“He said: If you hearken diligently to the voice of Hashem, your G-d, and do what is virtuous in His eyes, listen to His commandments and observe all His decrees, then all the illnesses that I placed in Egypt, I will not bring upon you, for I am Hashem, your Healer” (Shemot 15:26)
“You shall serve Hashem, your G-d, and He shall bless your bread and your water, and I shall remove illness from among you” ^(ibid. 23:25)
“Heal me, Hashem, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved; for You are my praise” (Yirmeyahu 17:14)
>Hashem is the Healer of all creatures, as we are told, “For I am Hashem, your Healer,” “Heal me, Hashem, and I will be healed,” “Return, O wayward sons, and I will heal your waywardness.” Hashem’s healing is not like that of flesh and blood. A human doctor cuts with a scalpel and heals with a bandage, whereas Hashem strikes and heals with the same tool (Mechilta, Beshalach, Parashah 5).
The pasuk says (Bamidbar 21:8), “Hashem said to Moshe: Make for yourself a fiery serpent.” Does a serpent give or take life? But whenever Bnei Yisrael would look at the serpent, they would have faith in the One Who commanded Moshe to form it. And Hashem would heal them (Mechilta, Beshalach).
The Gemara relates (Eiruvin 54a), in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: One whose head hurts should involve himself in Torah, as the pasuk says, “For they are an adornment of grace for your head.” One whose throat hurts should involve himself in Torah, as the pasuk continues, “And a chain for your neck.” One whose innards hurt should involve himself in Torah, as the pesukim continue, “It will be health to your navel.” One whose bones hurt should involve himself in Torah, as the pasuk continues, “… marrow to your bones.” One whose entire body hurts should involve himself in Torah, as the pasuk ends, “… healing for all its flesh.”
Medicine can be painful and bitter. But Hashem’s healing is pleasant and pain-free (Rabbeinu Bachya, Shemot 21:19).
The Maharal (Chiddushei Aggadot, Nedarim 41a) offers the following analogy: The tree loses all its leaves in the wintertime. It itself is withered by frost. With the spring, it becomes rejuvenated. Its roots provide life once again, and the tree is revived. So is a sick person. He can never regain his former health unless he completely eradicates the sin which caused his illness in the first place. Without doing this, his body can never return to its original state, as it is damaged by sin. This is what is meant by the Sages’ words that a person is not healed unless his sins were forgiven.
