Hi,
The Mishna says that one cannot acquire on behalf of someone, without their permission, when it's a negative, i.e. a Get. In the case of a Get the reason given is that a woman will face a financial loss by getting divorced.
As the world is moving from a one man income, and often the women are earning more and this trend will be growing in the years to come, is it still considered a "negative" receiving a Get from a man. That is, can an agent acquire a Get on behalf of the woman without her being present?
Thank you,
Gavin Simpson, South Africa
Dear Gavin,
The Gemara essentially asks your question but under different circumstances. The Gemara at the end of the 15th chapter of Yevamos (118b) asks whether a third party could accept a woman's Get on behalf of her in a case where a childless man is dying and doesn't want his wife to be bound to his brother. On the one hand, the Gemara says, it is a Zechus for her because presumably she does not want to be bound to her brother-in-law. On the other hand, it is possible that it is detrimental to her because she likes him and if she gets a Get she will be forbidden to him. The Gemara concludes that it is a Safek and she is forbidden to do Yibum and must do Chalitzah.
The Gemara asks a similar question in a case where the couple are fighting. Presumably the Get would be something desirable for her and she doesn't need to appoint the Shaliach. Nonetheless, the Gemara concludes -- based on the maxim "Tav l'Meisav Tan Du" -- that such a divorce is no good (in this case, it is a Machlokes Rishonim if it is definitely no good or just possibly no good).
Finally, there is an extreme case cited by the Rema (EH 140:5) of a man who has left Judaism (a Mumar) and his wife is trying desperately to get a Get from him and he is Mezacheh her with the Get by way of a third party. Here, there actually is an opinion that the Get is good, but there are opinions that even in this case we have to suspect that at the moment he gave it to the third party she wasn't comfortable getting divorced.
The point of all of this is that the Halachah is reluctant to assume that a divorce is beneficial to a woman even when circumstances strongly support that assumption, so probably, in our case, just because the woman is financially independent (and maybe even supporting her husband), we would not assume that it is a Zechus for her to get divorced.
Kol Tuv,
Yonasan Sigler
This is not a Psak Halachah