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Visiting people who are sick person is a major mitzva and serves two purposes. The first is to share the patients’ pain, to encourage them, and to pray for them. Sometimes a sick person in pain becomes despondent and loses the will to live. This in turn saps his or her ability to deal with the disease. Having visitors can reassure the ill that their lives have value, thus helping them beat the disease. Even among people who are terminally ill, having visitors can inspire them to see the value of every additional day of life, thus helping them attain peace. The second purpose is to see if the infirm need help. Perhaps they need someone to stay with them, accompany them to a medical test, or help pay for professional care.
People who work in the health system have a wonderful opportunity to do this mitzva every day. The more they relate respectfully and lovingly to their patients, and the better and more effectively they care for them, the greater their fulfillment of the mitzva. However, it is not enough for the system to care. Even when hospital staff are doing their job well, there is still a mitzva for family, friends, and acquaintances to do what they can to help and support.
Anyone can become sick or disabled. But as long as we are healthy, we should try to help those who are sick or injured. In the merit of doing so, perhaps God will be merciful to us, and we ourselves will not become sick or injured. But if we do get sick or hurt (God forbid), when people want to help us, we will be able to accept their help graciously, remembering the help we were privileged to offer the sick while we were still healthy.
