OUR HISTORY

Hospital founded against all odds by Holocaust rabbi who had lost everything

Yekusiel Halberstam, one of the leading rabbis of pre-war Jewry, just had his family decimated by the Nazis. His wife and eleven children were all dead. He had been subjected to the inhumanities of Nazi camps.

Instead of giving in to despondency, Rabbi Halberstam decided to fight back against what the Nazis had done. They had promoted death; he would promote life. They divied humanity in to “types” and treated people accordingly; he would promote the idea that everyone is human and should be treated accordingly. But how? Through a hospital, a place to save and promote life, where people of all races, people of all religions and none, would receive treatment.

Tensions were already brewing in what was then Palestine, and he chose this as the location for his dream. It took him almost 30 years to raise the necessary funds. When Laniado opened in 1974, there was more than one cause to celebrate. Healthcare had been improved, the legacy of the Nazis negated, and Rabbi Halberstam had shown that even from the deepest despair, the human spirit can recover and do good.

You can hear and see this life affirming testament in the Rebbe's own words in this short clip. (In the original Yiddish, with English subtitles).

 The Hospital's Founding Principles:

• Divrei Yesod
  Laniado Hospital in Kiryat Sanz Netanya is a holy institution for the benefit of those in need of health services in fulfillment of the Torah's commandments (Mesechte Nedarim 41 Yoreh Deah Chapter 336).
• The hospital shall treat all persons regardless of religion or creed.
• Every effort shall be made to relieve the suffering of all patients to improve their mental outlook and elevate their spirits, which is an important therapeutic aide in the overall treatment of disease and its cure.
• Every effort shall be made to employ physicians and para-medical staff persons who have excelled in their professional medical fields who shall possess personality traits and characteristics permeated with love for their fellow man as written in the Torah "And you shall love your fellow man as yourself".
• It is of utmost importance to observe the commandments dealing with the relationships between "man and his fellow man". Hence the hospital must be especially careful not to cause unnecessary burdens on its employees or to any individual involved with the hospital. Salaries and wages must be paid on the appointed payroll date.
• The hospital atmosphere shall be permeated with the spirit of peacefulness, tranquility, love and devotion.
• The hospital was founded on the principles of faith and belief in the Almighty, Who apportions life to each creature and in Whose hands is the soul of each living creature. The medical and the para-medical staff shall be comprised of persons with deep faith in these principles and their behavior and demeanor shall be indicative of their faith in the A-mighty and His Torah.
• All the affairs of the hospital shall be conducted in accordance with the observance of all commandments of the Torah as codified in the Shulchan Aruch and rabbinical authority to whom all halachic questions shall be referred and his decision shall be binding on the entire staff of the hospital. In matters concerning Shabbat observance every effort shall be made to effectively perform the forbidden forms of work by use of non-Jews. Patients and staff shall dress in accordance with the torah Laws of modesty.
• The hospital shall establish an institute of Medical-Halachic research for the purpose of resolving in the spirit of the Torah all medical problems which may arise. These solutions shall benefit all Torah observant Jewry.