Gittin, Chapter 3, Mishnah 2. As we mentioned earlier, in bills of divorce - and in legal documents generally - there are two parts:
The tofes - the standard text found in every document, the fixed portion.
The toref - the place where the particular details of that specific document are written.
Scribes often wanted to prepare the fixed portion in advance, since it is identical in every document, and our Mishnah discusses in which situations it is proper to do so.
"Hakosev Tofes Gittin" - One who writes the standard text of bills of divorce:
A scribe who wishes to prepare the fixed portion of the get in advance, "tzarich sheyaniach" - must leave blank the places of the toref:
"Mekom ha'ish" - the place where the husband's name is written.
Mekom ha'ishah - the place where the wife's name is written.
"U'mekom hazeman" - the place where the date is written.
In addition, as the Gemara explains, one must also omit the phrase "harei at muteres lechol adam" - "behold you are permitted to any man." The reason for all of this: these details must be written lishmah, for the sake of those particular husband and wife, whereas the standard portion does not necessarily require writing lishmah, and therefore it may be prepared in advance.
Extending the law to other documents:
The Mishnah continues and rules that although the concern of "lishmah" was stated specifically regarding bills of divorce, the same law was extended to documents dealing with monetary matters as well. "Shitrei milvah" - loan documents: even if the scribe wishes to prepare them in advance, "tzarich sheyaniach" - he must leave a blank space for:
"Mekom hamalveh" - the name of the lender.
"Mekom haloveh" - the name of the borrower.
"Mekom hama'os" - the sum of money.
"Mekom hazeman" - the date.
The same applies to "shitrei mekach" - documents that attest to a purchase, in which "tzarich sheyaniach" - he must leave blank:
"Mekom haloke'ach" - the name of the buyer.
"Mekom hamocher" - the name of the seller.
"Mekom hama'os" - the sum of money.
"Mekom hasadeh" - the name of the field being sold.
"Mekom hazeman" - the date.
We find, then, that on the one hand the concern regarding bills of divorce was great enough to be extended even to types of documents that have no concept of "lishmah" at all; and on the other hand, preparing the fixed portion in advance was permitted even in the get itself. The reason for this particular leniency lies in its usefulness for scribes, who want to keep documents ready and available in advance. That need was sufficient reason to be lenient and not to issue any decree against preparing these components, even though the law itself was extended to other documents.
The opinion of Rabbi Yehudah:
Rabbi Yehudah disagrees and holds that the law applies to all documents even with regard to the tofes, and not only to the toref. He issued a decree and ruled that there is no room for this leniency even in the standard portion of the text; rather, all documents must be written in their entirety specifically for that particular need: that get, that sale and that loan.
The opinion of Rabbi Elazar:
Rabbi Elazar holds the opposite: all documents may be prepared in advance, and he does not even necessarily require omitting anything from these documents. Practically speaking, of course, the names cannot be written in advance, but the sums could also have been written - a document ready for two hundred, a document for five hundred and a document for a thousand, and perhaps even common names - and all of these are permitted.
There is one exception in his approach: bills of divorce. There the get is invalid even if the details were omitted, since in his view no part of a woman's get may be written in advance, not even the general portion. It emerges that Rabbi Elazar is entirely lenient regarding other documents and entirely stringent regarding bills of divorce, because concerning the bill of divorce it says "vechasav lah" - that it be written lishmah, for her sake and for the husband's sake. He therefore ruled that bills of divorce are the place where one must be exacting, and not other documents.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned that a scribe may prepare the tofes - the fixed portion - in advance, provided that he leaves the places of the toref blank: in a get - the husband's name, the wife's name, the date and the phrase "harei at muteres lechol adam"; in loan documents - the lender, the borrower, the sum and the date; and in documents of purchase - the buyer, the seller, the sum, the field and the date. The Tanna Kamma was lenient regarding the tofes because of the benefit to scribes; Rabbi Yehudah was stringent in all documents even regarding the tofes; and Rabbi Elazar was lenient in all documents and stringent only regarding bills of divorce, based on the law of "vechasav lah" - lishmah.