Telushkin quotes Rabbi Bradley Artson about way to help a sick friend. From visits, to prayers - the suggestions are all simple, and respectful toward the needs of the sick individual. Pretty straightforward.
I am intrigued that this is another “two parter” - as no words are wasted in Torah, so too, one must assume, that Telushkin did not waste his words when writing this book. With a limit of 365 lessons, it means a lot that he spent two of those lessons on visiting the sick. It is a mitzvah. We are commanded, obligated, to perform it. I have always been intrigued by the difference between doing something because it makes you feel ‘good’, as opposed to doing something because you are obligated to do it. 21st century morals would suggest that doing it to feel better (about yourself) might trump the obligation to do it, regardless of how it makes you feel. Also, it's not about how the doing makes you feel, but how you might not feel like doing. Do it anyway.
I think this sense of obligation is important - it reminds us that our actions in the world aren’t about us. The actions are about helping the world. We are simply the media through which that help is provided. It’s not about me. It’s about helping make the world a better place. That is, I think, a very important difference to remember.
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