The Ba’al Halachot Gedolot considers the mitzva of Bikur Cholim to be of biblical origin. He derives it from Devarim 13:5, “Follow the Lord Your G-d,” which the Gemara explains to mean that we should follow in the ways of G-d. G-d visited Avraham when he was sick, so we too must visit the sick.
The mitzva of Bikur Cholim is different from other acts of chessed (kindness). According to the Sages, a person who visits someone sick takes part of the illness away with him, thus endangering himself.
The goal of Bikur Cholim is to take care of anything the patient needs and to pray for his wellbeing. Payment is not taken for visiting the sick. Obviously, a visitor should not be a burden to the patient. Therefore, when someone visits the sick, the patient’s needs must always be primary and should determine when a visitor arrives and how long he stays for. For example, a visitor should be careful not to sit on the sick person’s bed. Furthermore, if the visitor and the patient don’t get along and the sick person may feel the visitor has come to gloat, a visit might be inappropriate.
When someone has a sick person to visit and a mourner to console, which mitzva should he do first? Bikur Cholim should take precedence. Since a visitor has the potential to improve a patient’s health, sooner is better than later.
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