Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
If you know someone who is sick, it’s a mitzvah to visit them. This is called בִּקּוּר חוֹלִים (bikkur holim) and it has three components (Kitzur Shulhan Arukh 193:3):
- Helping a sick person with whatever they might need
- Providing emotional support to a sick person, so they feel less lonely
- Praying on behalf of the sick person
The source for aspect #3 of bikkur holim is in our parashah!
Miriam gets the skin disease צָרַעַת (tzara’at) and Moshe prays right away for her to get better.
וַיִּצְעַק מֹשֶׁה אֶל ה' לֵאמֹר אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ:
Moshe cried out to God, saying, "God, please, heal her, please.”
According to the Rema, praying is a really important part of bikkur holim (Yoreh Deah 335:4). In fact, he says that you do not actually fulfill the mitzvah of visiting a sick person unless your visit includes praying for their recovery!
This can be done in any words and you can do it at any time, but it can also be done in the Amidah during the prayer for health, or in a מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ (Mi Shebeirakh) prayer for those who are sick.
Making it personal
The Gemara notices that in Moshe’s prayer, he never mentions Miriam’s name. The Gemara concludes that when you are praying on behalf of someone else, you don’t need to include their name (Berakhot 34b). God knows who you are praying for!
However, there is a custom to pray for sick people by name if possible. For example, many communities pause to include the names of those they are praying for when they say the Mi Shebeirakh for the sick. Maharil says you should mention the name of the person in need of healing any time they are not in front of you (Magen Avraham 119:1).
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