Mishnayos Yevamos Perek 2 Mishnah 9
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יבמות פרק ב׳ משנה ט׳
An agent who brought a bill of divorce from a country overseas and said: It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence, as required in order to establish the bill of divorce as valid, may not marry the wife, i.e., the divorcée. Since the validity of the bill of divorce is based upon his testimony, marrying the divorcée creates the impression that he had an ulterior motive for his testimony. Similarly, a witness who testified that a certain man died, or testified: I killed him, or: We killed him, may not marry that man’s wife. Rabbi Yehuda says: If he testified: I killed him, his wife may not be married at all based on that evidence, as his testimony is unreliable, but if he said: We killed him, his wife may be married to anyone other than those witnesses.
הַמֵּבִיא גֵט מִמְּדִינַת הַיָּם, וְאָמַר בְּפָנַי נִכְתַּב וּבְפָנַי נֶחְתַּם, לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ. מֵת, הֲרַגְתִּיו, הֲרַגְנוּהוּ, לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, הֲרַגְתִּיו, לֹא תִנָּשֵׂא אִשְׁתּוֹ. הֲרַגְנוּהוּ, תִּנָּשֵׂא אִשְׁתּוֹ:
Bartenura
המביא גט ממדינת הים. צריך שיאמר בפני נכתב ובפני נחתם. וטעמא מפורש בגיטין, למר משום שאין בקיאין לשמה, ולמר שאין עדים מצויין לקיימו:
לא ישא את אשתו. משום דאדבוריה סמכינן:
מת הרגתיו וכו׳ הואיל ועל עדותו נישאת, איכא לזות שפתים, שמא עיניו נתן בה והעיד עדות שקר עליה. אבל תנשא לאחר, דאשה נישאת בעד אחד:
ר״י אומר הרגתיו לא תנשא אשתו. בעדותו אפילו לאחר, מפני שהוא רשע והתורה אמרה אל תשת רשע עד. ואין הלכה כר״י. דקיי״ל אין אדם משים עצמו רשע, דאדם קרוב אצל עצמו. ומהימנינן ליה שנהרג, אבל לא מהימנינן ליה במאי דאמר שהוא הרגו. והלכך אפילו כי אמר הרגתיו תנשא אשתו:
הרגנוהו תנשא אשתו. מפורש בגמרא, באומר אני הייתי עם הורגיו אבל אני לא הרגתיו:
המביא גט ממדינת הים – he must state, “in my presence it was written and in my presence it was signed,” and the reason is explained in [Tractate] Gittin (see Bartenura commentary to Chapter 1, Mishnah 1) for [according to] one Master, because they are not expert in [writing the Jewish bill of divorce] for her sake, and to the [other] Master, because witnesses are not found to attest to it.
לא ישא את אשתו – because we rely upon his word.
מת הרגתיו וכו' – since it was upon his testimony that she married, and it is possible to slander, lest his eyes were upon her and he made a false testimony about her but she could marry to another, for a woman can be married [upon the testimony] of one witness.
ר"י אומר הרגתיו לא תנשא אשתו – through his testimony even to another because he is a wicked person, and the Torah stated (Exodus 23:1): “You shall not join hands with the guilty [to act as a malicious] witness,” but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda, for we hold that a person does not incriminate himself (i.e., his testimony against himself has no legal effect -see Tractate Sanhedrin 9b), for a person is considered a relative regarding himself, and we believe him that that he was killed, but we don’t believe him regarding what he said that he killed him, and therefore, even if he said that he killed him, you can marry his wife.”
הרגנוהו תנשא אשתו – it is explained in the Gemara (Tractate Yevamot 25b) when he says: I was with those who killed him, but I did not kill him.