A major new sculpture by British artist, David Breuer-Weil, has been unveiled at the entrance to Shaare Zedek’s Next Generation Building, donated in memory of the late Marilyn Rosenfelder by her family.
The sculpture, executed in polished steel, represents the globe as a single human form showing that ‘whoever saves a single life saves the entire world’ (Talmud), a particularly fitting tribute considering its location. The sculpture also represents a vital link between the UK and Israel.
The history of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in many ways charts the path of the modern history of Jerusalem. Opening its doors in 1902, it witnessed the rapid growth of the city with a remarkable Jewish revival restoring the city to its ancient grandeur as the capital of the Jewish people – and eventually the capital of the Jewish State. In 2015, Shaare Zedek opened The Next Generation Building. This building serves as a centre of caring for children and reflects an ultra-modern design to enable Shaare Zedek to serve as a leader in medical care. These projects serve to continue in the tradition of advanced and compassionate care which has defined Shaare Zedek ever since the hospital first opened its doors.
Breuer-Weil comments, I wanted to make a work of art in which man and the world become one, to fuse the globe and a human being. With a hospital like Shaare Zedek, where the daily task is the saving of life, I could not help but recall the famous Talmudic dictum that he who saves a single life saves a world entire. A human globe is a visual enactment of that idea. I wanted something that not only expressed the human being as a world entire, but also reflected the light and magic of a human being. At a time where much of the news is about destruction, I wanted to celebrate Shaare Zedek which is all about saving life.
