Rabbi Prof. Michael Zvi Nehorai recounted:

When Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook was hospitalized in Jerusalem's Sha'arei Tzedek hospital, suffering from intense pain in his legs, I went to visit him.

The rabbi was moaning from the great pain. As a student who felt very close to him, it was difficult for me to witness his distress. When I saw his pain and heard his groans, I also groaned.

A month after Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah was released from the hospital and returned to teach at the yeshiva, the rabbi approached me.

"Don't you think it is time you learned the laws of bikur cholim, how one should visit the sick?"

I didn't understanding the rabbi's question. Then he explained. 'When visiting the sick, one should be upbeat and cheer them up. One shouldn't groan, Oy, oy.'

'You are probably wondering why I didn't mention this to you right away. At the time, I was disturbed by your conduct, and I didn't want to reprimand you while I was still upset.'

With Joy

Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah's father — Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook — offered similar guidance about how one should visit the sick.

During his final illness, Rav Kook urged those who came to visit him to perform the mitzvah of bikur cholim with simchah, with joy.

He explained that Maimonides, in one of his letters, emphasized that the primary goal of this mitzvah is to encourage the sick so that they will not despair and give up hope. Therefore it is clear that visitors should come with a cheerful and optimistic attitude.

Additionally, Rav Kook noted, bikur cholim is a mitzvah, and should be performed with joy, like any other mitzvah in the Torah.

(Adapted from Mashmia Yeshu'ah, p. 567. Malachim Knei Adam, p. 417)

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