Le témoignage n'est donné que sur le visage plein avec le nez même s'il y a des signes (identifiants) sur son corps et sur ses vêtements. [Si l'on ne voyait pas son visage de plein fouet, ou si son nez manquait, il ne peut pas témoigner (qu'il est mort) pour que sa femme puisse se remarier, il est possible que ce ne soit pas lui.] Le témoignage n'est donné que lorsque son âme part, même s'ils l'ont vu meguyad ["coupé" (c'est-à-dire, avec des artères sectionnées) comme dans (Daniel 4:11): "Godu ilana" ("Couper l'arbre")], et empalé, et un animal le mangeant [(seulement dans un endroit d'où l'âme ne part pas; mais dans un endroit d'où l'âme part, ils peuvent témoigner qu'il est mort.)] Le témoignage n'est donné que jusqu'à trois jours. [S'ils ne l'ont vu que trois jours après sa mort, ils ne témoignent pas, car il est possible (après cette date) que son apparence ait changé et qu'il ne soit pas celui qu'ils pensent qu'il est.] R. Yehudah b. Bava dit: Ce ne sont pas tous les hommes, ni tous les lieux, ni tous les temps. [Certains hommes (comme ceux qui sont obèses) gonflent rapidement. Et il y a des endroits (comme les endroits chauds) où un corps se décompose et change plus rapidement. Et il y a des moments où il fait chaud, où la décomposition et le changement sont plus rapides—tout selon l'homme, le lieu et le temps. (La halakha n'est pas conforme à R. Yehudah.)]
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
פרצוף פנים עם החוטם – if he did not see him with the appearance of his face or that his nose was taken , we don’t testify to permit [someone else] to marry his wife, for perhaps it is not him.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Introduction
This mishnah provides rules of what a witness needs to see in order to testify that someone is dead.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
מגוייד – dissected like [Daniel 4:14]: “Hew down the tree, [lop off is branches].”
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
They are allowed to testify only about the face with the nose, even though there were also marks on the man’s body or clothing. A person is identifiable only through his face and his nose. Therefore, if someone sees other parts of his body or face, but not his face and nose, he cannot testify that the person is dead.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
או חיה אוכלת בו – specifically in he place where his soul does not depart from [his body], but if it in the place where the soul departs, he testifies about him that he has died.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
They are allowed to testify only when his soul has departed, even though they have seen him cut up or crucified or being devoured by a wild beast. The person must already be dead in order to establish testimony of his death. It is not sufficient to see him being cut up, crucified or devoured by a wild beast. Even though his imminent death in these situations is nearly certain, this is not sufficient.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
אין מעידין אלא עד ג' ימים – if they did not see him until after three days of his death, we don’t testify regarding him, for we suspect lest the appearance of his face has changed and this [individual] is not that whom they think [that it is].
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
They are allowed to testify only [if they saw the body] within three days [of death]. The witness must testify within three days of the death. Otherwise the body may begin to decompose and identity cannot be provided with certainty.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ר' יהודה בן בבא אומר לא כל אדם וכו' – there are people who speedily blows/swells up, such as a heavy persn, and there is a place where a person speedily decomposes and to change, such as in a hot place, and there is a time when the world is hot and a person speedily decomposes and changes, and everything is according to the individual, and the place and the time, whether for leniency or for stringency and the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Rabbi Judah ben Baba says: not all men, all places, or all times are alike. According to Rabbi Judah ben Baba it is impossible to set uniform rules for identifying bodies. Some men’s faces will change quicker than others at death, in some places decomposition will take place quicker, and much depends on the time of year as well (rain or sun). Therefore each situation must be ruled upon based on the circumstances of that situation.
