30 Jan YISRO: BIKUR CHOLIM

The rishonim discuss
whether bikur cholim
is a mitzvah from the
Torah or a mitzvah
d’rabbanan. Many
sources imply that
bikur cholim is a Torah
obligation. If the basis
for bikur cholim is
chesed, that is also a
mitzvah from the
Torah, as it falls under
the umbrella mitzvah
of, “Love your fellow
man like yourself.”
Furthermore, it states
(Devarim 28:9), “You
shall go in His ways,”
and it states (Devarim
13:5) “After Hashem your G-d shall you
follow,” and Chazal explain this to mean that
we should follow Hashem’s ways by visiting
the ill and performing other forms of chesed.
According to some rishonim, the mitzvah of
bikur cholim is expressed in parashas Korach
(Bamidbar 16:29). Moshe said, “If the destiny
of all men has visited upon them,” and the
Gemara (Nedarim 39:) explains, “If they die
like all ill people, who lie on their beds and
people come to visit them…”Another popular
source is in this week’s parashah (18:20) “You

shall make known to them the path on which
they should go…” The Gemara (Bava Metzia
30:) says that this refers to visiting the ill.
The Gemara (Nedarim 40.) relates that a
student of Reb Akiva’s yeshiva was ill, and
the students of the yeshiva weren’t coming to
visit him, so Reb Akiva, himself, came to visit
his student. Reb Akiva tidied up the room,
washed the floors, and the sick student said,
“Rebbe, you granted me life.”“Reb Akiva
went and taught his students, ‘Whoever
doesn’t visit the sick, it is like murder, and
whoever visits the sick brings him life.’”
The Seder HaYom writes, “Bikur cholim is
the from highest forms of gemilus chasadim,
as Chazal (Nedarim 39:) write, ‘Bikur cholim
has not no limit.’ Sometimes, with clever,
encouraging, and kind words, one can revive a
sick person and grant him life. We have seen
this happen many times. Sometimes a person
visits the sick for an hour or two, and the ill
person says, ‘I feel like a new person. My
neshamah came back to me,’ and we see that
the illness became lighter.”
Happiness is a cure for all illnesses, and this is
one of the services we do for the ill when we
visit them. We make them happy, which
makes their condition easier to bear, and
sometimes it can cure them. It states (Mishlei
18:14), “A man’s spirit will sustain his

sickness, but who can
support a broken spirit.”
The Vilna Gaon zt’l explains
that ruach means happiness.
“When a person is happy, he
can handle his illness… His
joy will annul it. But when
one is sad, who can carry
it?”
The Rambam writes, “Tell
an ill person happy stories
that will gladden his heart.
Tell him interesting news
that will take his mind off
his illness, make him laugh,
and make the people caring
for him laugh. When you choose someone to
be with a sick person, choose someone who
can make him happy because this is what is
needed.”
Sodi Razyah (attributed to the Rokeach)
writes, “When one visits the sick, he should
speak to his heart comforting and encouraging
words.” These encouraging words will bring
joy and at times, refuah, too.
The Gemara (Nedarim 40.) writes the many
rewards of visiting and caring for the ill.
Among them is that he will be saved from
Gehinom, and is granted long life, protection
from the yetzer hara, he is saved from

afflictions, everyone honors him, and he will
have good friends who give him good counsel,
and he will be saved from bad friends who
give bad counsel.
The meforshim explain that these rewards are
Middah K’neged Middah. For example, the
Gemara says that visiting the sick saves one
from afflictions. This reward is, Middah
K’neged Middah. measure per measure. He
saved the ill person from afflictions therefore,
he is rewarded that he won’t be afflicted.
We add that he will be saved from the ill
person’. Just as he helped the ill person
overcome that illness, Hashem will help him
that he won’t be afflicted with that illness.