A man takes a woman [into his household as his wife] and becomes her husband. She fails to please him because he finds something obnoxious about her, and he writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house;
(א) אֵין הָאִשָּׁה מִתְגָּרֶשֶׁת אֶלָּא בִּכְתָב שֶׁיַּגִּיעַ לָהּ וּכְתָב זֶה הוּא הַנִּקְרָא גֵּט. וַעֲשָׂרָה דְּבָרִים הֵן עִקַּר הַגֵּרוּשִׁין מִן הַתּוֹרָה וְאֵלּוּ הֵן. א) שֶׁלֹּא יְגָרֵשׁ הָאִישׁ אֶלָּא בִּרְצוֹנוֹ. ב) וְשֶׁיְּגָרֵשׁ בִּכְתָב וְלֹא בְּדָבָר אַחֵר. ג) וְשֶׁיִּהְיֶה עִנְיַן הַכְּתָב שֶׁגֵּרְשָׁהּ וֶהֱסִירָהּ מִקִּנְיָנוֹ. ד) וְשֶׁיִּהְיֶה עִנְיָנוֹ דָּבָר הַכּוֹרֵת בֵּינוֹ לְבֵינָהּ. ה) וְשֶׁיִּהְיֶה נִכְתָּב לִשְׁמָהּ. ו) וְשֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה מְחֻסַּר מַעֲשֶׂה אַחַר כְּתִיבָתוֹ אֶלָּא נְתִינָתוֹ לָהּ [בִּלְבַד]. ז) וְשֶׁיִּתְּנֵהוּ לָהּ. ח) וְשֶׁיִּתְּנֵהוּ לָהּ בִּפְנֵי עֵדִים. ט) וְשֶׁיִּתְּנֵהוּ לָהּ בְּתוֹרַת גֵּרוּשִׁין. י) וְשֶׁיִּהְיֶה הַבַּעַל אוֹ שְׁלוּחוֹ הוּא שֶׁנּוֹתְנוֹ לָהּ. וּשְׁאָר הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁבַּגֵּט כְּגוֹן הַזְּמַן וַחֲתִימַת הָעֵדִים וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן הַכּל מִדִּבְרֵי סוֹפְרִים:
(1) [1] A woman may be divorced only by means of a writ that reaches her, and this writ is called a get. According to the Torah, there are ten rules that are basic to divorce, and they are as follows: that the man may not divorce his wife except of his own free will; that he must give a divorce by means of a writ, and not by means of anything else... that it must be written specifically for her... that he must deliver it to her; that he must deliver it to her in the presence of witnesses; that he must give it to her as an instrument of divorce; that it must be the husband, or his agent, who gives it to her...
When a man whom the law requires to be compelled to divorce his wife does not desire to divorce her, the court should have him beaten until he consents, at which time they should have a get written. The get is acceptable. This applies at all times and in all places.
Similarly, if gentiles beat him while telling him: "Do what the Jews are telling you to do," and the Jews have the gentiles apply pressure on him until [he consents] to divorce his wife, the divorce is acceptable. If, however, the gentiles compel him to write [a get] on their own initiative, the get is [merely] unacceptable. The rationale is that the law requires him to give a divorce.
Why is this get not void? For he is being compelled - either by Jews or by gentiles - [to divorce] against his will [and a get must be given voluntarily].
Because the concept of being compelled against one's will applies only when speaking about a person who is being compelled and forced to do something that the Torah does not obligate him to do - e.g., a person who was beaten until he consented to a sale, or to give a present. If, however, a person's evil inclination presses him to negate [the observance of] a mitzvah or to commit a transgression, and he was beaten until he performed the action he was obligated to perform, or he dissociated himself from the forbidden action, he is not considered to have been forced against his will. On the contrary, it is he himself who is forcing [his own conduct to become debased].
With regard to this person who [outwardly] refuses to divorce [his wife] - he wants to be part of the Jewish people, and he wants to perform all the mitzvot and eschew all the transgressions; it is only his evil inclination that presses him. Therefore, when he is beaten until his [evil] inclination has been weakened, and he consents [to the divorce], he is considered to have performed the divorce willfully.
[Different laws apply when] the law does not require him to divorce his wife, and a Jewish court or simple people compel him to divorce her. This get is deemed unacceptable. Since, however, it was Jews who compelled him, he [is advised] to complete the divorce [in a proper manner]. If, by contrast, gentiles compel him to divorce when it was not required, the divorce is void. Even though he tells the gentiles that he consented and tells the Jews to write and sign [a get], since the law does not require him to divorce, and he was compelled to do so by gentiles, the get is void.
דְּתַנְיָא: ״יַקְרִיב אוֹתוֹ״ — מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ. יָכוֹל בְּעַל כׇּרְחוֹ — תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״לִרְצוֹנוֹ״. הָא כֵּיצַד? כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ עַד שֶׁיֹּאמַר ״רוֹצֶה אֲנִי״. וְכֵן אַתָּה מוֹצֵא בְּגִיטֵּי נָשִׁים, כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ עַד שֶׁיֹּאמַר ״רוֹצֶה אֲנִי״.
As it is taught in a baraita: It is said with regard to some offerings: “He shall offer it” (Leviticus 1:3). This teaches that they may coerce him to bring the offering he owes. I might have thought this means that he brings the offering totally against his will. Therefore, the continuation of that verse states: “In accordance with his will” (Leviticus 1:3). How can these two contradictory expositions be reconciled? They coerce him by imposing fines or penalties until he says: I want to. And similarly, you find the same principle with respect to bills of divorce for women, as it is prohibited for anyone other than the husband to write the bill of divorce, but they coerce him until he says: I want to divorce her, and then write the bill of divorce on his behalf.
שו"ת מהרשד"ם, חלק אבן העזר, סימן מ"א
ואמרתי אני בלבי שאין ספק שאפילו שאותם שאמרו חכמים במשנה בפרק המדיר ואלו שכופין מוכה שחין כו', שלא אמרו שכופין אותו לגרש אלא אם אינו רוצה לגרש כלל. אבל אם ירצה לגרש אלא שרוצה להטיל אי זה תנאי בגט בזה ודאי לא אמרו שכופין לגרש בלא תנאין.
Responsa of the Maharshdam, Helek Even ha-Ezer, #41 (Lived 1135-1204)
And I said to myself that even regarding those cases enumerated in the Mishnah (Perek ha-Madir) in which we force [a husband to divorce] (e.g. smitten with boils, etc), the sages say that we force him to divorce only if he doesn’t want to at all. However, if he wants to divorce, but he will only give the get under certain conditions, we certainly do not force him to divorce without [fulfilling] those conditions...
החלטת ביה"ד הרבני, מאי 2008. ביה"ד דוחה בקשה של אשה להכניס בעלה לכלא למרות שהוא מסרב 6 שנים לתת לה גט.
לאחר עיון בחומר שבתיק, בית הדין מחליט שאין מקום לכפות על הבעל לגט על הבעל... אמנם ביה"ד בהרכב קודם [בשנת 2006] ברוב דעות חייב את הבעל בכתובה [ומתן הגט] ... אך עתה הוא מסכים לתת גט וגם מסכים לתת מחצית הדירה וגם לשלם עבור מזונות העבר אין מקום לכפותו, ולדעת בי"הד , מאחר שהאישה סובלת כבר מספר שנים וזו ההזדמנות שהאשה תותר מעגחנותה, ולכן ממליץ לה לקבל את ההצעה....
Rabbinic Court, May 2008, decision. Court rejects request of wife to imprison husband who refuses for 6 years to deliver get.
[A]fter reviewing the file, this rabbinic court decides that there's no room to coerce the husband to give his wife a get... While it is true that a previous tribunal [in 2006] obligated the husband ...[to] give his wife a get, but now he is willing to give a get and even agrees to relinquish half the apartment, and also to pay for past child-support. Therefore, there is no place to coerce the husband and it is opinion of this court that since the woman is suffering for so many years and this is the opportunity for her to release herself from the chains that bind her, we therefore recommend that she accept this offer....
(א) ...אמר רבי יוחנן בן נורי: מפני מה האשה שנתחרשה יוצאה, והאיש שנתחרש אינו מוציא. אמרו לו: אינו דומה האיש המגרש לאשה המתגרשת, שהאשה יוצאה לרצונה ושלא לרצונה והאיש אינו מוציא אלא לרצונו.
(1) Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri said: Why can a woman who becomes deaf be removed, but a man who becomes deaf cannot remove [his wife]? They said to him: A man who divorces is not similar to a woman who is divorced, for the woman goes out with her consent or without her consent, but a man can only remove [his wife] with his consent.
(א) הַמַּדִּיר אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ מִלֵּהָנוֹת לוֹ, עַד שְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם, יַעֲמִיד פַּרְנָס. יָתֵר מִכֵּן, יוֹצִיא וְיִתֵּן כְּתֻבָּה.
(1) With regard to one who vows and obligates his wife, prohibiting her from benefiting from him or his property, if his vow will remain in effect for up to thirty days, he must appoint a trustee [parnas] to support her. But if the vow will remain in effect for more than this amount of time, he must divorce her and give her the payment of her marriage contract.
(מג) עַל כ''ד דְּבָרִים מְנַדִּין אֶת הָאָדָם, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: ... (ה) מִי שֶׁשָּׁלְחוּ לוֹ בֵּית דִּין וְקָבְעוּ לוֹ זְמַן, וְלֹא בָּא.
There are 24 things we excommunicate someone for and these are them: ... Someone who Beit Din sends for and gives him a specific time to come and he doesn't come...
(יא) אם נתנדה על עבירה אינו מצטרף לעשרה:
If a man is excommunicated for sinning, he is not considered for a minyan.

