Bar Mitzvah: Never too late

Bar Mitzvah in a Synagogue   (by Oscar Rex)

It’s never too late to be bar mitzvahed, even a century hence.

Israel Kristal, currently the world’s oldest man, was born in 1903.  He turned 13 while World War I was raging.  Personal celebrations had to be put on indefinite hold.

Times got even worse before they finally got better.  During World War II, Kristal was forced to endure the horrific conditions at Auschwitz.  He somehow managed to survive.

But even after the later good years, something was still missing.  Kristal lamented that “he had never celebrated the Jewish tradition of becoming a man.”

Kristal's loved ones are therefore planning to raise their glasses in his honor.  His daughter has said:  We will bless him… we’ll be happy with him… [but] you can’t feel like you’re 13 when you’re 113.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/113-year-old-holocaust-survivor-the-oldest-man-in-the-world-has-bar-mitzvah-100-years-later/ar-BBwcDlC?OCID=ansm 

Copyright September 17, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved