Caring and Curing: Technology and Human Presence in the Face of Illness

(18) When men quarrel and one strikes the other with stone or fist, and he does not die but has to take to his bed- (19) if he then gets up and walks outdoors upon his staff, the assailant shall go unpunished, except that he must pay for the loss of his time and heal, he shall heal.

For it was taught in a Baraita in the academy of Rabbi Yishmael "And heal, he should heal" from here [the seeming redundancy] permission was given to the doctor to heal.

[As R. Aha said:] Who goes in to have his blood let should say, "May it be your will, O LORD my God, that this operation should serve as a healing for me, and that you should heal me for You are a faithful Doctor and Your healing is certain, since it is not the way of human beings to heal (or: human beings do not have the right to heal), but thus are they accustomed anyway." Abaye declared: Let not a man speak thus; for there is a teaching of the school of R. Ishmael : [It is written,] "Only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and heal he shall heal" (Exod. xxi. 19); from this we learn that permission is given to the doctor to heal. When he rises [from the blood-letting], what does he say? R. Aha declared, "Blessed be He Who heals without pay."

(26) He said, ‘If you will heed the LORD your God diligently, doing what is upright in His sight, giving ear to His commandments and keeping all His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am your healer.’

As to the meaning of any of the diseases: You must remember that with your own eyes you witnessed the diseases, plagues and afflictions that I placed upon Egypt for rebelling against me. And if you observe my statutes, you will escape from them for I will not do to you as I did to them. And further, "I will be/ the LORD your doctor" from every disease that I decreed to be upon the land. You will have no need for a doctor, just as I cured the bitter waters, which no doctor could have cured. Behold the matter of marah (bitter waters that became sweet) was the opposite of the first Plague (blood). For the waters of the Nile were sweet, but they could not drink from them. And here the bitter waters returned to sweet. Behold Hashem is able to make something and reverse it. Therefore, you should take care that you do not rebel against Him, and you should love him, for He will do good for you.

(12) In the thirty ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding acute; but ill as he was, he still did not turn to the LORD but to physicians. (13) And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the forty first year of his reign.

Abba Garin, a man of Tzaydin says in the name of Abba Guria, "A person should not teach his son [to be] a donkey-driver, a camel-driver, a barber, a sailor, a shepherd, or a shopkeeper, for their professions are the professions of thieves." Rabbi Yehudah says in his name, "Most donkey-drivers are wicked, and most camel-drivers are honorable. Most sailors are pious. The best physicians [are destined] for hell, and the most honorable among the butchers is the partner of Amalek."

(1) If you see your fellow's ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take it back to your fellow. (2) If your fellow does not live near you or you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home and it shall remain with you until your fellow claims it; then you shall return it to him

(4) Regarding one who vows [not to] benefit from his friend: when he comes to visit him [when he is sick], he [should] stand, but not sit. And one may heal his [friend’s] body, but not his assets [livestock].

(14) Anyone who can save, but does not save transgresses 'you shall not stand idly by the blood of your fellow'.

In general then, when Israel is in perfect [accord with God], constituting a large number, their affairs are not conducted at all by the natural order of things, neither in connection with themselves, nor with reference to their Land, neither collectively nor individually, for God blesses their bread and their water, and removes sickness from their midst, so that they do not need a physician and do not have to observe any of the rules of medicine, just as He said, "for I am the LORD who heals you." And so did the righteous ones act at the time when prophecy [existed], so that even if a mishap of iniquity overtook them, causing them sickness, they did not turn to the physicians, but only to the prophets, as was the case with Hezekiah when he was sick. And Scripture states [of Asa, king of Judah, by way of rebuke], "but ill as he was, he still did not turn to the LORD but to physicians." Now had the practice of [consulting] physicians been customary among them, why should the verse mention [as a sinful act Asa's consulting] the physicians, since his guilt was only because he did not seek God?...For he who seeks the LORD through a prophet, will not consult the physicians. And what part do the physicians have in the house of those who do the will of God, after He has assured us, "and He will bless your bread and water and I will take sickness away from you," whereas the physicians are concerned [mostly] with food and drink, warning [the patient] against [eating] certain foods and commanding him [to eat] others. Thus also the Rabbis said: "During all the twenty-two years that Rabbah reigned [as head of the Academy at Pumbeditha], Rav Yosef did not call even a blood letter to his house"...This is also the meaning of their saying: "since it is not the way of human beings to heal (or: people do not have the right to heal), but thus are they accustomed." [That is to say]: had they not accustomed themselves to [taking] medicines, people would become sick according to the degree of punishment corresponding to their sin, and would be healed by the will of God, but since they accustomed themselves to medicaments, God has left them to natural happenings. This is also the intent of the Rabbis' interpretation: " 'And heal, he shall heal' From here [we learn] that permission was given to the doctor to heal." They did not say that "permission was given to the sick to be healed [by the physician] but instead they stated [by implication] that since the person who became sick comes [to the physician] to be healed, because he has accustomed himself to seeking medical help...the physician should not refrain from healing him; whether because of fear that he might die under his hand, since he is qualified in this profession, or because he says that it is God alone Who is the Healer of all flesh, since [after all] people have already accustomed themselves [to seeking such help]. Therefore when people contend and one smites the other "with a stone or a his fist" the one who smote must pay for the healing, for the Torah does not base its laws on miracles...but "when a person's ways please the Eternal," he need have no concern with physicians."

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said: "When we followed R. Eleazar to inquire after a sick person, sometimes he would say to him [in Hebrew], 'The Omnipresent visits you in peace;' at others, he said [in Aramaic], 'The Omnipresent remembers you in peace.' " But how could he do this: did not Rab Judah say, 'One should never petition for his needs in Aramaic,' and R. Johanan said: 'When one petitions for his needs in Aramaic, the Ministering Angels do not heed him, for they do not understand Aramaic'? - An invalid is different, because the Divine Presence is with him. For R. Anan said in Rab's name, "How do you know that the Divine Presence Supports an invalid? Because it is written "The LORD supports him upon the couch of languishing." It was taught likewise: One who enters [a house] to visit the sick may sit neither upon the bed nor on a seat, but must wrap himself about and sit in front of him, for the Divine Presence is above an invalid's pillow, as it is said "The LORD supports him upon the couch of languishing."

Rav Shisha the son of Rav Idid said: "One should not visit a sick person not in the first three hours of the daytime" so that [the visitor] should not give up on praying for God's mercies. In the first three hours, [a sick person's] mind is at ease, [and consequently the visitor might think it unnecessary to pray for him]. In the last three hours, the illness is more intense, [and the visitor may think the situation hopeless].

Shmuel said: "One does not visit a sick person unless [he has the kind of illness in which] he is wrapped with fever." What [illnesses does Shmuel mean] to exclude [from visits]? To exclude that which has been taught in a Baraita: Rabbi Yose ben Perata says in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: "One does not visit those who are sick with intestinal diseases (diarrhea), nor those who suffer from eye diseases, nor those with headaches. I understand why [one does not visit] those with intestinal diseases, because of embarrassment [for the sick person, when he needs to relieve himself]. But with regards to eye diseases and headaches, what is the reason [one should avoid visiting them]? It is because of what Rav Yehudah said, for Rav Yehudah said: Speech is harmful for the eye and beneficial for a fever.

(1) It is a positive commandment to visit the sick, comfort the mourning, to remove the dead, to bring in the bride, to escort guests, and to occupy oneself with all the needs of burial; carrying [the coffin] on one’s shoulder, to walk in front of him, to eulogize, to dig, and to bury. As well to make the bride and groom happy, and to take care of all their needs. And these are acts of kindness that are done with one’s body, that have no measurement (limit). Although all these are rabbinic laws they are included under "love your fellow as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18), meaning that all things that you would like others to do for you, you should do for your fellow.

Visiting the sick is a commandment on everybody, even the older (greater) should visit the younger (lesser), and they should visit multiple times a day, and whoever adds to this is to be praised, only that he should not be a burden. And everyone who visits the sick it is as though he took away part of the illness and made it easier on him, and whoever does not visit, it is as though he spilled blood.