sea, and the whole matter was referred to men learned in the law, to prepare the papers, examine the witness and do all things necessary to effect a legal separa tion of the parties. The original form of the Get (Bill of Divorce) is unknown. During the period of Tanaim (teachers of the Mishna), which ended during the second century A.C., any document which contained certain apt and operative words constituted a Bill of Di vorce. The following form, which is at least 1 500 years old, is still in use among the Jews, who exercise their own jurisdiction in these matters in eastern Europe, in Asiatic and African countries: — "On the third day of the week, the third day of the month Sivan, in the year 5645 of the crea tion of the world according to the era of our reckoning here in the city of Cairo, which lies on the river Nile and the wells of water, I, David the son o*f Benjamin the Levite, who am this day in this city of Cairo, which lies on the river Nile and the wells of water (and by whatever name and surname, I and my father, my city and my father's city may be known), do declare of my free will, without compulsion, that I leave thee, and free thee, and dismiss thee, my wife Rebecca the daughter of Paltiel, who art to-day in this city of Cairo, which lies on the river Nile and the wells of water (and by whatever name and sur name thou and thy father and thy city and thy father's city may be known), who hast been my wife heretofore until this date; and hereby I do free thee, and leave thee, and dismiss thee, that henceforth thou mayest have the power, and that thou mayest have the control over thyself to go to be married to any man whom thou mayest choose; and no man shall hinder thee, on my behalf, from this day forever; and thou art allowed unto any man. And this shall be unto thee from me a Bill of Release, a letter of Dis missal and an instrument of Freedom. According to the Law of Moses and Israel. Reuben, the son of Jacob, witness. Simon, the son ok Joseph, witness. The language of the Get is the Aramaic idiom of the Talmud.
. The law requires that a scrupulous exact ness must be observed in conforming to the rules of procedure in divorce, even to the respective sizes of the letters in the Get, the kind of ink to be used, and the sub stance on which the Get may be written. The reason for these minute regulations was to prevent any possible ambiguity, and their effect was to compel the husband to seek counsel of the scribe or Rabbi. But when the custom of employing professional talent in the execution of the Get had be come invariable, the reasons for the rules of chirography ceased to exist, and it became customary to write the Get on prepared forms, with blanks left for name and date. For as the Rabbi presumably would not- make a mistake in writing the Get, it became a matter of indifference whether he used a blank form or wrote the whole Get himself. The question as to the material on which a Get may be written, as indeed almost every other question discussed in the Rab binical schools, gave rise to much fine dialectic hair-splitting. One unconscious Talmudic humorist put the question : " May a Gct be written on the horn of a cow?" We are forcibly reminded of Mr. Meeson's will in another question, " May a Get be written on the hand of a slave?" The discussion about the Get on the horn of the cow arose in this manner: The Deuteronomic law provides that the husband shall write (a Bill of Divorce) and give it to the wife. Now, said the Rabbis, inas much as in the Tora the words writing' and giving follow each other closely, therefore, nothing must be done to the Get between the writing and the delivery; for instance, if, after being written, but before delivery, it is torn on the margin, it is invalid and a new Get must be written. Now our aforesaid unconscious humorist spoke up : " Suppose a Get is written on the horn of a cow and the horn is sawed off and given to the wife; is it a valid Get f "
