Today is thirty days from Yom Kippur and forty days from Rosh Hashanah, so we should attempt in some way to rejuvenate (re-Jew-venate) ourselves. May we suggest that from time-to-time throughout the day you recall the spirit that you had on RH and YK and try to inculcate it into your activity at that time?
As this week’s Parsha teaches of the primary importance of Bikur Cholim, as Hakadosh Baruch Hu visited Avraham Avinu after his bris, we provide the following notes on Bikur Cholim:
1. According to the Chochmas Odom (151:3) the ikar (main point) of
Bikur Cholim is davening for the sick person while visiting him. In fact,
the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (193:3) poskens that one has not fulfilled the
mitzvah of Bikur Cholim if he visits, but does not daven to Hashem while
there. This is because the Shechina is present above the head of the sick
person, and your tefillos are, k’viyachol, in front of the Shechina itself
(Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 335, Shach seif katan 3). In your tefillah, you
should ask for Hashem’s mercy for that particular "choleh b’soch cholei
Yisroel" (amongst the other sick of Israel), because, in the merit of the
many, your tefillos will be better received (ibid., Shach seif katan
4).
2. Bikur Cholim should not be performed when it is convenient for
the visitor, but when it is best for the choleh. As the halacha states,
one should not visit in the first three hours of the day, the last three
hours of the day, etc. (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 335:4).
3. In
addition to tefillah, there is a mitzvah to give the choleh "nachas ruach"
(Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 193:3). This does not mean that one should speak on
and on, or even with witticisms. Statements like "You’ll now have to
take that medicine for the rest of your life", or "Next time, you’ll be more
careful", or even "How will this affect your life going forward?" may be
equated with smacking a poor person across the face and knocking out a few
teeth as you hand him a hundred dollars with a smile.
4. The
Chazon Ish (Collected Letters, Volume I:138) writes that everyone has the
mitzvah to perform "Bikur Cholilm" upon himself, as well. This means that he
must take care of his body and use the most effective means possible for his
personal health.
5. One should try to tidy up and make the atmosphere
more cheery for the choleh, if possible. The Gemara (Nedarim 40A) relates
that Rabbi Akiva himself swept and cleaned the floor for his sick student.
As a result, the student told him, "You have caused me to live." Rabbi Akiva
then taught, "He who does not perform the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim, it is as
if he spilled blood." The reverse is also, of course, true. In fact, the
Gemara clearly teaches that one who acts wisely with the ill will himself be
saved from "a bad day" by Hashem (see Tehillim 41 and Gemara, Nedarim
40A).
6. Finally, one should consider a choleh’s status after he leaves
the hospital, and even after he returns to shul or to work. The fact that
he has somewhat healed does not necessarily mean that he is not suffering
pain or is otherwise in distress. One should continue to daven for, and
inquire as to, a person’s welfare, until he is confident that the choleh
has received his refuah shlaimah.
-------------------------- Reprinted with permission from Hakhel
MIS
Important Numbers
