We have previously referred to the special leniency that allows a woman to remarry on the testimony of one witness. This was a most revolutionary innovation, one that seemingly violates a fundamental precept of the Torah: the basic requirement for two witnesses. Compounding the problem was the fact that the stakes were so high--adultery, illegitimate children, and the undermining of the holiness of marriage--and it is no wonder this law was not readily accepted.

Back in the tenth chapter of Yevamot, we discussed the case of a woman who remarried on the basis of the testimony of one witness who declared that her husband had died. While she is allowed to do so--"because of agunah, the rabbis were lenient" [and allowed one witness instead of two] (Yevamot 88a)--if it turns out the witness was mistaken, she must be divorced from both her second and first husbands.

Perhaps the greatest fear of man is that he will be forgotten, that ultimately his life will be devoid of meaning. Even, perhaps especially, the most powerful harbour this fear, often going to heroic efforts to leave their permanent mark on history.  

"Rav Elazar ben Yaakov said: I heard that the beit din may hit and punish not according to the [laws of the] Torah, not to violate the words of the Torah, but to make a fence around the Torah" (Yevamot 90b).