If someone is ill, what should he do the first thing?
ANSWER:
The first thing is he should immediately ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu for help. Secondly, he should immediately get the best assistance from experts for his illness. And third, yeilech eitzel chochom – that's a gemara. He should go to a chochom and ask him to be mispalel for him. I'll repeat these three things.
Number 1 – He should immediately ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu without any delay; tefila is number one and it doesn't take any time. Because if a man doesn't have any tefila, he's putting his trust in physicians or medicine, and that's ארור הגבר אשר יבטח באדם, accursed is a man who trusts in human beings, ושם בשר זרעו, and he makes flesh his strength, ומן השם יסור לבו, his heart turns away from Hashem. At the outset you should speak to Hashem.
Number 2 – ורפא ירפא the gemara says, מכאן שניתנה רשות לרופא לרפאות, we learn from here that the physician has a right to heal. Which means the physician is not trespassing on Hashem's domain when he tries to heal, because Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself gave that command.
Number 3 – He should seek competent tefilos of somebody whose words are obeyed by Hashem: yeilech eitzel chochom.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures. To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210