Nedarim 39b (לט:) — the Talmud in English

Rava said: Shmuel -

found the Mishna difficult

[He found the wording of our Mishna difficult].

And this is what he found difficult: If the Mishna is speaking of a case in which the property of the sick person is forbidden to the visitor, and the reason that he is permitted to visit him is that the sick person did not prohibit him from providing him with vital support, then

why does it specifically teach

that he visits him

standing, but not sitting?

After all, sitting too constitutes vital support for him!

Conclude from it

that the Mishna is speaking

of a case in which the property of the visitor is forbidden to the sick person.

Reish Lakish expounded: What is the source in the Torah for visiting the sick? -

From where?

As it is stated

with regard to the assembly of Korah:

“If these men die as all men die, and the visitation of all men is visited upon them, and so on.”

What is the implication?

How do we learn the mitzva of visiting the sick from this verse?

Rava said:

This is the meaning of the verse:

“If these men die as all men die”—that is, if they are sick and confined to their beds, and people visit them,

which is the meaning of what is written: “and the visitation of all men is visited upon them,”

What would people say? -

“The Lord did not send me for this.”

Rava expounded: “But if the Lord creates a creation.”

“If it is a creation, Gehenna,

it is well; but if not,

since Gehenna has not yet been created,

the Lord should create it

now.

And we raise an objection:

Is that so?

But it was taught in a baraita: Seven things were created before the world was created.

That is, they arose in thought as things to be created before the world was created, because the world cannot exist without them.

These are they:

Torah, repentance, the Garden of Eden, and Gehenna

[for the thought of creating Israel preceded the world, and it is impossible that there would not be wicked people whose punishment would require Gehenna, as well as the other things. Ran],

the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah.

Torah -

as it is written: “The Lord acquired me as the beginning of His way, and so on,”

[and the end of the verse is: “before His works, from then”] .

Repentance -

as it is written: “Before the mountains were born and You brought forth, and so on: You reduce man to dust, and so on.”

The Garden of Eden -

as it is written: “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and so on.”

Gehenna -

as it is written: “For the Tophet is prepared from yesterday.”

The Throne of Glory -

as it is written: “Your throne is established from then.”

The Temple -

as it is written: “A throne of glory, exalted from the first,

the place of our Sanctuary.”

The name of the Messiah -

as it is written: “May his name endure forever, and so on.”

Rather, this is what he said: If a mouth was created for it

[if a mouth was created for Gehenna] -

it is well; but if not -

the Lord should create it

now.

And we raise an objection:

But it is written: “There is nothing new under the sun,”

so how is it possible that the mouth of Gehenna should be created now?!

And we explain:

This is what he said: If the mouth is not near here, let it come near here.

That is, if the mouth of Gehenna is not here, let it come near here. This is not a new creation, but merely a matter of bringing it near.

Rava expounded—and some say that Rabbi Yitzhak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The sun and moon stood in their habitation”? The sun and moon were in Zevul -

what were they seeking

[what were they doing there]?

But they are fixed in the firmament,

as it is written: “And God placed them in the firmament of the heavens”; and Zevul is above the firmament!

This teaches that the sun and moon ascended from the firmament to Zevul

at the time of Korah's dispute ,

and said before Him

[before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“Master of the Universe, if You vindicate the son of Amram,

we will give light; but if not,

we will not give light!”

At that moment He shot at them

the Holy One, blessed be He, at the sun and moon,

arrows and spears.

He said to them: “Every single day, the nations of the world bow down to you

and yet

you give light. But when it concerns My honor,

nevertheless

you did not protest; when it concerns the honor of flesh and blood,

you protested?

That is, the honor of Moses,

you protested?”

And every day He shoots arrows and spears at them -

yet they give light, as it is stated: “They proceed by the light of Your arrows, and so on.”

It was taught in a baraita: Visiting the sick -

has no measure.

What does “has no measure” mean?

Rav Yosef thought to say: There is no limit to the reward for performing it,

of this mitzva.

Abaye said to him: And all

the other

mitzvot -

is there a limit to their reward?

But we learned: “Be scrupulous with a minor mitzva as with a major one, for you do not know the reward given for the mitzvot!”

That is why one should be scrupulous even with a minor mitzva, because one does not know its reward, since it has no measure.

Rather, Abaye said: Even a great person -

must visit

a minor person.

Rava said:

One must visit the sick person

even one hundred times a day.

Rabbi Aha bar Hanina said: Anyone who visits a sick person -

takes away one-sixtieth of his suffering.

They said to him: If so, let sixty people enter and restore him to health

[let sixty people enter him and raise him up from his illness]!

He said to them:

I intended that each one takes away one-sixtieth -

in accordance with the successive tenths of Rabbi

[as follows].

And

furthermore, this applies specifically

in

a case where the visitor is

of his astrological sign

[the visitor was born under the same constellation as the sick person].

And what is “the successive tenths of Rabbi”?

As it was taught in a baraita: Rabbi says: A daughter who is supported from the property of her brothers

[after the death of their father] -

takes one-tenth

[a tenth] of the

property

that her father left, for the sake of her dowry.

They said to him

to Rabbi:

According to your statement, one who has ten daughters -

and one son,

it follows that

he leaves the son, in the presence of

the daughters, nothing,

since the daughters will take all the property for their dowries!?

He said to them

Rabbi: This is how the daughters take for their dowries:

The

first daughter

to marry -

takes one-tenth of the property. The second -

takes a tenth

of what the first left over

;

the third -

of what the second left over,

and so they all do.

And

afterward

they return

all

and divide equally

what they took. [And this is speaking of a case where they came simultaneously; but if they came one after the other, each one receives a tenth of the property that remained. Ran]

The same is true here. The first person who visits indeed takes away one-sixtieth of the sick person's suffering. But the second takes away another one-sixtieth of what remains, and so with all of them. Therefore, even if sixty people visit him, he will still not recover from his illness .