Exploring the lives of three Jewish doctors. Living in very different settings, yet linked by a common thread: compassion. They left a lasting mark on medicine and Jewish history and were dedicated to the strong belief that every fragile life matters.
In New York, Dr Martin Couney helped save thousands of babies. His sideshow displays were controversial, but at a time when incubator technology was widely doubted, his exhibits brought life-saving technology into the public eye.
Dr Mary Gordon was born in Lithuania and her trailblazing career as a pioneering female physician who was deeply connected to Jewish life, allowed her to carry her medical calling into some of the hardest moments of the twentieth century, in Palestine, in detention camps in Cyprus and through world wars.
Dr Shlomo Adler’s reputation in London as a beloved doctor and trusted medical confidant to Gedolim and Torah leaders as well as to thousands of patients, rested on his complete commitment to care, innovation and halacha. We also hear from his son Dr Yossi Adler - who has continued a 3 generational family legacy - about AI and other issues confronting medicine today
Timestamps:
- **0:00:00 – 0:01:13** – Podcast intro, series context (Medicine Part 2), and mention of guests (Rabbi Tatz & Dr. Yossi Adler)
- **0:01:13 – 0:02:16** – Introduction of Mary Gordon; granddaughter of Reb Eliezer Gordon; name changes (Miriam → Mary, Sara → Sylvia)
- **0:02:16 – 0:03:49** – Background on the Gordon family, Telshe Yeshiva, and Reb Eliezer Gordon’s leadership and social conscience (matzah bakeries)
- **0:03:49 – 0:06:21** – Fire in Telshe (1908), Reb Eliezer Gordon’s fundraising trip to England, his death, funeral, and Mary receiving apology from the Chief Rabbi
- **0:06:21 – 0:09:00** – Mary’s struggle to enter university, re-doing exams in England, brilliance and speed of study, financial help from Rabbi Moishe Hirsh Siegel, graduation as a physician
- **0:09:00 – 0:10:27** – Status of women doctors in England; WWI, shortage of male doctors; Mary becomes first female medical student allowed to practice in the army
- **0:10:27 – 0:12:57** – Move to South Africa; reuniting with family; pioneering practice in Johannesburg General Hospital; treating rich and poor, all races; miners’ strike of 1922
- **0:12:57 – 0:15:30** – Plans to move to Palestine; WWII intervenes; army medical role, rank of captain then lieutenant colonel; final move to Palestine (1946)
- **0:15:30 – 0:18:18** – Postwar DP situation; Anglo-American committee, Truman’s proposal for 100,000 DPs; British refusal; Cyprus detention policy and harsh camp conditions
- **0:18:18 – 0:21:06** – Mary chosen by the Jewish Agency to serve in Cyprus; tiny medical team; overwhelming numbers, disease, births; her legendary dedication; quote about measuring temperature vs pain
- **0:21:06 – 0:22:28** – New Year’s 1948 story (two big ships arrive, many pregnant women and newborns); Mary persuades nurses to stay; later work in Israel with Yemenite immigrants; return to South Africa, work in Soweto clinics, death and legacy
- **0:22:28 – 0:24:04** – Introduction of Dr. Yossi Adler; recognition that “Dr. Adler” was a global communal institution
- **0:24:04 – 0:26:24** – Growing up in a house that doubled as a practice; constant stream of patients; balancing family meals with emergencies, especially before Hatzalah
- **0:26:24 – 0:28:18** – What made Dr. Adler’s practice unique: long-term relationships, personalized care, deep sense of responsibility, readiness to innovate
- **0:28:18 – 0:32:24** – Early roots of his father’s connection to Gedolim (Gerrer Rebbe, Imrei Emes); later relationships with Gedolim and Rebbes (Stipler, R’ Shach, Satmar, Klausenburger, etc.)
- **0:32:24 – 0:36:24** – Stories illustrating kavod from Rebbes (“Malach Refael goes with Dr. Adler”), and equal importance of all patients; how he handled treating Gedolim without intimidation
- **0:36:24 – 0:40:21** – Lessons Dr. Yossi learned: time use, achrayus (responsibility), integrating halacha and derech eretz into medicine; a few character-defining stories
- **0:40:21 – 0:44:04** – Role of a frum doctor today: giving clear medical facts for Rabbanim, especially in end-of-life, surgery, fasting, and shidduch situations; why doctor ≠ posek
- **0:44:04 – 0:49:05** – Community health issues:
- Vaccine hesitancy and mistrust of authorities
- Halachic support for following broadly accepted medical guidance
- SIDS reduction through “back to sleep” and risk of complacency
- **0:49:05 – 0:53:59** – Discussion on modern weight-loss medications (semaglutide, tirzepatide): when benefits outweigh risks (severe obesity) vs mainly cosmetic use
- **0:53:59 – 0:56:51** – Google and patient information: opportunities and dangers; importance of joint doctor–patient interpretation rather than self-treatment
- **0:56:51 – 0:57:40** – Rabbi Tatz introduction, playful comment about trying to “one up” Rabbi Hirsch with an unknown medical figure
- **0:57:40 – 0:59:37** – Background of Dr. Cooney (Mikhail Kohn): Jewish origins in Prussia, medical studies, interest in premature infants and early incubators
- **0:59:37 – 1:03:10** – Move to America; transformation into “Dr. Cooney”; sideshow incubator exhibits at fairs and Coney Island; hospitals giving up on babies, parents bringing infants in shoeboxes; high survival rates
- **1:03:10 – 1:05:00** – Framing ethical and halachic questions: doing something risky to save life; early incubators as both spectacle and lifesaving tool
- **1:05:00 – 1:08:32** – Classic halachic scenario: terminal/“Ha’ei Sha’ah” patient offered high-risk procedure with chance of cure vs certain shorter-term survival; introduction to “Lo chosheshin lechayei sha’ah” in this context
- **1:08:32 – 1:12:08** – Majority view:
- If chance of success >50%, patient *should* generally accept.
- If <50%, still may choose, but more complex.
- Rav Moshe Shapira’s insight: if it’s more likely to kill than to save, it may not even count as “medicine.”
- **1:12:08 – 1:14:52** – Range of poskim on how low the chance of success may be (e.g., R’ Elyashiv vs Chasam Sofer); need for sound mind and emotional stability in such decisions; Israeli law on compelling treatment when clearly in patient’s best interests
- **1:14:52 – 1:18:02** – Emotional/psychological suffering as halachically weighty; will to live; R’ Moshe Feinstein on strong pain relief that may hasten death when pain is severe
- **1:18:02 – 1:18:36** – Question about recent international medical–halachic conferences
- **1:18:36 – 1:21:01** – HeidiD Conference overview; AI in medicine as the standout theme; examples in radiology and an AI-driven ER intake system at Soroka Hospital; patients rating AI as more “empathetic” than human doctors; Rabbi Tatz’s mixed feelings (excited and worried)
- **1:21:01 – 1:21:31** – Why we daven Refa’einu when healthy: life as ongoing miracle; link to Bris Milah; physical and spiritual aspects of illness; power of davening for others
- **1:21:31 – end (~1:22:00)** – Rabbi Hirsch notes he did not know about Dr. Cooney (historic moment); teaser for upcoming three-part Holocaust series; thanks to guests and listeners; email given for feedback
South Africa