The Sitz Eliezer (Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg, Israel, 1915-2006) authored a treatise entitled Ramat Rahel exploring the laws concerning Bikur Holim – visiting the sick. In the beginning of this treatise, he devotes a section to the general concept of illness and medical treatment.
We read in the Book of Divreh Hayamim II (16:12) of the Judean King Asa, who was criticized for consulting with physicians when he took ill. The Sitz Eliezer cites two views among the Rishonim (Medieval scholars) in explaining why Asa acted wrongly in this regard. Rabbenu Bahya Ibn Pakuda (Spain, 1050-1120), in his Hobot Halebabot, writes that Asa erred by placing his trust in both God and his physicians. He failed to recognize that his illness and recovery are dependent solely upon the Almighty, and that doctors work only as His faithful messengers. Asa, who was otherwise a righteous king, did not properly acknowledge God’s exclusive role in healing the sick, and for this he was punished, as God exercises strict judgment with regard to the righteous.
The Ramban (Rabbi Moshe Nahmanides, Spain, 1194-1270) and Ibn Ezra (Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra, Spain, 1089-1164) disagreed, and held that Asa was wrong for consulting physicians in the first place. In their view, a person of Asa’s stature of piety should not look to doctors and medications at all, and should instead rely solely on God’s assistance. Upon taking ill, Asa was to have gone to the prophet for spiritual guidance, rather than consulting with medical experts. Although seeking medical treatment is proper for most people, the righteous Sadikim, according to this view, should rely only on God and not on medicine.
Practically speaking, of course, we are permitted and in fact required to seek medical advice and receive medical treatment. Even according to the second opinion cited above, nobody today is considered on the level where it would be improper to enlist the help of physicians in treating illness. However, it is critically important for us to remember that ultimately our condition depends solely on God, and the doctors and medications we use are but His messengers in granting us good health. The Gemara says in Masekhet Aboda Zara that just before a person takes ill, God announces how long the illness will last and through which means it will be cured. This emphasizes the point that only God determines when and how our health is restored, even though, as a practical matter, we are required to visit doctors and undergo medical treatment. We must avoid the misconception that the physician or the medication has the intrinsic power to cure our ailments.
The Sages teach that long ago there was a book called Sefer Harefu’ot, which listed all the ailments from which people suffer, and the remedies to cure them. The Tashbetz (Rabbi Shimon Ben Semah Duran of Algiers, 1361-1444) writes that this book was handed to Noah by the angels after the flood. Noah and his family endured very harsh conditions during the year spent in the ark to escape the flood, living together with animals and different kinds of harmful spiritual forces. They were all sick when they emerged from the ark, and so the angels gave Noah the Sefer Harefu’ot to help him and his family cure their ailments. This book was transmitted from one generation to the next, until the time of the Judean King Hizkiyahu, who buried it. Hizkiyahu saw that people were responding to illness by simply following the instructions in the Sefer Harefu’ot, without repenting or turning to God for assistance. He therefore felt it was necessary to hide the book, so that people would remember to look to the Almighty as the exclusive source of healing.
The Sitz Eliezer adds in this context that sometimes God brings sickness upon a person as punishment for a transgression, and in some instances the purpose is for the patient to incur a financial loss, and thereby earn atonement. Illness often results in medical expenses and loss of work, and this financial loss serves to atone for a person’s wrongdoing.
In summary, then, although we are certainly entitled and encouraged to seek medical attention to maintain good health, we must also remember that doctors and medicine are God’s messengers, and ultimately our health depends solely upon the Almighty.
