This man who survived Auschwitz will finally get a bar mitzvah, a century late, at age 113

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This man who survived Auschwitz will finally get a bar mitzvah, a century late, at age 113

Born in what is now Poland, Kristal has survived 113 years of Jewish history. He 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.

Speaking about the horror of Auschwitz, he once told Haaretz, “Two books could be written about a single day there.”

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 told the BBC that 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.

He has maintained his faith throughout his life, she said. Talking to theJerusalem Post about her father surviving the Holocaust, she said, “He believes he was saved because that’s what God wanted.”
 
“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.””

I enjoy reading articles that detail the strength of the human spirit. Thank you Sciborg for the article.
 
I enjoy reading articles that detail the strength of the human spirit. Thank you Sciborg for the article.

Have you seen Life is Beautiful?

You might appreciate this bit from the Absurdism thread:

My dear,

In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.

Truly yours,

Albert Camus
 
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