Gittin 25 continues a discussion that began on 24b relating to the concept of bereirah (choice). Put simply, the concept of bereirah allows an object to be designated retroactively. A prime example would be if a person had two goats and said that he wished to sell one of the goats, but did not yet know which one. The seller could then enter into a transaction whereby the buyer agreed to purchase the first goat that would leave the stable. Assuming that the concept of bereirah applies, the purchaser could pay the seller and then take whichever goat subsequently exited the stable (leaving aside issues of kinyan). If the law of bereirah did not apply, the transaction would be void as the buyer and seller had not come to agreement as to what would be purchased.
Within the discussion as to whether the concept of bereirah is legally cognizable, the gemara mentions the position of R' Yochanan who does not recognize bereirah. In order to prove this point, the gemara brings a fascinating case involving an inheritance. The father dies and leaves two fields to his sons, without designating which son was to receive which field. While the sons may divide the fields as they see fit, R' Yochanan posits that during the yoveil (jubilee) year, all the fields revert back to the father's estate and the division agreed to by the sons is void. Rashi explains that we are concerned that perhaps the father wished the division to be the other way and as such the sons are no better than purchasers, whose rights are terminated by yoveil. Of course, nothing prevents them from redividing the fields in the same way that they originally did once the yoveil is complete.
One other interesting point relating to bereirah involved a father who wished to stimulate his children to act. It is well established that in order to eat from the karban pesach, the person who wishes to eat (in addition to many other laws) must be nimne (registered) to the lamb prior to the shechita of the animal. This father decided that he wanted to motivate his sons, so he told them that whomever gets to Jerusalem first will be registered to the lamb. The gemara then indicates that whomever gets there first is nimne to the lamb and also serves to ensure that the rest of the children are included as well. Prior to resolving whether or not this teaches the rule of bereirah, the gemara paraphrases a historically significant question, as R' Yehuda says to R' Hoshiah "Mah inyan pesachim etzel gittin" (what is the connection of the karban pesach to divorces). The gemara then rejects the ability to learn bereirah from pesachim for a number of reasons. My personal favorite has less to do with the mechanics of the sacrifice and more to do with human nature. The gemara (quoting R' Yochanan) explains that the father always intended that all of his children would be registered to the karban, but only hid his intentions in order to get them to be energetic about doing mitzvos.
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