8920 —על תוקף הלכתי של העברת קול בטלפון לגט ולמגילה

Shalom u'Vrachah! [End of Kislev 5725]

I read in the newspaper that three gittin were arranged by hearing via telephone (from Vienna) from the husband: "Write and give, etc." I am interested to know if this report is accurate and what the reasoning is—because at first glance, this is questionable. Through the telephone, it is not the husband's actual voice at all; rather, his speech causes changes in an electric current (whose nature and essence no one knows to this day—only its mode of operation. But it is "known" that it is not at all airwaves or similar movements present at the time of writing), and afterwards these changes activate a thin membrane which an expert craftsman has prepared in a certain way.

It is understood that this has no relevance to photographic evidence or similar matters regarding agunos and such—because there, a sign and recognition by the Beis Din are required, whereas with a get, there must be a statement by the husband. Likewise, there is no place for hearing Megillah reading, etc., via telephone or radio and similar means—because this is not a human voice at all (not even like one who blows into a pit). And it is obvious that it would be a great and even strange innovation to say that indirect action or a fundamental change in essence could substitute for speech.

And although there are among the later authorities some poskim and great Torah scholars [...]—it is evident from their own responsa that those who explained to them the nature and operation of the telephone made a fundamental error in this matter, and this is not the place to elaborate.

This was printed in Likkutei Sichos vol. 9 p. 336. And similarly... regarding Megillah: see also Likkutei Sichos vol. 21 p. 496.

Summary

The Rebbe writes that halachic requirements for direct speech cannot be fulfilled through telephone transmission, as it does not convey an actual human voice but only an electric signal; thus, such methods are invalid for get or Megillah reading.