About Shaarei Chessed

Shaarei Chessed (also Sha’arei Hesed) (Hebrew: שערי חסד‎, lit. Gates of Loving-kindness) is a neighborhood in central Jerusalem, Israel, bordering Rehavia, Nahlaot and the Wolfson Towers.

One of the founders of the neighborhood was Yoel Moshe Salomon, who also founded Nahalat Shiva. The cornerstone was laid by the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, in 1909. Rabbi Salant and Rabbi Naftali Porush established a building fund with donations from abroad to build small apartments for religious Jews in Jerusalem. The first 114 houses were built on long, narrow plots of land with a small yard in front or back. 

Shaarei Chesed was developed by disciples of the Vilna Gaon who insisted on adherence to Torah Law as a pre-requisite of settlement. Rechavia, on the other hand, was designed to be a “garden community” for intellectuals and professionals. Both neighborhoods retain some of the character envisioned for them, and with anecdotes that capture their charm.

In recent years, Sha’arei Hesed has become a religious neighborhood, as old-time Jerusalemites move out. The area is undergoing gentrification, and many homes have been purchased by affluent Orthodox Jewish families from abroad, especially from English-speaking countries. The neighborhood has several yeshivas, among them Maalos Hatorah (Rav Shmuel Aurbach’s Yeshiva), Medrash Shmuel and Noam HaTalmud, and a large number of synagogues (including the Gra Shul which has many minyanim throughout the day).

On Keren Kayemet Street (KKL) there are cute shops, restaurants, and the Wolfson Shopping Center with the Wolfson Medical Center, pharmacy, coffee shop, grocery store, and money changer. Short walk to Ben Yehuda, the Machane Yehuda Shuk, and most hotels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha’arei_Hesed 

http://www.rabbiwein.com/Rechavia–Shaarei-Chesed-brThe-Streets-of-Jerusalem-P409.html