|Lepers, presumably in Jerusalem, (Library of Congress, circa 1900)|
For thousands of years the scourge of leprosy has struck fear among humanity. In the Bible it was considered a severe punishment. Leprosy was called a "living death," and its victims were often exiled from cities or imprisoned in leper colonies.
|Group of leper women (circa 1900)|
Today, scientists know that leprosy is caused by a bacteria and is rarely contagious, particularly if the patient is receiving treatment. It is transmitted by the transfer of body fluids and is treatable with antibiotics. While the disease has been "beaten back," it still exists in developing countries.
In 1887, Hansen’s Hospital, known as the “Lepers Home," was built on the then-remote outskirts of Jerusalem, according to writer Ruth Wexler. It was designed by the German architect Conrad Schick and operated by the Moravian Church.
"Hansen Hospital, an architectural treasure, is now situated in the midst of an affluent neighborhood," Wexler wrote. "During the 122 years of its existence around 600 people spent their lives within its walls. In the year 2000, the last leprosy in-patients moved out."
|A group of leper men (circa 1900)|
|Hansen's Hospital, across from the Jerusalem Theater.|
(Judy Lash Balint, 2005)
"He was a frequent visitor at hospitals for lepers," Simcha Raz wrote in A Tzaddik in Our Time. "Reb Aryeh began this holy practice after he had found a woman weeping bitterly by the Western Wall. Reb Aryeh asked her, 'what made her cry so intensely.' She told him that her child had no cure, and was locked up in the leper hospital in Jerusalem. He immediately decided to visit the young child, and when he arrived all the patients burst into tears. It had been years since they had the privilege to see any visitor from the outside world."
Today, the hospital is undergoing renovation to become a cultural center and gallery for arts, media, design and technology.