Israel Kristal, who has seen 113 springs, is the oldest man in the world according to the Guinness World Records. He is turning 113 soon and on this occasion, his family is planning a bar mitzvah for him, which will be attended by about 100 guests. A century later, Kristal will be getting a chance to celebrate bar mitzvah.
Man Who Survived Auschwitz Will Finally Get A Bar Mitzvah, A Century Late, At Age 113
By
Michael Avery in
Feel Good
On 19th September 2016
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#1
In 1916, when he was 13 he lost his father in World War 1. Motherless Kristal survived the horror of Auschwitz, and says "Two books could be written about a single day there." Born in what is now Poland, Kristal was in his 30s when the Nazis invaded, and he was imprisoned with his wife and two children in the Lodz ghetto and then at Auschwitz. His wife and children died.
#2
After surviving the holocaust he moved to Israel in 1950 and now lives in Haifa. He remarried and had two children, and is now a grandfather and great-grandfather. His daughter, Shulimath Kristal Kuperstoch is the one behind the idea of organizing his bar mitzvah.
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#3
She said on his bar mitzvah day, Kristal will put on tefillin, the small boxes containing prayers that Jews above the age of bar mitzvah wrap around their arms and heads, and will say the blessings for the Torah.
#4
As for himself, Kristal said in March when he was named the world's oldest man, "I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why. There have been smarter, stronger and better-looking men who are no longer alive. All that is left for us to do is to keep on working as hard as we can and rebuild what is lost."
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#5
In January this year, Mr Kristal said he would 'like very much' to see his name in print as the world's oldest living man - however feared he may not have been recognised because he had no birth certificate.
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#6
He only had his Polish marriage certificate from 1929 and documents relating to his time spent in the Lodz ghetto and Auschwitz.
'Mr Kristal's achievement is remarkable - he can teach us all an important lesson about the value of life and how to stretch the limits of human longevity,' Marco Frigatti, Head of Records for Guinness, said.
Reacting to the news, Mr Kristal said: 'I don't know the secret for long life.
'I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why.
'There have been smarter, stronger and better looking men then me who are no longer alive.'
