Bikkur Cholim

Prologue: People often ask why they should bother to get involved in different activities. What good will it do? Often the sense that one cannot totally correct a particular situation leaves one feeling as if the worth in affecting it at all is not practical.

Perhaps the greatest negation to the above can be found in the opening lines of this week's Parsha. “VaYera Eilav Hashem” “God appeared to Avraham post-surgery for his Bris Milah. Rashi notes that no words were uttered by Hashem, during the visit and that no commands were given to Avraham at that meeting. Why did Hashem bother to make an appearance? Rashi explains that it was the third day following Avraham's Mila. Hashem knew that it was the most painful day after the surgery and he wanted to fulfill the Mitzva of Bikkur Cholim.

The truth is, God's action seems somewhat strange. God did not have to be Mivaker Cholim. The Talmud (Nedarim 39b) tells us that he who visits the sick removes 1/60th of his sickness. The commentaries (Meiri etc.) explain that by visiting and bringing comfort to the sick, the more comfort you bring, the more sickness you remove. Yet, God is the Rofeh Kol Basar. Why should he come to gain the small step of Bikkur Cholim, if by a mere utterance he could totally heal Avraham?

Rav Moshe Feinstein (Darash Moshe II) ztl. explained that in truth Hashem had other intentions in visiting Avraham. He wanted to show him how to perform a Mitzva. The steps involved in reaching a goal are often Mitzvos in themselves. The fulfillment of the word of God and the efforts extended in performing Chessed acts often are lost when we fail to recognize the positive results even when they are not 100% recovery.

Communities often need to think about where the communal best interest lies. Often the programs that reveal the best results win the community's backing. This week's Chaburah examines the Mitzva of Bikkur Cholim through communal eyes. It is entitled:

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Visiting the sick: A communal responsibility?

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The Mishna in Peah (1:1) notes clearly that the Mitzva of Bikkur Cholim does not appear in the text of that which a person does in this world and derives benefits for the action in this world and the next. However, daily we add it into our Tefillos? Why is that?

The Talmud (Bava Metzia, 30b) includes Bikkur Cholim among those Mitzvos that fall under the category of Chessed. Similarly, elsewhere the Gemara (Shabbos 127a) adds Bikkur Cholim to a list of six things that a person does, and enjoys the benefits from the activity in this world and in the next one. The Gemara in Shabbos explains that things that were included in the Mishna in Peah did not need to be spelled out there. Hence, Bikkur Cholim was subsumed under a more general requirement to do Chessed (See also Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 335:2).

The difficulty begins when we consider aspects of the Mitzva of Bikkur Cholim. The Gemara in Nedarim ( 39b) notes that one who visits the sick takes away 1/60 of his illness. The Meiri notes that this is because of the Simcha that a visitor brings, a clear aspect of the Mitzva of Bikkur Cholim. However, the Gemara concludes that it is only a Ben Gilo (one born underthe same astrological sign) who actually removes 1/60th of the illness. Now if Bikkur Cholim is merely an aspect of the Mitzva of Chessed, where else do we find a Mitzva of Chessed restricted to birth times?

The Behag (introduction) and Sheiltos (Sheilta 93) learn that Bikkur Cholim is part of the greater Mitzva of Chessed. However, at least for the Ben Gilo, it seems to carry its own weight as a Mitzva. Hence, we can have an obligation for the Tzibbur to do Chessed including aspects of Bikkur Cholim and the specific requirement of a Ben Gilo to engage in Bikkur Cholim.

The Rambam does not count Bikkur Cholim as its own Mitzva Deoraisa. This is consistent with his position (Sefer Hamitzvos Shoresh Beis) that all aspects of Chessed fall under the category of V'Ahavta l'Reiacha Kamocha. The Rambam DOES develop a Rabbinic Mitzva (Hil. Avel 14:1) called Bikkur Cholim. He explains the added Mitzva as part of a classification of Mitzvos that are Gemilas Chessed B'Gufo, which have no limits. Still, he notes the fact that V'Ahavta l'Reiacha Kamocha applies to this Mitzva, namely things that you'd want the community to do for you, you should do for someone else. This raises an interesting source for communities. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 335:3) praises communities that have set up Bikkur Cholim societies. The Chofetz Chaim (Ahavas Chessed III:3) too, praised this type of a society noting its exceptionality among all forms of Chessed. He explained that by being involved with the sick directly, this society offers respite to the family and allows the ill person's needs to be tended to. In doing so, lives are saved.

Thus, when determining how one should divide up his (or communal) Tzeddaka funds, one could arrive at the discussion of whether a community should set up a specific fund for Bikkur Cholim. If Bikkur Cholim is merely a Mitzva for the Bnei Gilo or merely an aspect of general Chessed, then it should be part of the regular funds utilized for the community's Chessed. However, if there is some special aspect to the Mitzva of Bikkur Cholim over other Mitzvos included under the banner of Chessed, it could have its own funding source. Rav Refael Mordechai Malchee (a 5th century Yirushalmi doctor cited by the Tzitz Eliezer, Ramat Rachel Siman Daled) advanced the position to have a separate Tzeddaka fund to support Bikkur Cholim related activities. Modern day Poskim (Tzitz Eliezer Xi:17) concur. They cite the logic that Bikkur Cholim uniquely is involved in the direct saving of lives. As a result, there are times when funds can even be diverted from Talmud Torah for the sake of Bikkur Cholim.