Q&A: Conditions
Conditions
Question
Hello Rabbi. According to the view that says a condition works from now onward retroactively, before the condition is fulfilled, is the act already valid and the condition determines whether it will remain valid or not; or is the act void and the condition determines whether it will remain void or not; or does it depend on the wording in which he stipulated the condition? Logically I would say that the act is valid, but Maimonides does not seem to say that in the Laws of Divorce, chapter 11, halakha 9: “This is your bill of divorce from now if I do not come from now until twelve months… If he dies within the twelve months, even though it is impossible for him to come and she is therefore divorced, she may not marry where there is a levir until after the twelve months, when the condition is fulfilled.”
Thank you
Answer
In the language of our cousins the jurists, one can speak of a nullifying condition and an upholding condition. It depends on the context and the wording of the condition. I think that usually the act does in fact take effect, and the condition works retroactively to cancel it. Incidentally, Rabbi Shimon Shkop argues that the situation is intermediate, and the condition can decide in either of the two directions. That also seems to be implied by the Maimonides you cited.