Bikkur
Holim:
Visiting the Sick as a Mitzvah and a Godly Act
Parshat Va’yera
Genesis 18:1 – 22:24
| Dedicated by Frances and
Buddy Brandt With love to their grandchildren Elka, Joshua, Lindsay, Oren Z”L, Jenny, David, Lauren, Zenfira, and Emily |
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Last week’s Torah portion concluded with the circumcision of Abraham and Ishmael. As Parshat Va’yera begins, God appears to Abraham along with three mysterious by-passers who happen upon the tent of Abraham. The opening verses of the Parshah teach us many lessons in the importance of Hesed, loving-kindness. Abraham graciously welcomes strangers into his tent and serves them a meal. At the same time we are told that God appeared to Abraham while he was recuperating from his recent circumcision. Visiting the sick is considered a godly act and not simply a good deed. It must be performed thoughtfully and with an effort to meet the infirm person’s needs. Jewish law offers us advice in how to fulfill this mitzvah.
| Genesis 17:24,
18:1-2 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin…. The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. Looking up he saw three men standing near him. |
Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, Rashi
Rabbi Hamah ben Chaninah said: It was the third day after his circumcision
and the Holy One, Blessed be He, came and inquired after the state of
his health. (Baba Metzia 86b)
Babylonian Talmud Sotah 14b
Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina further said: What means the text: Ye shall
walk after the Lord your God? (Deuteronomy 13:5) Is it, then, possible
for a human being to walk after the Shechinah; for has it not been said:
For the Lord thy God is a devouring fire? (Deuteronomy 4:24) But [the
meaning is] to walk after the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He.
As He clothes the naked, for it is written: And the Lord God made for
Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them, (Genesis 3:21)
so too should you clothe the naked. The Holy One, blessed be He, visited
the sick, for it is written: And the Lord appeared unto him by the terebinths
of Mamre, (Genesis 18:1) –so too, visit the sick. (Note: Since the
preceding verses deal with Abraham's circumcision, it is deduced that
the occasion was when he was recovering) The Holy One, blessed be He,
comforted mourners, for it is written: And it came to pass after the death
of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son, (Genesis 25:11) so too should
you comfort mourners. The Holy one, blessed be He, buried the dead, for
it is written: And He buried him in the valley, (Deuteronomy 34:6) so
too should you bury the dead.
Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim39B
Rabbi Aha bar Haninah said: “He who visits an invalid takes away
a sixtieth of his suffering.” They said to him: If so let sixty
people visit him and restore him to health!?” He replied: “The
principle of decreasing illness by a sixtieth is the same distribution
of property among female heirs as the tenth spoken of in the school of
Rabbi (Yehudah)…for it is taught: Rabbi said: “A daughter
who enjoys maintenance from her brother’s estate receives a tenth
of the estate. They said to Rabbi (Yehudah): If so, if a man leaves ten
daughters and one son the latter receives nothing!” He replied:
“The first to marry receives a tenth of the estate; the second,
a tenth of the remaining, the third, a tenth of what remains.”
Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 40a
Rabbi Shisha son of Rav Idi said: “One should not visit the sick
during the first three or the last three hours of the day, lest he fail
to pray for him. During the first three hours of the day, the invalid’s
illness is alleviated; in the last three hours of the day his illness
is strongest.”
Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 12a
When Rabbi Judah visited the sick, he said, “May the Almighty have
compassion upon you and upon the sick of Israel.” Rabbi Yose said:
May the Almighty have compassion upon you in the midst of the sick of
Israel”…Sometimes Rabbi Eleazer would say, “The Almighty
visit you in peace.” At other times he said, “The Almighty
remember you in peace.”
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 335
We visit the sick among non-Jews in order to keep peace.
Questions to Ponder |
|
| 1. | Why did God wait until the
third day after his circumcision to visit Abraham? Why didn’t
He visit Abraham sooner? Is there any special significance to the
third day after surgery? |
| 2. | Nowhere in the Torah is there an explicit commandment to visit the sick. We are told “to love one’s neighbor as one’s self,” “To rise before the elderly,” and “not to stand idly by the blood of one neighbor” but we are not told to visit those who are sick. On what basis do the sages conclude that it is a mitzvah to visit those who are ill? Visiting the sick is a good deed, but is it a mitzvah (a commandment)? |
| 3. | What is the significance of comparing God’s actions with human behavior and deeds? |
| 4. | In what ways might we think of visiting the sick as a way of healing others? Did the rabbis understand the healing power of visiting the sick literally? What did they mean when they said that when one visits the sick, it is like taking away one sixtieth of the suffering? |
| 5. | What do you think of the sages’ advice with regard to visit the sick? Is it helpful advice? What reason might you give for not visiting people during the first and the last part of the day? |
| 6. | How do you feel about praying for a sick person when you visit them? What is the difference between the different prayers which the sages would recite upon visiting a sick bed? |
A Weekly Mitzvah |
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| Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson is Vice-President of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies offers the following suggestions for the mitzvah of Bikkur Holim in his book, It’s A Mitzvah, published by Berman House. It is an excellent book and he expands on these and other suggestions: | |
| 1. Upon discovering that someone is sick, send a brief
card or a note. 2. Alert the sick person’s rabbi 3. Plan to visit the sick but don’t stay too long 4. Schedule your visit appropriately; phone ahead to let the patient know you are coming. 5. Prepare for a visit carefully and thoughtfully. 6. Before entering the patient’s room, be sure to knock and ask for permission to enter. 7. If there are already many visitors, wait outside until a few people leave. 8. When visiting, help with concrete tasks. 9 Try to be with the patient during a meal. 10. Don’t be afraid to sit in silence – sometimes your company is all that is needed. 11. Listen. 12. Offer to pray with the patient. 13. Attend a synagogue worship service and [to] have a mi she-berakh recited after the Torah reading or make a contribution in honor of the sick person. 14. Visit nursing home residents, long-time hospital patients, and elderly shut-ins. |
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| Many of us are intimidated and nervous about visiting people who are sick or in the hospital. Remember two things: a: The main thing is just showing up – the fact that you are there means a lot. b: Take the advice of the sages: “Say little and do much.” It’s not what you say that helps but how you listen. | |
“All it takes to study Torah is an open heart, a
curious mind and a desire to grow a Jewish soul.”
Copyright 2006 Rabbi Mark B Greenspan
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