Community Magazine January 2014

The Top 10 Questions & Answers on custom and laws of RABBI DANIEL D. LEVY Dedicated in loving memory of HachamNissim benMazal a.h Visiting the Sick 1 IS THERE A BIBLICAL SOURCE FOR THE MITZVAH TO VISIT ILL PATIENTS? According to the Ramban, Rabbenu Yonah and others, the Torah command of “ vehalachta bidrachav ” – to follow in Hashem’s ways – includes the obligation of bikur holim . As the Gemara (Sotah 14a) explains, one of the ways we emulate Hashem is by visiting the sick, just as Hashem visited Avraham Avinu, as it were, when he was recovering from his berit milah . The Rambam maintains that the obligation of bikur holim was instituted by the sages, but is also included under the Biblical command of “ ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha – Love your fellow as yourself.” 2 WHAT MUST ONE DO FOR THE PATIENT TO FULFILL THIS MITZVAH PROPERLY? The essential requirement of bikur holim is to determine what the patient needs and to provide those needs. The Shelah Hakadosh (Rav Yeshayah Halevi Horowitz, 1558-1630) identified three general categories of needs that an ill patient has: physical, spiritual and financial. Physical needs include: cleaning his room if it is dirty (in fact, the Gemara in Nedarim 40a tells that the Rabbi Akiva personally swept the floor for an ill student), making sure his bed is comfortable, providing appropriate food, medicines and caretakers at the appropriate times, and attending to the patient’s affairs which he cannot deal with, such as paying bills, writing a will (if necessary), and so on. Spiritual needs include praying and reciting Tehillim for his recovery, and trying to lift his spirits through light conversation, humor and the like. The Bet Yosef , citing the Rambam, writes that one does not fulfill the obligation of bikur holim if he does not pray on the patient’s behalf. Financial needs including purchasing medications, food and other supplies, offering financial support for the family, and donating charity in the patient’s merit. 3 WHEN IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE TIME TO VISIT A SICK PATIENT? The Shulhan Aruch (Y.D. 335:4) writes that one should not visit a patient during the first three hours of the day, when the patient will likely feel rested and not look frail, as the visitor will not be moved to pray for his recovery. On the other hand, one should not visit during the final three hours of the day, when the patient likely looks exceedingly frail, as the visitor may conclude that the patient has no hope of recovering. Therefore, one should visit the patient during the middle hours of the day. The Aruch Hashulhan (335:8) notes that these guidelines were given only as a suggestion, and there is no prohibition against visiting a patient earlier or later in the day. In any event, practically speaking, one should schedule visits at the times that are most convenient and comfortable for him. 4 IS IT PERMISSIBLE FOR A KOHEN TO ENTER A HOSPITAL TO VISIT A SICK PERSON, DESPITE THE CONCERN THAT THERE MIGHT BE A HUMAN CORPSE IN THE BUILDING? Rabbi Aharon Levine (in his work Zichron Meir , p. 74) writes that given the severity of the prohibition against kohanim becoming tameh (impure), a kohen should preferably not visit a patient in a hospital unless he can verify that there is no deceased Jewish person or limb amputated froma Jewin thebuilding.RavMosheFeinstein, zt”l , notes a leniency in Iggerot Moshe (Y.D. 2:166) that in special circumstances, one may rely on the fact that the majority of patients in American hospitals are non-Jews, and since families of deceased Jewish patients do not generally authorize autopsies, we may presume that any corpse or amputated limb in a hospital is that of a non-Jew. Therefore, as there is no prohibition for a kohen to be under the same roof as the remains of a non-Jew, a kohen who has a particular need to visit a patient may do so. This includes visiting a family member or relative, visits that are required in the interest of shalom bayit (peace among family members), and situations where the patient specifically requested that the kohen come visit him. 5 IF A JEWISH PATIENT SHARES A HOSPITAL ROOM WITH A NON-JEW, SHOULD THE VISITORS ALSO VISIT THE NON-JEWISH PATIENT? The Shulhan Aruch (335:9) writes that one should visit non-Jewish patients in the interest of darche shalom – maintaining peaceful relations between Jews and non-Jews. Therefore, it would be appropriate to acknowledge and visit a non-Jewish patient who is sharing a room with the Jewish patient. The Shach (335:8) writes that one should even visit a non-Jewish patient who is alone and not sharing a room with a Jew. 6 WHY IS NO BERACHAH RECITED WHEN PERFORMING THE MITZVAH OF BIKUR HOLIM? One reason is that a berachah is recited only over a mitzvah which depends entirely on the person who performs it. In the case of bikur holim , the performance of the mitzvah depends upon the patient’s willingness to accept visitors, and thus no berachah was instituted over this mitzvah. Additionally, we recite a berachah only over a mitzvah that is unique to the Jewish nation. Visiting sick patients is customary even among non-Jews, and thus a berachah is not warranted. (See Zichron Meir , p. 68.) 54 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE