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Why does the Torah (תורה) give two distinct sources for bikur cholim — one in Parshas Yisro and one in the story of Korach? The shiur develops a fundamental yesod that there are two types of illness requiring different approaches: visiting someone who may recover requires building their self-esteem and desire to fight, while visiting the terminally ill requires helping them achieve shalom and a sense that their affairs are in order.
Rabbi Zweig explores a fundamental question about the mitzvah (מצוה) of bikur cholim (visiting the sick): What should we actually be accomplishing when we visit someone who is ill? The shiur begins by examining why the Torah (תורה) appears to give two different sources for this mitzvah — one in Parshas Yisro where it states "v'hoda'ta lahem es haderech yelchu bah" (which the Gemara (גמרא) in Bava Metzia interprets as referring to bikur cholim), and another hint in the story of Korach in Parshas Korach, where Moshe says that if Korach and his followers die a natural death after illness with people visiting them, then God did not send him. The shiur poses several difficulties: Why does the phrase "asher yelchu bah" (that they should walk in) indicate bikur cholim specifically? What does walking have to do with visiting the sick? Furthermore, why would the Torah need to give a second, obscure hint to bikur cholim in the Korach narrative when it already provided an explicit source in Parshas Yisro? And why would Moshe choose such a strange context — describing the natural death process including people visiting the sick — to make his point about Korach's rebellion?
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Parshas Yisro; Gemara Bava Metzia; Parshas Vayechi
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