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Gittin 21

A Real Page Turner


We are in the midst of a discussion about valid writing materials for a get. Here are some fascinating websites I discovered that help us to picture and understand what Hazal are talking about.

http://papyri.tripod.com/vellum/vellum.html See especially the end, about how parchment would often be erased and reused to write something else, exactly what the Mishnah is worried about.

http://www.lib.umich.edu/papyrology-collection/ancient-writing-materials Different types of writing materials with great examples of each (see the “mummy tags” for wood).

http://www.balashon.com/2008/02/daftar.html Nice blog post about the connection between the Greek word diftera, used in our Gemara to refer to a type of skin that may (or may not) be used for writing a get; and the Hebrew word daf.

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