We know it is a mitzvah to visit the sick, but visiting the sick can be socially awkward. What do you say to someone who is experiencing an illness? What kinds of words will actually make them feel even a little bit better? Today’s daf gives us a story which offers some ideas of what to do — and what not to do — in this situation. 

The sages taught: When Rabbi Eliezer fell ill, four sages entered to visit him: Rabbi Tarfon, and Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya and Rabbi Akiva.

Four rabbinical students go together to visit their sick teacher. Perhaps they too thought it might be awkward to go alone, so they went in a group. And what did they say to their ailing rabbi?

Rabbi Tarfon responded and said: You are better for the Jewish people than a drop of rain, as a drop of rain (provides benefit) in this world, and my teacher (provides benefit) in this world and in the World to Come.

Rabbi Yehoshua responded and said: You are better for the Jewish people than the sphere of the sun, as the sphere of the sun in this world, and my teacher in this world and in the World to Come.

Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya responded and said: You are better for the Jewish people than a father and mother, as a father and mother in this world, and my teacher in this world and in the World to Come.

The first three students praise Rabbi Eliezer, comparing him to things that are essential to human survival: rain, sun, parents. They insist that his impact is even greater than these natural phenomena, as he shapes not only our current world but also the World to Come, the idealized world that God will usher in at the end of time.

Rabbi Akiva takes a slightly different tack: 

Rabbi Akiva responded and said: Afflictions are cherished.

Rather than try to make Rabbi Eliezer feel better by lauding his impact on the world, Rabbi Akiva praises his current state of illness. But if you find that confusing, Rabbi Eliezer’s response is even more remarkable. While he was silent in the face of his first three students’ statements, now he responds with enthusiasm and curiosity.

He said to (his attendants): Support me so I can hear the statement of Akiva my student, who said: Afflictions are cherished. He said to him: Akiva, from where do you derive this?

Rabbi Akiva explains that he derives this idea that afflictions are cherished from the example of King Manasseh. According to 2 Kings 21:2, Manasseh “performed that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord” — including idolatry, murder and child sacrifice. Truly not a great guy. But 2 Chronicles recounts how Manasseh was taken captive by the Assyrians and deported to Babylonia, where he experienced serious distress and repented of his evil ways. Rabbi Akiva concludes:

“And when he was in distress, he sought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and he prayed to Him and He was entreated of him, and He heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom; then Manasseh knew that the Lord He was God.” (II Chronicles 33:12–13) You learned from this that afflictions are cherished.

Rabbi Akiva’s message is that afflictions are a good thing because they lead us to critically assess our lives and to dedicate ourselves more fully to God. I think we can learn two other things from this interaction. First, out of all of Rabbi Eliezer’s students, Rabbi Akiva is the only one to acknowledge the current state of suffering that his teacher is experiencing. Rather than only focusing on the positive, he names his teacher’s illness as an affliction and takes seriously the state that he is currently in. Second, he doesn’t allow his teacher’s illness to fully define him. Rabbi Eliezer may be sick, but he’s also a rabbi and a teacher, someone who loves Torah and its interpretation. Being sick adds to who he currently is, but doesn’t diminish those fundamental aspects of who he has always been. Rabbi Akiva whets his rabbi’s appetite for a novel Torah insight, and it encourages Rabbi Eliezer to sit up, lean forward and continue to learn.  

So according to today’s daf, how should we visit the sick? Go in a group, don’t be afraid to recognize the difficulty of the situation and remember that the sick person is still a person with a wide range of interests that deserve respect.

Read all of Sanhedrin 101 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on March 28, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.