Modern, conventional wisdom is that medical care is an appropriate response to illness. Some rabbinic sources suggest, however, that divine permission is required before medical care can be administered. As we live in a world where the power, morality, and efficacy of medical attention are generally undisputed, how do we engage with Jewish sources that question whether we have permission to deliver medical care at all? In our class, we will argue that this Talmudic notion retains deep and abiding relevance when put into dialogue with the laws of bikkur holim. Recorded at the 2018 Rabbinic Yeshiva Intensive.