“Adonoy appeared to him (Abraham) in the groves of Mamrei
and he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day.”
Bereshis 18:1
“[He] appeared to him. To visit the sick person.
Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said: It was the third day after his circumcision and
God came to inquire about his welfare.”
Rashi, on Bereshis 18:1
Rashi’s commentary alludes to a statement in the Gemara
(Talmud Sotah 14a), in which R. Hama son of R. Hanina explains how to understand the
verse in Devarim (13:5) that states: “You shall walk after the Lord your God.”
Rabbi Hama asks: How does someone walk after God? He answers: By emulating
God’s acts of kindness. The second example he gives is: Just as God visited the
sick, as evidenced in our verse above from Bereshis, so should we visit the
sick.
There are, of course, good and not so good ways to visit
with a sick person. A writer on the Jewcy.com website suggests the following
five rules which I would endorse:
- Call before you come
- Don’t stay long
(unless you’re asked to)
- If you’re bringing a
gift, bring something appropriate
- Offer to help with
concrete tasks
- Don’t be offended if
the person you’re visiting is acting differently
For more information on these five rules, see the full
article here:
In my experience, often a person who is sick is – in some
sense – not at full life capacity. They may feel quite debilitated, experience
significant pain, feel discouraged, or all of the above. When we visit we have
the opportunity to encourage them, to lift their spirits a bit, and by so doing
injecting a bit of ‘life’ into them. So in a small but significant way we are
in fact imitating God, the ultimate life giver and creator.
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