Reviewed by Wendy Blumfield
Photos by Eileen Martell
At the Meet the Author gathering at the Haifa ESRA bookshop in September, our bibliophile members heard the amazing story of Rivka Gita Regev whose childhood was spent living on the grounds of Hansen House in Jerusalem.
In this memoir: My Wanderings in the Gardens: The legacy of Hansen House in Jerusalem - the history of the hospital was meticulously researched by Rivka whose excellent English was acquired in the several years her father worked in Chicago.
Rivka draws in the reader, however, by the human-interest stories, the dedication of the staff, without minimizing the suffering and despair of the more seriously diseased patients.
Hansen House was known as the "leper hospital" although Rivka emphasized that the diseases treated there had no connection with the Biblical interpretation of leprosy. Until recently there was no cure for this illness and patients who did not recover spontaneously died there; but it was not the aggressively contagious disease as depicted in historic literature.
The leprae bacilluss, infection with mycobacteria resulting in leprosy was identified by a Norwegian physician, Gerhard Hansen, in 1873. This contradicted the old beliefs that leprosy was inherited, caused by climate or lack of hygiene combined with the religious question of being a punishment for sin.
Rivka`s father was a physician at the hospital. The family were accommodated in a small house on the site. Her father was well ahead of his time and did not isolate the patients. Rivka got to know them and even taught some of the younger ones basic skills. The regime at Hansen House was fresh air, good nutrition and scrupulous hygiene. As a humane touch, even as early as 1893, a separate child`s dormitory and playground were established, not for the sick but for the children of patients to prevent traumatic separation and the healthy parent could continue to work. Contrary to expectations, these children who had contact with their mothers did not contract leprosy. Nor did the doctors and nurses who worked there.
The gardens were part of the healing process, growing fresh produce. A terrace was set aside as a "Sisters Paradise" - their retreat for tranquility and relaxation.
Baroness Auguste Keffenbrink, a pious woman who longed for a child, founded Hansen House. She had travelled to the Holy Land with her husband, hoping that she would be more fertile there. Their dreams were not fulfilled, but by the time she died in 1889, she had founded the asylum that had become the leading institution for lepers in the Middle East – Hansen House (formerly Jesus Hilfe).
After Auguste stepped down, she hoped that the Moravian Church Brethren who had successfully established a leper hospital in South Africa, would run the Jerusalem Asylum still at Mamilla. She raised funds from friends, congregations and donors in England and Switzerland. The Moravian contract, initially signed for three years in 1881, became permanent and many of their nurses came to work in Jerusalem.
Anna Maria Schubert who supervised the kitchen at Jesus Hilfe wrote: "I often wondered how the poor sick people with this misery could be so full of humor and cheer. They performed their Arabic dances, invented all sorts of games and were very curious about everything." She describes how in her primitive but spotless kitchen they prepared treats to tempt the appetites of the patients.
In these early years, the hospital continued to function through the extreme droughts. Conrad Schick, a famous Jerusalem architect, had already built the first leprosy hospital in Manilla. As the population grew, the water cisterns were inadequate. Though the superintendent Karl Schubert supervised the building of additional larger cisterns, the need for expansion was nevertheless urgent. Schubert then supervised the building of the new Hansen House, a massive project excavating through the Jerusalem rocky terrain. The new building was not only beautiful but it was also fitted with all the facilities available at that time.
As more Jewish patients were hospitalized, kosher food was demanded. One day the Tzaddick Rabbi Aryeh Levin met a distressed mother who told him that her son had this dreaded disease and was hospitalized at Hansen House without access to kosher food. Thereafter, the elderly rabbi walked every Friday carrying two baskets full of nutritious kosher food prepared by his wife Tzippora Hanna. He also taught the weekly portion and his sons came to pray with the patients on Jewish holidays. He was most respected and loved by the Muslim and Christian staff and patients.
After 1950 when the Israeli Ministry of Health purchased the hospital, the kitchen was made kosher.
In the mid-30`s, during the British Mandate, Hansen House was blessed with the luxuries of electricity and running water, revolutionizing the running of the hospital.
During the Second World War, there was much upheaval but the Moravian deaconess and German nurses were allowed to stay and continue their essential work.
In 1950, the Moravian Mission relinquished responsibility. The hospital was purchased by the JNF and handed over to Israel's public health authority.
Towards the end of the 20th century, certain drugs were discovered to cure leprosy, Hansen House was closed for inpatients in 2000; but continued as an outpatient clinic till 2009.
Despite being declared a national preservation site in 1986, developers were, however, hovering around to build real estate projects. Rivka joined the environmentalists and conservationalists to create a culture center and museum. The house that Rivka`s family occupied for so many years is now an organic café. Rivka was passionate about the restoration of the gardens and in 2024 led a campaign to clean up and plant vegetables and herbs. The iconic "Sisters` Paradise" was also restored.
The book is generously illustrated and gives credit with additional readings to all those whose early vision led to the establishment, development and functioning of Hansen House. Having read the book and heard Rivka`s presentation, ESRA Haifa will be planning a trip to Jerusalem to tour the site.
My Wanderings in the Gardens: The Legacy of Hansen House in Jerusalem
By Rivka Gita Regev (with Betsy Rosenberg)
280 pp. Available from the author:www.HansenHouseJerusalemBook.com
Meet the Author is a monthly event at the Haifa ESRA Secondhand Bookshop where writers of Israeli and Jewish interest are invited to visit and discuss their work.