Yisroel Cristal is not just another man who lives in Israel, instead he recently became world famous when he was declared by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living man. What makes his story so special is not only his age itself, rather the fact that he survived so much to live for so long with the ability to still share pearls of wisdom.
Yisroel was born in September 15, 1903 in Poland and was orphaned at age seven from his mother and then at age ten his father was taken and forcibly conscripted to the Russian Army. Raised by relatives in Lodz he grew up, got an education and worked his first job in a candy factory. Eventually Yisroel married and began a family and had two children, only to lose them at the hands of the murderous Nazis during the Holocaust.
Despite being in Auschwitz and experiencing the full horrors of the Shoah, Yisroel survived even though he only weighed just over eighty pounds at the end of the war. Somehow he was able to recover and married his second wife, herself a survivor, and then settled in Israel where they had two children.
Today Yisroel is blessed with many many descendants and is able to be a patriarchal figure to his many great grandchildren. When they come home with homework projects and he is asked to be interviewed, his mind is clear and he conveys the details of his life story as if it were yesterday.
Yisroel also makes sure to wear his Tefillin and say his daily prayers each day, truly unique for a man of that age. When asked about his secret of survival, he points upwards and says simply it’s thanks to G-d and said “every day he gives me life, I just try and do my part to live it properly”.
Yisroel Cristal has seen it all and was just eight years old when he saw his first car. He says “life was less complicated back then”.
PASSOVER & HIS STORY
Passover is just around the corner and we are already making plans, placing orders and inviting friends to the Seder. It is truly one of the most important and perhaps exciting holidays on the Jewish Calendar and its message rings true thousands of years after it first happened.
When I read the story of Yisroel Cristal, he seemed to embody the story of Jewish survival against the odds, of faith in the face of adversity and the spirit of resilience of the human and Jewish spirit.
While his story is strikingly unique and powerful, in all likelihood many of our ancestors themselves went through different yet similar hardships over the course of history. Their survival and hopes were almost never just about themselves, rather they were focused on their children and the generations of descendants who would follow and continue the path of Judaism for all of eternity.
As we prepare for the Seder and the special family times that come with it, let us take a moment to think how we too can make the Seder experience an amazing and empowering tradition. Let us think about how we can share the spiritual ideals that are so meaningful to us, how we can convey our Jewish heritage which is so much a part of us, and how we can joyfully celebrate our Judaism and its meaning with our children, loved ones and friends.
In doing so, Passover will not only be a big (and expensive) holiday, it will also be a joyful and inspiring part of our family’s identity, values and heritage for years to come.
Good Shabbos
Yisroel