Testimony is given only on the full face with the nose even though there are (identifying) signs on his body and on his clothing. [If one did not see his full face, or if his nose were missing, he cannot testify (that he is dead) so that his wife can remarry, it being possible that it is not he.] Testimony is not given until his soul departs, even if they saw him meguyad ["cut" (i.e., with severed arteries) as in (Daniel 4:11): "Godu ilana" ("Cut down the tree")], and impaled, and an animal eating him [(only in a place from which the soul does not depart; but in a place from which the soul departs, they may testify that he has died.)] Testimony is given only until three days. [If they did not see him until three days after his death, they do not testify, for it is possible (after that time) that his appearance has changed, and that he is not the one they think him to be.] R. Yehudah b. Bava says: Not every man, and not every place, and not all times are the same. [Some men (such as those who are obese) swell rapidly. And there are places (such as hot places) where a body decays and changes more quickly. And there are times when it is hot, when decay and change are more rapid — all according to the man, the place, and the time. (The halachah is not in accordance with R. Yehudah.)]
Sefer Chasidim
What sort of murder is it that is not observed by the eye yet the punishment for it is very great, the transgression is light but regarded as very serious in heaven. It is “shame” and (this) refers to one who puts his neighbor to shame publicly 1Baba Metzia 58b. or causes him to suffer in the presence of another before whom he is pained with embarrassment. It is as though he murdered him, because the other would surely suffer death rather than be so humiliated. One who shames his neighbor but later grieves and repents and is willing to receive punishment and comes before one who is God-fearing to find a way to repent, let them say to him, “Know that your evil is great, that you shed the blood of your neighbor.” For so we find with Abijam, the son of Rehoboam, who reproved Jeroboam and shamed him publicly and was stricken dead.2J. T. Yebamoth 16:3. Therefore go my son and entreat your neighbor until he is pacified, be exceedingly careful for your soul that you neither shame nor insult anyone. For the manner of penitents is to be exceedingly humble,3Maimonides, Hilkhoth Teshuvah, 7:8. meek and submissively forebearing. And the meek do not retaliate insult for insult, nor do they reply. They are joyful in the afflictions of their meekness. And if fools shame you saying, “Remember your former deeds,” say to them, “I know that I sinned greatly and I did many things unbecoming, but the Lord will forgive me.” Endure those that shame you measure for measure, (if you insult them and then they insult you) for in this way will you expiate for your sins.4Berakoth 12b. If his sin, involving unchastity, was made known to the public, because of this shame5Shulhan Arukh, “Orah Hayim,” 138, see Baer Hetev, note 3. let him not refrain from studying those laws that deal with unchastity. For it is better for him to obtain forgiveness in this world 6Kiddushin 81a. since shame sheds blood and turns back perversity. And so we find in the Jerusalem Talmud, a murderer who comes to a city and is shown honors must confess, “I am a murderer,” 7Makkoth 12b. for it is said in Scripture, “and this is the case of the man slayer” (Deut. 19:4) this refers to “speech,” that he verbalize and confess the slaying.
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Gray Matter II
Once they established that the husband in question was in the World Trade Center during the attacks, the Beth Din of America began exploring ways to establish that he indeed perished, rather than viewing the World Trade Center as parallel to mayim she’ein lahem sof. The Shulchan Aruch (E.H. 17:30), based on the Gemara (Yevamot 121b), rules that one who witnessed a husband fall into a cauldron of fire may testify that the husband died. The Beit Shmuel (17:92) cautions, though, that this ruling obviously applies only to a fire from which the husband would be unable to extricate himself. Once it has been proven that the husband entered a situation that no person could survive, the Halachah does not concern itself with the possibility that a miracle occurred and the husband was saved in defiance of the laws of nature.24See Tosafot (Yevamot 121b s.v. Ein), who note that the Yerushalmi (Yevamot 16:3) actually does raise the possibility that a miracle occurred. Regardless of the Yerushalmi’s position, we follow the rulings of the Babylonian Gemara, which does not concern itself with such an eventuality.
