Another thing: "Happy is the one who is attentive to the poor" (Proverbs 19:17). Rabbi Yochanan said, "Anyone who visits the sick diminishes his suffering by one sixtieth, but one who does not visit him adds to his suffering by one sixtieth." Rabbi Abba said, "If it were according to the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan, they would roll out the red carpet for him even for a person of low status." He replied, "As long as they love him like themselves, and even so, they gain from it."
Rabbi Elazar said, "One who buries the dead is fulfilling a mitzvah." Rabbi Abba said, "One who subdues his evil inclination with his good inclination is a wise person." Rabbi Asi said, "One who gives a coin to a poor person, as it is said, 'He who watches over him will be given life.'" And what is the reason for Rabbi Yochanan's opinion?
Because it is written, "The Lord will sustain him upon his bed of illness" (Psalm 41:4). And what is the reason for the opinion that burying the dead is a mitzvah? As it is written, "And he will be blessed upon the earth" (Psalm 41:3).