Hadassah Medical Center

The Hadassah Medical Center is the largest medical center in the Middle East, justifiably proud of its contributions as a leader in health care, research and teaching. As its name suggests, it is the loving child of Hadassah, the women’s Zionist organization, founded in 1912. There are two campuses—Ein Kerem and Mt Scopus. The custom of offering naming recognition in return for contributions in support of worthy causes is a longstanding, perhaps ancient, custom in the Jewish community. While there may be ambivalence or even protest over encouraging or relying upon a sense of vanity to promote support for organizations, the world is filled with innumerable structures that have come about because donors want their names publicly linked to their good works. The Hadassah Medical Center at Ein Kerem must be the archetype of this genre. There are plaques on plaques. There are names engraved on tiles and names written on plaster. There are names etched in metal plates and names carved in stone. Wherever one turns there are names, from one corridor to the next, from one building to the next, some in large letters and some in small letters. There are so many names that one begins to wonder if new buildings are solicited in order to have space for names. Can there be too many commemorative names?