Dei'ah veDibur - Information & Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

29 Sivan 5761 - June 20, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home and Family
YERUSHOLAYIM OF YESTERYEAR
Open the Gates of Charity...

by Yisca Shimony

This story reflects life over a hundred years ago and is based on facts and real people, a Bikur Cholim society where men tended male patients and women -- female -- in their homes. There was one exceptional woman called Mamke mentioned in several sources, and Batya, in others. There was a male nurse, R' Yona, a Greek doctor and a London-based missionary hospital, whose services were rejected by most.

The times that heralded a need for a Jewish hospital...

PART I

The night was cold and the wind blew fiercely. A kerosene lamp stood on the table, its rays casting deep shadows in all corners. A small cooking primus stood on a crude table in one corner and on it, a boiling kettle released some hot steam into the cold room, creating an atmosphere that was warm and cozy. Outside, the wind continued to shriek.

"Where is Ima?" a little boy asked sleepily, his eyes half closed. His older sister, Sheina Rochel, who sat by the table mending socks with nimble fingers, answered in a hushed voice, "She will surely come home soon. She went over to a neighbor who is sick. Go back to sleep, Yankel." She got up to tuck the warm blanket around him and pulled a curtain around his bed to block out the light. Soon Yankel was fast asleep.

R' Zalman, studying his gemora at the other end of the wooden table, smiled a little, looked up and noted, "Ima is very late tonight."

"She was called by the Bikur Cholim committee. She'll stay by the neighbor as long as she is needed."

"Well, that woman must be very ill..." And indeed she was, because it was late evening before Devoira returned home, bringing in a blast of freezing wet wind and some snowflakes into the cozy room. Father and daughter looked up as she entered.

"How is your patient?" asked R' Zalman. "Why did it take so long this time?"

"It's the Greenbaums who just came recently from Europe with their family. The mother is very ill. She has a raging fever and doesn't stop coughing. She also has a pain in her back which sounds like a case of pneumonia to me. I spooned her down some hot milk with honey and made her a steam tent to ease her breathing but nothing seems to help. She is a very sick woman. I promised to fetch the Greek doctor."

"The Greek doctor? On a stormy night like this? He surely won't come. Besides, who's going to pay for the house call? He's very expensive as it is, and for such a visit, he'll surely ask for double or triple his usual fee." The room was quiet for a while. "He lives so far... near Jaffa gate."

"She needs help. She has no one here. I can't sit here in my warm home and let her suffer. What if cholila, the family is left orphaned? I would feel as if I were to blame..."

"Why not call Reb Yona the felsher (male nurse)? He lives nearby and he can treat her very well."

"Reb Yona? Why, he would probably do the very things I did, which did not bring any relief. He may put some mustard packs on her back to draw out the fever, but in her case, it won't be enough. She needs some strong medication before it is too late! And only the Greek doctor can administer that. Or perhaps we should go to the Mission Hospital..." she added weakly.

"To the Mission Hospital?" her husband jumped up in alarm. "Don't dare consider it!"

"Don't worry. I'm going to the Greek doctor. I'll borrow the money to pay him and I can earn it back by mending socks." She looked around the room and added, "Worse comes to worst, I still have some things I can pawn or sell. I can't just sit idly by and see this poor family so helpless. I must do whatever I can." She wrapped a dry shawl around her head and shoulders and was about to leave again.

"Take the shielded lantern with you. It's dark and snowing. It will light the way so that you don't slip in the mud," said R' Zalman. "Meanwhile, I'll go and call Reb Yona. Let's see what he can do for her, after all."

Devoira walked over to the bed of her sleeping son. "May Hashem watch over you, yingele." She kissed his forehead tenderly and flashed a tired smile at her daughter. "Take care of him, ziesie. Good night. I don't know when I'll be back, but go to sleep yourself." She walked out of the house holding a lantern, specially shielded against stormy weather.

A gust of wind attacked the flame and almost extinguished it, but the shield protected the flicker and the small light threw pale rays on the ground, enabling Devoira to avoid the puddles on the road. This snow won't stick, she thought to herself with relief. Too many roofs were not built for snow and the red tiles did not always stand up to the pressure. The wind blew fiercely, blinding her, but she walked on until she reached the doctor's home. She knocked loudly and when he finally answered the door, begged and wept, promising to pay whatever he asked so long as he came with her. He finally agreed and it was a little before midnight by the time they reached Mrs. Greenbaum's sickbed.

They found R' Yona administering the mustard packs, but the woman's breathing was still belabored. The doctor gave her some strong medication and by the following day, the patient was able to get down some nourishing chicken soup brought over by another neighbor, also a member of the Bikur Cholim society.

This time, the patient recovered.

In those times, however, it was an exception. Many people succumbed to the damp Jerusalem winters and came down with pneumonia, the flu and other illnesses -- and didn't make it...

These were the times before Shaarei Zedek existed.

[In the second, final part of this piece, we will view the behind-the- scenes beginning of Shaarei Zedek Hospital, in 1873. Next week...]

 

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.