Super cranes

.

My morning bus was making the circle inside  Hadassah Medical Center campus when we passed two huge mobile cranes getting into position.
Needless to say, I jumped off the bus and whipped out the camera!

I stared in wonder as the crane got longer and longer, sort of like Jack and the Beanstalk.
It seemed it would reach the clouds.

Watching the operator was awesome too.
How many people need a glass ceiling for their work?

(You can enlarge all these photos with a click or two.)

Then they met!
The vertical mobile crane came near the horizontal crane that has for a long time been atop the new Davidson Tower.
(I showed you the new building in 2011 when the head engineer took us up for a hardhat tour of the new hospital.)

At least three guys were on the "bridge" and two can (barely) be seen on the horizontal part! So brave!
The crane started taking off the concrete slabs, slowly, one by one.
They were dismantling the roof crane, above my very eyes!   

About that time I came to my senses and realized I was risking my life for a blog post.
Indeed, the guard saw me from his safe indoor place and yelled at me to get the hell out of there and fast!

I have been following and documenting the construction of this tall tower since 2007.
The picture above (taken from the ancient Roman road not long ago) just may be the final  photo ever of  Sarah Davidson Tower with a crane mounted on its roof.

Hadassah is now crane-less!
Or at least until the Hadassah ladies come up with a new idea and new donations.
.
(Linking to SkyWatch Friday.)
.

Healthy exercise at Hadassah/Hebrew U. (?)

.

So which would you chose--to sit on the benches or on the exercise machines?

They were installed a few years ago and I have never once seen anyone using them.

The free outdoor "gym" is right next to the National Medical Library at the Hadassah Ein Kerem medical center.
The Hebrew U. medical and dental students study at Hadassah.
I'm sure they have no time and no energy for a daily workout.
Hmm . . . and what is my excuse? 

Reading all these cautions about using the machines is enough to scare away anyone but Superman.

Anyway, those contraptions bring to mind the tortures of the Inquisition.
Just kidding. Sort of.  
The Jewish collective memory is often a hard thing to bear when it rises to the surface.

(A post for Our World Tuesday.)
.

Sirens, escalation, and transparency

.

S is for second scary siren for ABC Wednesday.

This afternoon the Red Alert sirens went off again in my village and in Jerusalem and in the villages to her south and west .
From various tweets I understand that the missile exploded in an olive grove in or near a Palestinian village in the West Bank.

The new transparent escalator in Hadassah hospital made me want to title this post
ESCALATION AND TRANSPARENCY.

Despite, or maybe because of,  efforts for a ceasefire by tonight, the fighting seemed to escalate during the day.
And Operation Pillar of Defense is a conflict which, for the first time, is covered by minute-to-minute tweeting and live-blogs, with a lot of transparency.
.

Alfred Nobel, Albert Einstein, and Isis

.

Did you ever wonder what's on the other side of  Albert Einstein's 1921 Nobel Prize medal?
Here it is, just in time for Weekend Reflections.

It shows the Genius of Science revealing Nature, in the form of the goddess Isis.
She is emerging from the clouds holding a cornucopia.
Surrounding the image are the Latin words for "Inventions enhance life which is beautified by art."

The diploma that was awarded along with his medal acknowledges Einstein's contribution to theoretical physics.

For its translation and for clear images of the medal and the diploma, please see this page from the Hebrew University's Einstein Archives Online.

"Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity was, at that time, still controversial and members of the Swedish Academy avoided the issue by granting him the prize for his groundbreaking contribution to the understanding of the Photoelectric Effect. Some of them did support General Relativity, but a mere eclipse was not enough proof for all committee members to risk their reputations on Einstein’s new theory."  (source)
.
These items (replicas, I assume) are currently exhibited  in the ground floor corridor of the Hebrew University Medical School which is at Hadassah Ein Kerem campus.
The Nobel Prize display cases are between the med school and the hospital.
Maybe they are meant to give inspiration to the hard-working med students as they rush by. 
.
P.S.  I'll add an interesting story in the comments section.
.

Chagall windows for Psalm 68

.
With thanks to Robert Geiss at daily athens photo for prodding us to take the PsalmChallenge every Sunday for the past 68 weeks.
We in his meme group will come back to our psalm illustrating again in September, God willing (and Robert willing).
.
PSALM 68

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.
¹ Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
³ But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.

⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.

⁵ Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
⁶ God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.

⁷ O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah
⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
⁹ Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
¹⁰ your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

¹¹ The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of those who bore the tidings:
¹² ‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil,
¹³ though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.

¹⁵ O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
¹⁶ Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the Lord will reside for ever?

¹⁷ With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
¹⁸ You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.
¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah
²⁰ Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

²¹ But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.
²² The Lord said,
‘I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
²³ so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.’

²⁴ Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
²⁵ the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them girls playing tambourines:
²⁶ ‘Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’

²⁷ There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,


the princes of Judah in a body,
the princes of Zebulun,

the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your might, O God;
show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to you.
³⁰ Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
³¹ Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
³³ O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
³⁴ Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
³⁵ Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!

----------------------------------------------
Photos:
Four of the 12 tribes of Israel as portrayed by Marc Chagall in four of his 12 stained glass windows at Hadassah Medical Center synagogue, Jerusalem.
You can click once on the photos and then click again to see the artwork up close.
.
Translation used today: NRSV.
.
Rabbi Segal notes that "Psalm 68 is widely acknowledged to be the most difficult psalm to translate and to interpret. It includes thirteen terms found only here in the Bible, historical “references” otherwise unknown, and phrases which read awkwardly at best."
.

Landing in a cloud of dust

.
Getting off the bus at Hadassah hospital, I heard a helicopter nearing.
I ran to the corner of the parking lot and was in time for the excitement of the powerful sound and sight!

But instead of a stretcher, some VIPs were brought out and whisked away in a black car.
The unique square license plate must be of some top official. Maybe the President?

I was worried the armed guards might look back and look up and see me "shooting" (photos, of course!).
Then it worried me that they never even noticed me.
.
But I was relieved to realize that IDF helicopters landing at Hadassah helipad carry important passengers who are alive and well, and not only wounded soldiers and civilians.
.
(The helicopters being an almost daily part of my world, this post goes to Our World Tuesday.)
.

Signing up to save a life

.
Walking through Hadassah hospital's lobby a few weeks ago, I was heartened to see so many young people registering to be potential bone marrow donors.

They filled out a form and got swabbed (provided saliva samples).


The March 20 drive was to find a donor for 5-year-old Aviel Bakman.
Maavak LeChaim (Fight for Life) organization had such stands in 34 malls across Israel.

As the Talmud teaches, "He who saves one life, it is as if he had saved the entire world."
.
.
(I'm glad to be able to show an altruistic part of my Jerusalem world for the Our World Tuesday meme.)
.

Taking a breather

.
I could have used a few deep breaths from those "medical oxygen" cylinders in the cart at Hadassah hospital yesterday. We were having another very unhealthy dust storm.

Instead I laughed at the scene of the guys chatting because it brought to mind the idiom to take a breather (meaning to take a short break from one's activities in order to relax).
.

A mopping-up operation

.
Today three workers were mopping the floor of the new atrium (although the "Caution" signs and the puddles did not deter many).

Just a few days ago part of the new hospital tower of Hadassah was dedicated.
Patients are already moving over to the Urology floor.
The grand dedication of the whole building is planned for October.

Here's how the same atrium looked last November!

I blogged then about the tour inside the construction area, led by the chief engineer (here and here).
It's quite a place and quite a pace!
.

A clean heart at Hadassah

.
Agam's kinetic sculpture got kinetic again, at least for a short time, thanks to this worker moving each segment and giving them all a good cleaning.

When it was installed in 1984 I assume water was shpritzing in the fountain, but today it's dry and dust gathers fast.

"The Beating Heart Caring for Jerusalem" stands in the courtyard next to the Chagall windows synagogue at Hadassah Medical Organization.

For more about this sculpture, Yaacov Agam, and why he thinks Jerusalem art should be different from all other art, please see my earlier post.
.
For more nice shadows, see Tracy's meme, Shadow Shot Sunday.
.

Botnar Auditorium (I think)

.
For Monday Doorways (also Our World Tuesday), notice the little door between the two ... umm ... strange structures.
This is from last month, after they put in the pretty flowers.
It is part of the Hebrew University medical school at Hadassah Ein Kerem.

For the longest time I watched the curved things being built but had no idea what they would become.
Here is an early shot from March 2008.

Some concrete was poured in June 2009.
Meanwhile the normal building in back was finished, the Octav and Marcela Botnar Research Building.

The beginnings of a "roof" were visible in July 2010, next to many tall stacks of yellow-wrapped Isocam rock wool.
I never saw more than three workers down there, and they always seemed a bit hesitant and confused; like, "WHAT are we supposed to build??"
.
I don't blame them. Who ever saw such a thing!
.

Action in the air

.
Two military helicopters land at Hadassah Medical Center, probably carrying wounded.

The wind sock at the helipad twirls around and straightens out or bends, showing the pilot the direction and strength of the wind.

Today's subject for City Daily Photo Theme Day is "Action shot."
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.
.

In the shadow of Prometheus

.
Prometheus found -- by a cat!
Who knows, maybe this cat appreciates art or is interested in Greek mythology . . . or maybe he is just hoping for a bite of liver.

Fittingly, the statue stands in the courtyard of Hebrew University School of Medicine at Hadassah Ein Kerem.
.
The little cat joins today's animals at Camera-Critters meme.
.

No cleaning required!

.
Hadassah, the hospital on the hill.

The Jerusalem Hills finally had clouds and even a few minutes of rain last Friday and Saturday, something to show for SkyWatch Friday.

The new hospital tower, in its final stages of construction, had guided tours on Friday.
I gladly put on a hard hat and went up to learn.

But of all the high tech and eco-friendly innovations in the building, the windows impressed me the most.
They are double-glazed with vacuum insulation between the two panes of glass.

The blinds are encapsulated within the double glazed unit!
These integrated or "integral blinds" offer protection from the heat and the glare of the sun.
And once sealed in this dust-free environment, the blinds require no cleaning.

Anyone who has cleaned trissim or even worse, Venetian blinds at home understands what a revolutionary new system this is.

Despite the cloudy sky, the big windows in the patient rooms let in a lot of light.
Hadassah wants to save and to use as little artificial light as possible.
A little knob allows the patient to adjust the blinds.

Instead of the present 4-5 patients per room in the old hospital, the new tower's rooms will be for only 1 or 2 people.

Nathan Margolin, the engineer who guided us, said the planners wanted to make all the windows un-openable.
But there was opposition. (I, for one, would hate to sleep in a sealed room.)
So they compromised: each room will have one or two very small windows that can be opened.
.
The nursing stations and doctors' offices are toward the inside of the building, while all the patient rooms face the outside.
I think looking out over the green valley and the terraced and forested hills is healing in itself.
.

Cutting edge technology, under construction

.
No, it's not an eggshell on my head. (Remember the Calimero cartoons?)
.
All the visitors to tour No. 60 of this weekend's annual Jerusalem Houses from Within had to wear a hardhat because we were in a construction zone.

We got to see the new luxurious bathrooms for future patients in the new Hadassah hospital tower (that I showed you here).
And lots more, including green technology! You will be seeing more in the coming posts.

You too would want to wear a hardhat going up in this external elevator cage!
It was exciting.

Can you see how two walls of the building come together in a wedge?
That's Hadassah--always on the cutting edge!
.
For Weekend Reflections.
.

Moonrise over Hadassah

.
The moon rises over Hadassah Medical Center.
.
From our moshav across the valley we see the campus expanding year by year.
It is becoming like a little city on its own hill.
.
The tall hospital tower is not yet finished but it already dwarfs the once-high helipad on the left.
You too can watch it being built on Hadassah's live webcam.
But no work going on today.
Today is a holiday. Happy Sukkot!
I wonder if the webcam will pick up the big moon this evening . . . .
.

This post is for SkyWatch Friday.

Clever cat (and a horned altar!)

.
In Israel's ancient deserts, boulders have long provided respite from the burning sun, for man and beast . . .
.
Oh, wait . . . this was just the Hebrew U. Medical School campus at Hadassah Hospital.
But man, was it hot!
.
You might have to enlarge the above photo to find the cat.

Here's the boulder "in situ."
.
I never understand why they make the roofs of some bench and bus shelters like this.
It lets the rain or too much sun come through.
.
Anyway, it's a fun picture for Camera-Critters, Summer Stock Sunday, and Shadow Shot Sunday.
.
And here is something YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS! The blog of Tell Es-Safi/Gath Excavations announced their discovery of a horned stone altar from the Iron Age!
And then the archaeologist, Aren Maeir, made a hilarious aerial photo, using volunteers, shadows, and himself as the sacrificial lamb.
.

A Heart for Peace

.
Right after posting about Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo yesterday I came across a heart-warming IDF post (see their video here).
I learned that just a few weeks ago a group of Palestinian children from the West Bank along with their parents had a field day at the Zoo.
.
Their trip was organized by the army's Civil Administration unit and Hadassah Hospital.
Most of the kids had undergone heart surgery at Hadassah.
.
Since 2005 there is a way for these families to get the help they need: Hadassah pays half the cost of the operation and a French NGO, the other half.
Un coeur pour la paix / A Heart for Peace has a nice little video about how it works.
.

A towering crane and its reflection

.

(This photo is more fun when enlarged.)

Waiting for a bus at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center is never boring.
I can always watch a tall crane in action.
Hadassah is forever building something.
.
The other morning I had a bonus--a reflection for James' Weekend Reflections meme.
And there were workers on that suspended scaffold on the left!
Oi, they are brave.
.
This new tower is going to be for hundreds of badly needed additional hospital beds.
.
Shabbat shalom, sei gesund (be well).
.

Chagall reflections

In this forbidden photo you can see 4 of Chagall's 12 stained glass windows in the synagogue of Hadassah medical center.
The Holy Ark and the reading table for the Torah scroll are covered by a two-piece soft sculpture created by Aviva Green.
The detail is better seen in the artist's slideshow, and here she explains about the creative process.
.
The glass protecting the reading table gave nice reflections of the windows.
.
I knew I just had to get them for James' Weekend Reflections so I shot fast, just before the shout of "No photographs!" rang out.
.