 2nd of Iyar, or the 23rd of Adar I;
The Jewish year, e.g. 5765 or 5767;
The place where the get is being signed, the name of the city or town, as well as more precise geographical markers, such as the river it is located near;
The names of the husband and wife, including their nicknames and the names of their respective fathers;
The names of the witnesses, including their fathers’ names.

Giving the Get
Once the get has been checked and approved, it is time for the ceremonial aspect of the divorce – the giving of the get. The giving of the get takes place in the presence of the parties being divorced, their professional and personal escorts, the judges of the rabbinical court, and the witnesses who signed the get. The woman who is getting divorced, who had been waiting in the hall, while the get was written and checked, now enters the courtroom, and is asked all the same questions that the man had been asked earlier. If the woman is wearing any rings, one of the judges will ask her to remove them so that there will not be any separation or barrier between her hands and the get, at the time she receives if from the man. The judge will then ask the woman if she is getting divorced of her own free will, and will explain to her that upon her receipt of the get, she will be divorced from her husband, and permitted to marry any person, other than a kohen. The judge will confirm with both the husband and wife that all financial matters such as property division, and the financial obligations of the ketubah have already been resolved. If the judge is satisfied by all the answers he receives, the divorce ceremony may begin.

The divorce ceremony, itself, like all the related laws and procedures, is faithful to the biblical verses, which describe divorce, and establish that after a man writes his wife a ‘sefer keritut’, in other words a get, he must take the get and “deliver it into her hand (Deuteronomy 24:1).” This act of transferring the get from the man’s hand to the woman’s hand, is the ceremonial conclusion to your marriage. It is an act that is performed in an extremely precise established manner that is identical to how it has been done for hundreds of years. It is important that you perform your role exactly as you are supposed to, so that you are not required to repeat it again and again, in order to insure the legal validity of your get.

The judge who is officiating the ceremony sits in the center, with the witnesses who signed the get (‘eidei chatima’), on either side. The judge asks these witnesses to also serve as witnesses to the transfer of the get from the man’s hand to the woman’s (‘eidei mesira’). The woman now gets ready to receive the get. The judge asks her to open her hands with her palms facing up, and to cup her palms together, forming a bowl. The scribe folds the parchment of the get a few times in a precise manner, and then the judge takes the folded get from the scribe and hands it to the husband. Before the ‘giving of the get’, the judge explains to the man the words he must say, in a language he understands. If the man doesn’t understand Hebrew well, the judge will explain it to him in simple Hebrew, or through an interpreter, if necessary. The man may then hand over the get to his wife’s outstretched hands, saying as he was instructed:
“Here is your get; accept this get for through it you are divorced from me from this moment on, and permitted to any man.”

The woman accepts the folded get into her cupped hands, waiting until the man completely leaves go of it, before she closes her hand, grasping it. The woman then raises her hands, while holding the get, about 30 centimeters high. This act called ‘hagbahah (raising)’, serves as a symbolic legal act of transfer of ownership.  After the hagbahah, the woman places the get under her left armpit, next to her heart, takes 2-3 steps forwards, turns around, and retraces her steps (walking altogether a distance of 4 amot, approximately 2 meters). By holding the get under her arm and walking with it the woman proclaims her acceptance of her divorce, and symbolically demonstrates her full ownership of the get, and the end of her marriage.

After the Giving of the Get
After the get is given to the woman and all the aspects of the ceremony are performed, the woman gives the get to the judge, who checks every letter of it again, in order to verify that everything was done correctly, as required by law. The judge repeats in brief all the questions he had asked the scribe and witnesses, when the writing of the get was completed, and they answer ‘yes’ and ‘no’. When the judge finishes his questions, he asks the man to give the writing implements that remain – the ink, parchment, and quill – to the scribe as a present, so that he may use them in writing other gets. Then the judge takes a few steps in order to insure that no one will be able to cast doubt on the legal validity of the get in the future. Firstly, the judge imposes a gag order on everyone present at the time the get was given, adjuring them not to speak ill of the get in the future, and instructing them to raise then and there any objections they might have to the get. The judge then rips the parchment of the get, lengthwise and widthwise, so that it is no longer possible to find any mistakes in it (and so that the woman cannot again demand the money of her ketubah). Thus a distinction is created between a get that was already given, its torn up strips put away in the divorce file in the bet din, and one that was not yet given and is still whole. Finally, the judge instructs the woman regarding her restrictions in future marriages – the waiting period before remarriage and the prohibition against marrying a kohen. He informs the divorced couple that they are not allowed to be alone together unless they remarry. The judge then wishes the divorced couple good luck in the future, and a ‘gemar tov’ (the symbolic initials of get) (A good end). Since the get was torn, and the woman does not keep it as proof of her divorce, the court writes a ‘maaseh bet din’, a certification of the divorce, which is signed by the three judges who dealt with the divorce. The divorce’ and divorcee each receive a copy of this document.   

The Text of the Maaseh Bet din:
[At the top of the page the name of the court appears, along with the file number, the divorce certificate number, the date, and the initials, B”H, which stand for ‘be’ezrat Hashem” (with God’s help). At the bottom of the page, the court’s stamp appears next to the judges’ signatures.]

On _________ [the day of the week]
_________ in the month of _________ [the Jewish month and day]
in the year 57___ to the Creation of the World [the Jewish year]
according to our reckoning, in the city________  [name of city or town]
which is located near the body of water _________ [If the city is near a source of water, then we write it]
the husband ______ the son of _______
who is also called __________ and _________ and _____________[fill in any nicknames]  divorced
his wife ________ the daughter of _________ who is also called ______ and _______ and __________ [fill in all of her nicknames] with a bill of divorce, according to the law of Moses and Israel.
The witnesses to the get: _______ the son of ________ witness [the name of the first witness and his father’s name]
________ the son of ________ witness [the name of the second witness and his father]
The woman is permitted in marriage to any Jewish man, other than a Kohen (because of the prohibition against the marriage of a Kohen and divorcee) after 92 days have passed (a waiting period of 3 months between marriages). Signed on _______ [the date of the divorce, sometimes with additional specific restrictions on future marriages]

Signed _______ [Av bet din]
Signed _______ [Judge]
Signed _______ [Judge]

When a get is given by proxy, there is an addition made in the text of the ‘ma’aseh bet din’, which reads:
On _________ [the day of the week]
_________ in the month of _________ [the Jewish month and day]
in the year 57___ to the Creation of the World [the Jewish year]
according to our reckoning, in the city________  [name of city or town]
which is located near the body of water _________ [If the city is near a source of water, then we write it]
_____the son of ______  [the name of the proxy] came to the bet din, in his hand, the get and the special authorization from the husband, _______ the son of _______ to act as proxy, to divorce his wife, _______ the daughter of ________. The proxy, mentioned above, delivered the get to the woman, mentioned above, as agent of the husband, mentioned above, according to the law of Moses and Israel.
The witnesses signed on the get _______ the son of _______ [the name of the first witness and his father, witness, _______ the son of _______ [the name of the second witness and his father] witness.
The woman is permitted in marriage to any Jewish man, other than a kohen (because of the prohibition against the marriage of a kohen and divorcee) after 92 days have passed (a waiting period of 3 months between marriages). Signed on _______ [the date of the divorce, sometimes with additional specific restrictions on future marriages]

Signed _______ [Av bet din]
Signed _______ [Judge]
Signed _______ [Judge]

Introduction | Understanding Divorce through the Bible | Name Verification | Cancellation of Proclamations | Writing the Get | The Text of the Get and its Form | Giving the Get | After the Giving of the Get

Step by Step
›  Introduction
›  A Moment Before
›  Where and When
›  Who Needs a Get and What For?
›  Reaching an Agreement With Your Spouse
›  The Legal Proceedings
›  Registering for Divorce
›  The Rabbinical Court
›  Certification of Your Divorce Agreement
›  The Get Ceremony
›  After the Divorce