A Life of Devotion: The Nurse Who Served Jerusalem for 100 Years

The winter of 1984 was a rainy one in Jerusalem. Women arriving to give birth at the large and relatively modern Shaare Zedek Hospital immediately felt the warmth inside, both from the heating and from the welcoming atmosphere of the hospital.

Among the corridors, visitors noticed an unusual sight. An elderly woman walked energetically through the wards while a photographer followed her, documenting her every step.

“Who is that?” people asked one another.

“That’s Schwester Selma,” the staff replied with admiration. “A veteran nurse of the hospital.”

The word Schwester, German for nurse, had long become associated with one person: Selma Meir.

Although she was already elderly, Selma moved with remarkable vitality. She smiled warmly, greeted patients, and chatted with anyone who crossed her path.

One curious visitor finally approached her.

“Tell us about your history,” he asked.

“Not now,” interrupted her friend Trudi Frankel. “In a few days there will be a special event in Selma’s honor. You will hear her whole story there.”

Selma laughed.

“Why wait?” she said warmly. “I would be happy to tell you a little now. I have all day.”

A Nurse for Nearly a Century

“You must have worked here for many years,” the visitor said.

Selma laughed again.

“Many years? How many do you think?”

“Maybe fifty years?”

Selma smiled.

“Well,” she said, “my name is Selma Meir. I was born in Germany, and I began working as a nurse in 1906.”

The listeners stared at her in disbelief.

“1906? How old are you?”

“With Hashem’s help, I am now celebrating one hundred years,” she replied calmly. “In a few days there will be a celebration here in honor of my birthday.”

Selma had already made history long before arriving in Jerusalem. She was the first Jewish woman to be officially certified as a nurse in Germany.

In 1902, Dr. Moshe Wallach arrived in Jerusalem from Frankfurt and founded Shaare Zedek Hospital on Jaffa Street. The building today houses the Israel Broadcasting Authority. He recruited three Jewish nurses from around the world to help build the institution.

Only one remained.

Selma.

One nurse left immediately because of the primitive conditions. Another departed when the First World War broke out.

Selma stayed.

Building a Hospital from Nothing

When Selma arrived, the hospital had forty beds but almost no organization.

She immediately introduced strict standards.

All patients were required to bathe daily.
Bed linens were replaced regularly.
Rooms were disinfected and cleaned.
Staff members wore white uniforms.

Today these practices seem obvious, but at the time they were revolutionary.

The hospital had no electricity, no running water, and no gas for cooking. Everything had to be managed using the simplest means.

Selma worked eighteen hours a day. She assisted Dr. Wallach in every operation and treatment.

She also supervised the hospital kitchen, ensuring that all food served there was prepared according to strict kosher standards.

Treating the Wounded of Jerusalem

In 1929, when the Hebron massacre took place, the wounded were brought to the only Jewish hospital in the region.

Dr. Wallach and Selma worked for twenty three consecutive hours treating the injured.

Their dedication created an unusual halachic question. Both of them had never married, which meant the laws of yichud prevented them from remaining alone together overnight while treating patients.

After consulting rabbinic authorities, Dr. Wallach performed kiddushin with Selma. This halachic betrothal allowed them to remain together in the hospital at night while continuing their lifesaving work, even though they were not fully married.

This arrangement itself reflected the depth of their devotion to their patients.

A School Born from a Cowshed

Next to the hospital stood a small cowshed that once supplied milk for recovering patients.

In those days milk was considered essential for healing.

When milk later began arriving from city suppliers, the cowshed became unnecessary.

Selma transformed it into something remarkable. She turned it into a nursing school.

From that humble beginning, hundreds of nurses were trained under her guidance. The school eventually developed into a respected institution that continues to operate today.

Fighting Epidemics

In the 1950s, Israel was struck by a severe polio epidemic.

Selma arranged to import from Germany a life saving device known as an iron lung. Patients were placed inside the machine so their lungs could function.

For a time, Shaare Zedek became the only hospital in the country equipped to treat the disease in this way.

A Mother to the Abandoned

Over the years several children were abandoned at the hospital.

Selma and Dr. Wallach adopted them and raised them within the hospital itself.

Many of these children later joined the hospital staff.

One girl, Bolisa Dana, had been carried hundreds of kilometers across the Syrian desert by her father in a desperate attempt to reach the Land of Israel. She became ill soon after arriving and was left at the hospital.

Selma raised her like a daughter.

Tragically, Bolisa was later killed in the Ben Yehuda Street bombing in 1948.

A Life of Selfless Care

In 1984, Shaare Zedek prepared a celebration marking Selma’s one hundredth birthday.

Two days before the planned event, Selma passed away peacefully at home.

Instead of celebrating her birthday, the hospital mourned the woman who had shaped its entire history.

To this day, a large portrait of Schwester Selma stands in the lobby of Shaare Zedek Hospital.

It remains a quiet reminder of a life almost impossible to imagine.

A full century devoted to caring for others.