Q&A: Is There Bereira or Not?
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Is There Bereira or Not?
Question
Hello Rabbi, I’m studying tractate Beitzah and came across the concept of “yesh bereira” (“retroactive clarification”). It doesn’t sound logical to me—the possibility of changing reality retroactively. This topic reminded me of the issue of legal circumvention in Jewish law, which is also difficult and sounds forced. Does the Rabbi have an article on the subject?
Answer
There is a hefty book, part of which deals with this. It’s the fourth in the Talmudic Logic series (The Logic of Time). Unfortunately, I don’t recall anything else written on it.