A question dealt with by the Rishonim (and discussed in Insights to the Daf) is why the Gemara implies that the Kohen Gadol must rush to the Beis Keneses before his wife's death in order to fulfill the condition of her Get. Why will the Get not be effective retroactively if he does so following her passing, as long as it is still Yom Kipur? The Tosfos Yeshanim (DH Ki) answers that a retroactive Get is ineffective after the passing of the wife, although it is not clear why this should be.
What is even more puzzling is that our Gemara seems to contradict such an assertion. The Gemara earlier suggests that the Kohen Gadol should give his original wife a Get on condition that she not enter a Beis Keneses on Yom Kipur. Tosfos (DH ul'Chada) explains that this way, should she pass away, she will not have entered a Beis Keneses and will therefore be automatically divorced retroactively (at the end of Yom Kipur). Unless the Tosfos Yeshanim has a different understanding of the Gemara (which is not apparant, nor stated by the Tosfos Yeshanim), this Gemara clearly states that a woman can be retroactively divorced following her death!
Moshe Cohen, Yerushalayim
Dear Moshe,
Thanks for your question. I'm suggesting my own answer and I'm not sure that this is the explanation of the Tosafos Yeshanim.
If a person gives a get with a T'nai and the woman dies during the period of the T'nai, can the T'nai be fulfilled after her death making it an effective Get retroactively? I think it depends on the type of T'nai. If the T'nai was to do a certain act (i.e. entering a Beis ha'Keneses), he cannot do this after her death to activate the Get. But if the T'nai was to refrain from a certain act, the husband can continue to refrain from the act after her death, thus making the Get effective. The difference is clear. In case #1 he is activating the Get after her death which is against the rule of Ain Get l'Achar Misah. In case #2, the Get is already in effect at the time of her death, all that needs to be done is to abstain from an act which would disqualify the Get. This is not a case of Get l'Achar Misah.
Thanks for your question.
Kol tuv.
Y. Landy