Can a husband who has nominated a messenger to deliver his ‘get’ to his wife cancel this even though the messenger is on his way ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 09 May, 2022Until the ‘get’ is actually received properly according to Jewish law , the wife is still married. If the husband changes his mind and decides not to divorce he can do so – even though the messenger may be on his way to the wife/her messenger to deliver the ‘get’. Furthermore, he can prevent a valid divorce taking place even if his messenger did not know of the cancellation and he delivers the document. To be valid, the cancellation must be made before witnesses.
This still applies even if the husband undertakes not to cancel the messenger’s task when when he nominates him to act on his behalf. If he does subsequently change his mind, Jewish law will uphold the cancellation . This is because otherwise the validity of the ‘get’ would be questionable – as it could be argued that the ‘get’ would not be given by consent and freely. If, despite all this, the ‘get’ is given to the wife and she or her representative receives it, after the husband has changed his mind , the divorce ceremony will not be valid and her status will remain that of a married woman.