Body Identification by Tevi'as Ayin to Free an Agunah

From: Rabbi Moshe Sofer

To: Unknown recipient

Description

Two witness depositions recorded at the beis din of Neutra document the identification of R' Leib ben R' Gadel, whose body was found in a meadow near the Neutra River after he failed to return from a neighboring town. Both witnesses testified to recognizing the deceased by facial recognition (tevi'as ayin), with the face and nose fully intact, despite being unable to locate a wart the wife had mentioned as an identifying mark. The depositions, written in Yiddish, were preserved as evidentiary records apparently to permit the wife to remarry.

Source: Shu"t Chasam Sofer EH I §72

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