Gittin, Chapter Two, Mishnah 7. This mishnah continues the discussion of who is fit to bring a get, and in particular those people whom one might have thought to disqualify, yet who are nonetheless fit.
The words of the mishnah: "Af hanashim she'einan ne'emanos lomar meis ba'alah - ne'emanos lehavi es gitah" - even those women who are not believed to say that a woman's husband has died are believed to bring her get. The well known halachah is that even a single witness is believed to testify that a woman's husband has died, and this testimony permits her to remarry; and even if that witness is a woman, she is fit for this purpose.
There are, however, certain women who are not fit for this testimony, because their attitude toward the woman about whom they testify is liable to be hostile: they do not desire her good but her harm, and therefore they are not believed in testimony of this kind. Even so, these women are believed to bring her get and to say "befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam" - in my presence it was written and in my presence it was signed.
Who are these women? The mishnah lists them:
Her mother-in-law - her husband's mother.
Her mother-in-law's daughter - the daughter of her mother-in-law.
Her co-wife - another wife of her husband.
Her yevamah - her husband's sister, who is married to her husband's brother. She has the potential to become her co-wife, for if her husband were to die without children, she would undergo yibum with the husband of that yevamah, and the two of them would become co-wives.
Her husband's daughter - the daughter of her husband.
Each of these women has the potential to bear a grudge against the woman in question, and a measure of jealousy is built into these relationships. Therefore the mishnah teaches: even though they are not believed to testify that the husband has died, they are believed to say "befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam," and we do not suspect that they are not telling the truth.
"Mah bein get lemisah?" - What is the difference between a get and death?
The mishnah asks: what is the difference between a get and death, that for one they are believed and for the other they are not? And it answers: "shehakesav mochiach" - that the document proves it. With a get there is supporting evidence from the get itself, from the very existence of the document. This is not so with testimony about the husband's death, where there is nothing additional supporting their claim. For this reason a get is treated more leniently, and it is easier to believe them.
A woman who brings her own get:
The mishnah continues with a further case: "ha'ishah atzmah meviah es gitah" - a woman may bring her own get, and even from overseas, from outside Eretz Yisrael, "uvilvad shehi tzerichah lomar befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam" - provided that she says "in my presence it was written and in my presence it was signed."
The Gemara raises a difficulty with this ruling: surely the accepted halachah is that a woman who appears with a get in her hand is believed to say that she has already been divorced with this get. Why, then, is this woman required to appear before a beis din in Eretz Yisrael and say "befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam"?
The Gemara answers that our mishnah is dealing with a case in which the woman herself served as the agent to bring the get. That is, the husband gave her the get, but he did not give it to her in a manner whereby that giving would constitute the act of divorce; rather, his intention was that the get should not take effect until it is handed to her by a beis din in Eretz Yisrael. He therefore sends her there, and she must hand the get over to the beis din and say "befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam," and then they will give her the get and it will take effect at that moment. It emerges that she says "befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam" on her own behalf, and this is valid.
In summary: in this mishnah we learned that even those women suspected of harboring a grudge against the woman - her mother-in-law, her mother-in-law's daughter, her co-wife, her yevamah and her husband's daughter - who are not believed to testify that her husband has died, are believed to bring her get and to say "befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam," because "the document proves it." We also learned that a woman herself is fit to bring her get from overseas, provided that she says "befanai nichtav uvefanai nechtam," and this refers to a case in which she was made the agent to convey the get to the beis din, and only from them will she receive it into her hand.