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I've noticed that many questions in Jewish sources are concluded with the statement וצריך ביאור, this needs beer.

Why are there some questions that require beer? Are these questions harder to answer when you're sober?


This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.

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  • 1
    I thought it meant that in order to avoid tough questions, we burn them.
    – rosends
    Feb 26, 2017 at 23:06
  • No wonder I never understood the ביאור הלכה Feb 27, 2017 at 14:31
  • consider marking an answer correct.
    – mevaqesh
    Mar 16, 2017 at 0:40

5 Answers 5

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These questions are questions that need to be answered on a p'shat level. When you drink wine, you get a different kind of answer - נכנס יין יצא סוד, when you imbibe wine, sod comes out. Wine is ideal for dealing with questions in more mystical sources.

Therefore, these questions specifically need beer to help one appreciate the answer.

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We learn in Eruvin 13b:

R. Abbahu stated in the name of R. Johanan: R. Meir had a disciple of the name of Symmachus who, for every rule concerning ritual uncleanness, supplied forty-eight reasons in support of its uncleanness, and for every rule concerning ritual cleanness, forty-eight reasons in support of its cleanness. One taught: There was an assiduous student at Jamnia who by a hundred and fifty reasons proved that a [dead] creeping thing was clean.

Coming up with 48 reasons on either side of a tahor/tamei question, let alone coming up with 150 reasons in favor of a dead creeping thing being tahor, must either drive one to drink or be the result of drink. But the rabbis seek to moderate this, as -- aside from Purim and festive meals -- we are not commanded in alcohol. So they ruled that an alcohol less strong than wine should be used in talmudic discourse. Beer meets this requirement.

So, certain discussions require beer -- as opposed to wine or stronger drink -- either to expound or to recover from. (Which one is a makhlokhet.)

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  • Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!
    – Shalom
    Feb 27, 2017 at 1:07
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Actually, it refers to questions that require a specific type of beer, namely Schaefer beer. This type of beer is around, but not as easy to find in the U.S. market as it was.

Shaefer's slogan was, "The one beer to have when you're having more than one."

The question asked is a tough question that requires more than one answer from a person. Drinking beer, relaxes the mind and a relaxed person can generate better answers. If someone drinks Schaeffer, he plans on drinking at least two beers, so, it is likely that he will give at least two answers.

So, whenever you see a question with this comment, drink a Schaefer.

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Actually, if someone wants to answer a question of this type, he should ask someone attending a funeral, "requires bier". Only someone who is meditating on life and listening to a hesped can go deeply into the subject.

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Because as the Taz teaches us, all of life is dependent on beer!

Taz Yoreh Deah 293 (s'if kattan 4):

דחייו של אדם תלוי בשתית שכר

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