Q&A: Topography and Free Choice
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Topography and Free Choice
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
Is there a situation in which a person's topography is too difficult for him? For example, the mountain is too high and he can't climb it?
And if so, can that person say about himself that the mountain is too high for him and he can't climb it (in other words, can a person say about himself that he has no choice in a certain matter)?
Answer
Obviously there are situations in which a person cannot do something. An impulse that cannot be overcome is such a case. Can a person know that this is the situation? Maybe. Rabbi Ilai (in Moed Katan 16) thought so, but most halakhic decisors maintain that he was mistaken about this.