The Diskin Orphanage was an orphanage in the Old City of Jerusalem, established
in 1881 by Yehoshua Leib Diskin

Yehoshua Leib Diskin

Yehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin , also known as the Maharil Diskin, was a leading rabbi, Talmudist and Biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi in Łomża, Mezritch, Kovno, Shklov, Brisk and finally Jerusalem, after moving to Eretz Yisrael in 1878....

. From the Jewish Quarter, it moved to Street of the Prophets

Street of the Prophets

Street of the Prophets is an east-west axis road in Jerusalem beginning outside Damascus Gate and ending at Davidka Square. Located to the north of Jaffa Road, it bisects the neighborhood of Musrara....

 outside the walls of the Old City. In 1927, it moved to a new building in the Kiryat Moshe

Kiryat Moshe

Kiryat Moshe is a neighborhood in western Jerusalem, Israel named for the British Jewish philanthropist Moses Montefiore. Kiryat Moshe is bordered by Givat Shaul.-History:...

 neighborhood, near the main entrance to the city from the west.

History

In 1878, Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin left his rabbinical position in Brest-Litovsk and moved to Palestine, where he found a large religious community living under near impossible conditions. The persecution and disease from which the Jews of the Holy Land suffered moved Diskin to open a home for orphans in the city, after bringing needy children into his own home.

In time, as the number of children increased, Diskin established the “Great Institution for Orphans” that came to be known as the Diskin Orphanage of Jerusalem. Diskin's second wife, Sarah, known as the Brisker Rebbetzin, brought 40,000 rubles into the marriage which was used for this purpose. When Diskin died in 1898, his lifework was continued by his only son, Yitzhak Yerucham Diskin. Rabbi Yitzhak built the imposing Diskin Orphanage campus, cited by Israeli architect and historian David Kroyanker

David Kroyanker

David Kroyanker is an Israeli architect and architectural historian. In 2010, he was named a Yakir Yerushalayim for his research and documentation of the architectural heritage of Jerusalem. Kroyanker has written dozens of books about the city's architecture and urban planning.-Biography:David...

as one of the ten most beautiful buildings in Jerusalem.

Today

Since then, the orphanage has undergone many changes. The building is rented by a boarding school. Today Beit Diskin operates as a non-profit organization that provides needy youngsters with clothing, dental care, hot meals and educational guidance