The great writer Anton Chekhov once defined medicine, his original profession, as an act of heroism that requires adherence to self-sacrifice, purity of mind and purity of intent.
So while doctors are also human beings with weaknesses like everyone else, Prof. Zvi Shapirer, the father of pediatrics in Israel who passed away three weeks ago, belonged to those individuals of virtue for whom Chekhov's definition is tailor-made.
Senior medical officials in Israel testify that the accumulation of tools that serves them in the daily battle with the sick and suffering, was purchased from Prof. Shapiro.
Professors and hospital directors, department heads and experts - in all of them you will find a rare consensus.
"Zvi is one of the few I called my teacher and rabbi, a term that is a client of Judaism and the Jewish bookcase," explains Prof. Tzachi Grossman, chairman of the Israel Pediatrics Association. , Which no longer exists today.
"The connection formed between him and his interns qualified for the level of connections between rabbi and student in a Torah institution. Learning from him gave us not only the knowledge but a whole set of values. Until the end of my professional and public path I will see his figure before my eyes."
Dana Hospital founded by Shapiro, Photo: Yehoshua Yosef
Zvi, or Hersh in his Yiddish name, was born in Poland near the outbreak of World War II.
"When he was young, his family was deported to Siberia, and in retrospect this is what saved her from the Nazis," says his son Oded, CEO of the Securities Authority. Food for another year.
"His good friend and student, Dr. Shimon Barak, brought us his original birth certificate and we discovered that he was a year older than we thought."
After the war, the family was allowed to return to Poland, and Zvi managed to study for one year in a medical school before immigrating to Israel in 1956. Zvi knew "Hebrew of Torah" from sacred studies, and in Israel soon took over modern Hebrew, but his family, the poor immigrant family, Money so that the son could continue to study, and having no choice, Zvi began working as a librarian at the National Library, thus impressing the chief librarian with his skills, which he offered him when he retired to replace him.
The son, Oded Shapirer, Photo: Roni Shitzer
Fortunately, Zvi did not want to give up on the dream of becoming a doctor.
The dean of the Hebrew University School of Medicine was deeply impressed by him and found a scholarship for him.
Hence, no obstacle could stop him.
He graduated with honors, interned with the medical greats of his time at Hadassah Hospital in Tel Aviv, and managed the children's ward.
He found a French Jewish donor, financed a glorious institution — the Dana Children's Hospital — and ran it for more than 20 years.
"At the end of this period, Dad wanted to rest in retirement," says Oded Shapirer, "but a week later he was recruited again. The directors of Tel Hashomer Hospital asked him to work for them as a consultant and lecturer for one year, which was extended to 21 years."
Modesty in the world of ego
The recognition of Prof. Shapiro was not limited to the borders of Israel.
Even before the establishment of the open relationship with Jordan, Mossad officers who were responsible for contact with King Hussein wanted to find the "best pediatrician in Israel" so that he could examine, as an Israeli gesture, his children.
Dr. Spearer was the natural choice. He was smuggled into Jordan at least 17 times, and developed a friendship with Hussein.
Prof. Shapiro's descriptions as "the downfall of the generation of medicine in Israel" and "the father of pediatrics in Israel" become even more valid when the scope of the students he has established over the years becomes clear.
He has taught 1,500 students, 700 interns, and personally signed 300 pediatricians in Israel - numbers that have no equal in any medical field in the world.
Even decades later, students remember and cherish what the mythological teacher taught them — the empathy for patients and their families, the lust for research, the desire to deepen and learn on a daily basis.
"Dad was a tireless explorer of medical knowledge," his son recalled.
"For the rest of his life he consciously gave up reading beautiful literature, so as not to waste the time that could be devoted to reading medical literature. I remember him every night, after he finished examining patients, reading medical books for two or three hours. In addition, the bigger he was, the more modest he was. And even hid to the tools. Did not attribute to himself miraculous qualities and did not consider himself a vineyard. In a world full of ego it is rare. That they met. "
Rare knowledge and skills
One of those many hundreds of students who have become fans is Prof. Roni Gamzo, director of Ichilov Hospital and former director general of the Ministry of Health. The humility and willingness to dedicate everything to the child in front of him. "I remember the loving look in his eyes when he saw the little patient, and he felt chills," says Prof. Gamzo.
"Dr. Shapiro has a wonderful ability to diagnose childhood diseases, sometimes by touch, touch, even smell."
Prof. Gamzo emphasizes that Prof. Shapiro has raised the chain of seemingly ordinary actions of a pediatrician - hearing the story of the disease, the physical examination, the analysis of the findings and reaching the right diagnosis and treatment - to the level of art.
This art was uniquely conveyed only to those who studied medicine from Prof. Shapiro, the next day after Prof. Grossman, and adds that his ability to convey the subtleties of this art to any student and intern would be extraordinary.
Another student of Prof. Spearner, who worked for 15 years in the best hospitals in the United States, testifies that even there he did not meet a doctor at his level, so he adapted a custom: whenever he examined a child who had something more complicated than a cold, he would ask himself what Prof. Spearer Would have done if he had encountered this patient.
"Everyone who learned from him received something very special," concludes Prof. Grossman.
"My colleagues have studied elsewhere, good and respected, but I do not think any of them have received the knowledge and skills in depth, thoroughly and virtuously, as Prof. Spearner's interns have received. These knowledge and skills have shaped us and accompany us to this day."
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