Parashat Tazria: How Do We, As Jews, Deal with Illness and Those Who are Ill?

“As for the person with a leprous affection, his clothes shall be rent, his head shall be left bare, and he shall cover over his upper lip’ and he shall call out, “Unclean! Unclean!” He shall be unclean as long as the disease is on him. Being unclean, he shall dwell apart; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” -Leviticus 13:45-46

One way we deal with illness, and those who are ill, is through prayer. The majority of congregations, every Friday night, sing Debbie Friedman’s Mi Shebeirach. This prayer is asking for the healing of those who are unwell. It asks God to bring them a complete healing, of the body and of the soul. In a way, it’s asking for them to find comfort, both physically and emotionally, despite the illness.

We also deal with illness through visiting the sick, bikur cholim, as we read in Eilu D’varim in the morning service. I feel that this commandment is one of our most valuable. When one imagines a friend or a colleague in the hospital it can be very difficult to work up the courage to go and visit. It does indeed take strength to visit someone in the hospital. You are constantly on edge, hoping you do not say the wrong thing, run out of things to talk about or heaven forbid have a sneaking feeling that you are glad it is not you lying there. I feel that is the most terrifying thing of all, admitting that you are glad that you are not the one lying there in that bed. But despite all these difficulties, we are commanded to visit the sick, a truly noble commitment. It says that we are doing something, despite ourselves, because we know it will make someone else happier.

Related Questions

• How do we deal with illness?

We can’t forget that we need to deal with ourselves, too! If we forget to take care of ourselves when someone else is ill, then we aren’t able to give them the help that they need. Helping those who are ill can be a method of dealing, but simpler methods are available to us to allow us the comfort we need. As a man of the 2000s, I can say to you, with no embarrassment, that crying is an excellent method for coping. It allows emotions out that were never meant to be kept inside. Talking about how much you are hurting is another excellent source of support. Speaking about what you are feeling helps not only you, but the person who you are having the conversation with, because they are probably hurting as well.

• Are there illnesses other than physical illness?

Absolutely! In the Mi Shebeirach prayer, we are in fact praying for both those who are ill physically or spiritually. I find that people often forget about this prayer’s spiritual half. How often, when asked to say names of those in need of healing, does someone say the name of a person who is mentally, spiritually or emotionally ill? A spiritual illness can be just as devastating as a physical illness and often times those spiritual illnesses are those that go unnoticed.

Taking Action

• Set up a Program to Visit the Sick
  One way to help those in your community that might be hurting is to visit the sick. You can set up visiting days at your local hospital and take a few members of your Temple Youth Group or a club at school every month to visit patients. The children’s ward at any hospital is a rewarding place to visit.
   
• Set up a Support Network
  A slightly trickier way to take action is to set up a support network for your community. You can get in touch with local temples and even churches to make clergy or prominent lay leadership. That way people will know who to contact when they find themselves, or someone they care about, suffering. You can even create a hotline for those who know someone who is ill and might be struggling with their faith.

Food For Thought

What do you think is the most difficult part of dealing with illness?