[Jews and physicians]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the well established yet hardly explored connections between the Jews and the field of medicine. In other words, it is our intention to inquire into the reasons, sometimes historical and social, sometimes cultural and religious - or all of these at the same time - which have led and maybe still lead - such vast numbers of Jews to embark upon a course of study in medicine. Reasons which might be closely linked with their traditional perception of the figure of the father, of the rabbi, maybe even of God.