T119 PNC - Visiting Sick on Shabbat — Divine Mercy Chain / Need Activates Giving (1 seg)

When visiting the sick on Shabbat, one may say: 'It is able that He have mercy' (as ruled in Shabbat 12a). The deeper reason: when a person truly needs mercy — when he is in a state of genuine need — God sends him a situation where he can have mercy on another person. And then, by that person having mercy on others, Heaven has mercy on him (Shabbat 151b: 'All who have mercy on the creatures — Heaven has mercy on them'). This is a divinely arranged chain of mercy: God places the needy person in a position to be merciful, thereby activating the heavenly response of mercy toward him. The sick person who receives visitors and sees others showing him compassion is not only being helped — he is also being given the opportunity to reciprocate, to show gratitude, to extend kindness from his sickbed, thereby drawing down further mercy for his own healing.