GEN888 The talmudic rabbis understood [the] biblical verse, “You shall follow after the Lord your God” Deuteronomy 13:5 [See also, Deuteronomy 28:9 – “walk in His ways” – AJL], as mandating that, to the extent possible, we emulate God’s actions and attributes Sotah 14a.  The example offered in relation to visiting the sick is God’s appearance to Abraham shortly after he was circumcised Genesis 17:23-18:5.   Jewish sources cite this as the first example of bikur cholim (visiting the sick), and those who fulfill this commandment are regarded as engaging in an act of imitatio dei (imitating God).   Although the Torah doesn’t specify when God appeared to Abraham, the Talmud teaches that this visit occurred on the third day after the circumcision Baba Metzia 86b.  The rabbinic belief is that this is when the patient suffers the most.   This is probably based on Genesis 34:25, which describes Jacob’s sons, Shimon and Levi, as attacking the men of Shechem “on the third day [after their circumcision] when they were in pain.”   TELVOL 2:62-63   [See source 62-91 for extended discussion of topic]