בס׳ד

"Where does it say that you have a contract with G-d to have an easy life?"

the Lubavitcher Rebbe



"Failure is not the enemy of success; it is its prerequisite."

Rabbi Nosson Scherman



10 Aug 2009

Visiting the sick

The following is part of an email I received about visiting the sick, by Rabbi Eli Mansour.
"Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (Israel, 1915-2006) allocates a portion of his monumental work Sitz Eliezer to discussing the laws relevant to the Misva of Bikur Holim - visiting the sick.
...In chapter 27, Rabbi Waldenberg notes that the Misva of Bikur Holim includes the obligation to offer spiritual guidance and counseling. Of course, thought must be given to determine who should be the one offering this guidance. However, it is imperative that the ill patient receive spiritual guidance as to the measures he should take to earn the merits he needs to recover from his condition.
... A person visiting an ill patient should advise the patient to make an "inquiry," to conduct introspection and determine which areas of his religious life require improvement, so that he can earn merits through which to regain good health. This is particularly so in the case of serious illness, God forbid, when every merit earned could make the difference and enable the patient to survive.
Specifically, Rav Waldenberg writes, an ill patient should be advised to make amends with those whom he has wronged, and to forgive those who have wronged him. The Sages teach that one who accustoms himself to forgiving others will himself earn forgiveness from God.
...Rav Waldenberg also cites the Ahabat Hesed (work about acts of kindness by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, 1839-1933) as advising ill patients to give charity as a means of earning merit. It is specifically advisable for a patient to donate charity to a public institution. If a person had, at some point, stolen money from the public, in which case it is impossible to return the funds to all the victims, he can earn atonement by donating to an institution which serves the public. In this way, he will be paying back at least some of the people whom he had wronged.
...It is proper for a woman who falls ill to recommit herself to the Misvot of Nida (family purity), separating Halla from dough used in baking, and the Shabbat candles, so that this merit will help her earn good health.
If a seriously ill patient has not yet put his affairs in order and determined the distribution of his assets after his death, it is critically important for him to do so when this is still possible. While it is certainly discomfiting to prepare for one's passing, one must do what he can to avoid strife and conflict among family members after his death. Ill patients must therefore be advised to resolve any outstanding issues of this nature.
May Hashem bless us that these Halachot should never become practically applicable, and that we have only happy occasions to celebrate with our families."

The following 50 second video won First prize at Cannes.

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