## Nedarim Daf 40a

###### Nedarim 40a:1
[Nedarim 40a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:1)

רַב חֶלְבּוֹ בְּאֵישׁ. לָא אִיכָּא דְּקָא אָתֵי. אָמַר לְהוּ: לֹא כָּךְ הָיָה מַעֲשֶׂה בְּתַלְמִיד אֶחָד מִתַּלְמִידֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא שֶׁחָלָה. לֹא נִכְנְסוּ חֲכָמִים לְבַקְּרוֹ, וְנִכְנָס רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא לְבַקְּרוֹ, וּבִשְׁבִיל שֶׁכִּיבְּדוּ וְרִיבְּצוּ לְפָנָיו, חָיָה. אָמַר לוֹ: רַבִּי, הֶחֱיִיתַנִי. יָצָא רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וְדָרַשׁ: כׇּל מִי שֶׁאֵין מְבַקֵּר חוֹלִים כְּאִילּוּ שׁוֹפֵךְ דָּמִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Ḥelbo fell ill. There was no one who came** to visit him. Rav Kahana **said** to the Sages: **Didn’t the incident involving one of the students of Rabbi Akiva who became sick** transpire **in that manner?** In that case, **the Sages did not enter to visit him, and Rabbi Akiva entered to visit him** and instructed his students to care for him. **And since they swept and sprinkled water on the** dirt **floor before** the sick student, **he recovered.** The student **said to** Rabbi Akiva: **My teacher, you revived me. Rabbi Akiva went out and taught:** With regard to **anyone who does not visit the ill, it is as though he is spilling blood,** as it could be that the sick person has no one to care for him. If there are no visitors, no one will know his situation and therefore no one will come to his aid.


###### Nedarim 40a:2
[Nedarim 40a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:2)

כִּי אֲתָא רַב דִּימִי, אָמַר: כׇּל הַמְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה גּוֹרֵם לוֹ שֶׁיִּחְיֶה, וְכֹל שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה גּוֹרֵם לוֹ שֶׁיָּמוּת. מַאי גְּרָמָא? אִילֵּימָא כׇּל הַמְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה מְבַקֵּשׁ עָלָיו רַחֲמִים שֶׁיִּחְיֶה, וְכֹל שֶׁאֵין מְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה מְבַקֵּשׁ עָלָיו רַחֲמִים שֶׁיָּמוּת. שֶׁיָּמוּת סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ?! אֶלָּא: כֹּל שֶׁאֵין מְבַקֵּר חוֹלֶה, אֵין מְבַקֵּשׁ עָלָיו רַחֲמִים, לֹא שֶׁיִּחְיֶה וְלֹא שֶׁיָּמוּת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael** to Babylonia **he said: Anyone who visits the ill causes that he will live, and anyone who does not visit the ill causes that he will die.** The Gemara asks: In **what** way are his actions **the cause** of that result? **If we say** that **anyone who visits the ill pleads for mercy** from God **that he will live, and anyone who does not visit the ill pleads for mercy that he will die, does it enter your mind** that he would pray **that** the sick person **will die? Rather, anyone who does not visit the ill does not plead for mercy for him, neither that he will live nor that he will die.** Since he might have saved the sick person with prayers had he visited, his failure to visit is tantamount to causing his death.


###### Nedarim 40a:3
[Nedarim 40a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:3)

רָבָא, יוֹמָא קַדְמָאָה דְּחָלֵישׁ אָמַר לְהוֹן: לָא תִּיגַלּוֹ לְאִינִישׁ, דְּלָא לִתְּרַע מַזָּלֵיהּ. מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ אָמַר לְהוֹן: פּוּקוּ וְאַכְרִיזוּ בְּשׁוּקָא, דְּכׇל דְּסָנֵי לִי לִיחְדֵּי לִי, וּכְתִיב: ״בִּנְפֹל אוֹיִבְךָ אַל תִּשְׂמָח וְגוֹ׳״, וּדְרָחֵים לִי לִיבְעֵי עֲלַי רַחֲמֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates with regard to **Rava:** On **the first day that he was ill, he** would **say to** his family: **Do not reveal to any person** that I am ill, so **that his luck not suffer. From this** point **forward,** when his situation deteriorated **he** would **say to them: Go and proclaim in the marketplace** that I am ill, **as** thereby **let all who hate me rejoice over my** distress, **and it is written: “Rejoice not when your enemy falls,** and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him” (Proverbs 24:17–18). **And let** all **who love me pray** that God have **mercy upon me.**


###### Nedarim 40a:4
[Nedarim 40a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:4)

אָמַר רַב: כׇּל הַמְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה נִיצּוֹל מִדִּינָהּ שֶׁל גֵּיהִנָּם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אַשְׁרֵי מַשְׂכִּיל אֶל דָּל בְּיוֹם רָעָה יְמַלְּטֵהוּ ה׳״, אֵין דַּל אֶלָּא חוֹלֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״מִדַּלָּה יְבַצְּעֵנִי״, אִי נָמֵי מִן הָדֵין קְרָא: ״מַדּוּעַ אַתָּה כָּכָה דַּל בֶּן הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר וְגוֹ׳״. אֵין רָעָה אֶלָּא גֵּיהִנָּם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כֹּל פָּעַל ה׳ לַמַּעֲנֵהוּ וְגַם רָשָׁע לְיוֹם רָעָה״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav said: Anyone who visits the ill is spared from the judgment of Gehenna, as it is stated: “Happy is he that considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the day of evil”** (Psalms 41:2). In this verse, the term **poor [*dal*]** means **nothing other** than **ill, as it is stated** in the prayer of Hezekiah when he was ill: **“He will cut me off from the illness [*middalla*]”** (Isaiah 38:12). **Alternatively,** it may be derived **from this verse** in which Jonadab asked his sick friend Amnon, son of King David: “**Why, son of the king, are you so sick [*dal*] from morning to morning?”** (II Samuel 13:4). **And** the term **evil means nothing other** than **Gehenna, as it is stated: “The Lord made everything for His own purpose, and even the wicked for the day of evil”** (Proverbs 16:4), and the ultimate punishment of the evildoer is Gehenna.


###### Nedarim 40a:5
[Nedarim 40a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:5)

וְאִם בִּיקֵּר מָה שְׂכָרוֹ? מָה שְׂכָרוֹ?! כִּדְאָמַר: נִיצּוֹל מִדִּינָהּ שֶׁל גֵּיהִנָּם! אֶלָּא: מָה שְׂכָרוֹ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה —

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And if one visited** the ill, **what is his reward?** The Gemara wonders at that question: **What is his reward?** It is **as** Rav **said:** He **is spared from the judgment of Gehenna. Rather,** the question is: **What is his reward in this world?**


###### Nedarim 40a:6
[Nedarim 40a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:6)

״ה׳ יִשְׁמְרֵהוּ וִיחַיֵּהוּ וְאֻשַּׁר בָּאָרֶץ וְאַל תִּתְּנֵהוּ בְּנֶפֶשׁ אֹיְבָיו״. ״ה׳ יִשְׁמְרֵהוּ״ — מִיֵּצֶר הָרָע, ״וִיחַיֵּהוּ״ — מִן הַיִּסּוּרִין, ״וְאֻשַּׁר בָּאָרֶץ״ — שֶׁיְּהוּ הַכֹּל מִתְכַּבְּדִין בּוֹ, ״וְאַל תִּתְּנֵהוּ בְּנֶפֶשׁ אֹיְבָיו״ — שֶׁיִּזְדַּמְּנוּ לוֹ רֵיעִים כְּנַעֲמָן שֶׁרִיפּוּ אֶת צָרַעְתּוֹ, וְאַל יִזְדַּמְּנוּ לוֹ רֵיעִים כִּרְחַבְעָם שֶׁחִילְּקוּ אֶת מַלְכוּתוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rav continues: His reward is as it is written: **“The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive, let him be called happy in the land; and deliver not You him unto the greed of his enemies”** (Psalms 41:3). He elaborates: **“The Lord will preserve him” from the evil inclination; “and keep him alive”** and spare him **from suffering; “let him be called happy in the land”** means that **everyone will be honored** from their association **with him; “and deliver not You him unto the greed of his enemies,”** so **that companions like** those who counseled **Naaman** to seek **a cure for his leprosy** from Elisha (II Kings 5:3) **will happen to** associate with **him,** and **companions like** those who counseled **Rehoboam** with advice that resulted in **the schism in his kingdom** (I Kings 12:6–19) **will not happen to** associate with **him.**


###### Nedarim 40a:7
[Nedarim 40a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:7)

תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר: אִם יֹאמְרוּ לָךְ יְלָדִים ״בְּנֵה״ וּזְקֵנִים ״סְתוֹר״ — שְׁמַע לַזְּקֵנִים וְאַל תִּשְׁמַע לַיְּלָדִים. שֶׁבִּנְיַן יְלָדִים סְתִירָה, וּסְתִירַת זְקֵנִים בִּנְיָן. וְסִימָן לַדָּבָר: רְחַבְעָם בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
On a similar note, **it is taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: If youths would say to you: Construct, and Elders would say to you: Demolish, heed the Elders and do not heed the youths, as the construction of youths is demolition, and the demolition of Elders is construction. And a mnemonic** device **for this matter** is **“Rehoboam, son of Solomon”** (I Kings 12:21). Had he heeded the advice of the Elders and yielded at that time, there would have been no schism.


###### Nedarim 40a:8
[Nedarim 40a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:8)

אָמַר רַב שִׁישָׁא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב אִידִי: לָא לִיסְעוֹד אִינִישׁ קְצִירָא לָא בִּתְלָת שָׁעֵי קַדְמָיָיתָא, וְלָא בִּתְלָת שָׁעֵי בָּתְרָיָיתָא דְּיוֹמָא, כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלָא לַיסַּח דַּעְתֵּיהּ מִן רַחֲמֵי. תְּלָת שָׁעֵי קַדְמָיָיתָא — רָוְוחָא דַּעְתֵּיהּ. בָּתְרָיָיתָא — תָּקֵיף חוּלְשֵׁיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Sheisha, son of Rav Idi, said: Let one not visit a sick person, neither during the first three hours** of the day, **nor in the last three hours of the day, so that he will not be diverted from** praying for **mercy.** Rav Sheisha elaborates: During **the first three hours** the sick person **is relieved,** as after a night’s sleep his suffering is somewhat alleviated and the visitor will conclude that there is no need for prayer. In **the last** three hours of the day **his weakness is exacerbated,** and the visitor will despair of ameliorating his suffering and will conclude that prayer is futile.


###### Nedarim 40a:9
[Nedarim 40a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:9)

אָמַר רָבִין אָמַר רַב: מִנַּיִין שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא זָן אֶת הַחוֹלֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״ה׳ יִסְעָדֶנּוּ עַל עֶרֶשׂ דְּוָי וְגוֹ׳״. וְאָמַר רָבִין אָמַר רַב: מִנַּיִין שֶׁהַשְּׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה לְמַעְלָה מִמִּטָּתוֹ שֶׁל הַחוֹלֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״ה׳ יִסְעָדֶנּוּ עַל עֶרֶשׂ דְּוָי״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **Ravin said** that **Rav said: From where** is it derived **that the Holy One, Blessed be He** Himself **sustains the sick person?** It is **as it is stated: “The Lord will support him upon the bed of suffering”** (Psalms 41:4). Support in this context is understood to mean that He will feed him. **And Ravin said** that **Rav said: From where** is it derived **that the Divine Presence is resting above the bed of the sick person?** It is also **as it is stated: “The Lord will support him upon the bed of suffering,”** which indicates that God is actually over his bed.


###### Nedarim 40a:10
[Nedarim 40a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:10)

תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: הַנִּכְנָס לְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה, לֹא יֵשֵׁב לֹא עַל גַּבֵּי מִטָּה וְלֹא עַל גַּבֵּי סַפְסָל וְלֹא עַל גַּבֵּי כִּסֵּא, אֶלָּא מִתְעַטֵּף וְיוֹשֵׁב עַל גַּבֵּי קַרְקַע, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהַשְּׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה לְמַעְלָה מִמִּטָּתוֹ שֶׁל חוֹלֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״ה׳ יִסְעָדֶנּוּ עַל עֶרֶשׂ דְּוָי״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara notes that **this is also taught** in a *baraita*: **One who enters to visit a sick person may neither sit on the bed nor** sit **on a bench or on a chair** that is higher than the bed upon which the sick person is lying. **Rather, he** deferentially **wraps himself** in his garment **and sits on the ground, because the Divine Presence is resting above the bed of the sick person, as it is stated: “The Lord will support him upon the bed of suffering,”** and it is inappropriate for one to sit above the place where the Divine Presence rests.


###### Nedarim 40a:11
[Nedarim 40a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nedarim/r/40a:11)

וְאָמַר רָבִין אָמַר רַב: מִטְרָא בְּמַעְרְבָא — סָהֲדָא רַבָּה פְּרָת. וּפְלִיגָא דִּשְׁמוּאֵל, דְּאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: נַהְרָא מִכֵּיפֵיהּ מִתְבָּרֵיךְ. וּפְלִיגָא דִּשְׁמוּאֵל אַדִּשְׁמוּאֵל, דְּאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: אֵין הַמַּיִם מְטַהֲרִין בְּזוֹחֲלִין

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And** apropos statements of Rav cited by Ravin, the Gemara cites an additional statement that **Ravin said** that **Rav said: When** there is **rain in the West,** Eretz Yisrael, **a great witness to** that rainfall **is the Euphrates River,** as ultimately that rainwater increases the water flow in the Euphrates River. **And** this statement of Rav **disagrees** with a statement **of Shmuel, as Shmuel said: A river is blessed from its banks,** i.e., the increase in its water flow is attributable to its tributaries and not to rain. The Gemara comments: **And** this statement **of Shmuel disagrees with** another statement **of Shmuel, as Shmuel said: The water purifies when flowing**