Jerusalem – He was born in Lithuania in 1901, 13 years before the outbreak of World War I, two years before the Wright brothers first flight and 22 years before the birth of Israeli president Shimon Peres. This week, at age 108, Yaakov Slavin passed away.
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Yaakov’s son, Professor Shimon Slavin, formerly the director of Israel’s National Bone Marrow Transplant Center, has only one explanation for his father’s longevity. “His secret was he ate very little. He was very thin up until the day he died. He never gorged himself, never went to restaurants. We are a generation that needs more than he did – more clothes, more possessions and more food. He was from another generation. When I wanted to treat him, to buy him kitchen appliances or furniture, he would say he liked poverty. Modesty was part of him.”
Professor Slavin has scientific proof, too. “Everything we know indicates that reducing caloric intake is the only thing that impacts longevity,” he says.
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The senior Slavin played in the Red Army Orchestra and in the Lithuanian army orchestra as a youth. In 1937, hearing Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, speak on the radio, he decided it was best to immigrate to Israel. He did not succeed in persuading the rest of his family to take the same step; they all perished in the Holocaust.
In Israel, Slavin opened Israel’s first language school in Tel Aviv. Languages were his field of expertise; his son notes he spoke 13 different languages. About 63 years ago, Slavin moved to Jerusalem and began writing textbooks in English. The books, filled with his own short stories, were recognized by the Education Ministry. Until six months ago, Slavin was still involved in the publication of his last book, a French-language textbook.
Since his 100th birthday, Yaakov had been invited annually to the traditional event at the President’s Residence for Israel’s centenarians, but never attended. “I have nothing to do with those old folks,” he told family members.
Slavin remained in his own home, entirely independent, until the last months of his life, when he took on some help but remained at home.
Slavin died Monday at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital due to complications from a leg injury. He is survived by a son and a daughter, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
a man 108 only has 5 great-grandchildren ? I wonder why?
Dont judge till you have been in his shoes, infertility has been an issue since Sarah Imenu. Maybe he married late, maybe one of his children had fertility isuues? Hshem is The One True Judge. Dont judge.
The article did not mention wether or not he was observant, but it is clear that when Chazal said “mpnei seva takum” they were reffering to such a person.
Very impressive
My Zaidy lived exactly the same way as Mr. Slavin. After my grandmother died in 1983, when my Zaidy was 82, my father’s family arranged for a housekeeper to cook and clean for him. He settled down into a routine that consisted of brief, healthy meals, frequent naps and a lot of Torah. My Zaidy lived to be 100 and up until.a few weeks before he died, was in good health. His first trip ever to a hospital occurred when he had a pacemaker installed when he was 96.
My Zaidy was born on Yom Kippur in Poland in 1900 and passed away in Boro Park in 2000. He witnessed the entire 20th century. Interestingly, his son (my father a”h) was also born on Yom Kippur.
I guess the secret to longevity is speaking 13 languages, or having 5 great grandchildren, or maybe by writing textbooks in English; only kidding. I think it is the Rambam who speaks about gluttonism as being the source of many health problems.
Lilui Nishmas Yakov ben Avraham. What is Zaken? Zeh kanah Chachmah. That is why we stand before a saivah, because of the wisdom he has acquired through the many experiences he has lived through, both personal and historical. Imagine what the next hundred years will bring? Yakov was born at a time of misery for Am Yisrael and has witnessed both the utter destruction of European Yidden and the ztmichas yeshuah in Eretz Yisroel. My hope is that if Moshiach has not come by 2100, that Am Yisrael will be strong and growing and will not be in overwhelming tzar, b’ezras HKBH. Amen.
it is defeniteley true that modest eating is a recipe for long years, but let us not forget that it is also a GIFT from Hashem , who REWADS people for doing good deeds -sometimes the good deed is NOT OVEREATING!!!