World's oldest man, Yisrael Kristal, 113, to hold bar mitzvah

The world's officially oldest man is to finally have his bar mitzvah at the age of 113 - a century after he missed it due to the outbreak of World War One.

Yisrael Kristal, who lives in Israel, will celebrate the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony with family and friends in a synagogue in Haifa, his daughter said.

Shulamit Kuperstoch said it would be a "corrective experience".

Mr Kristal was born in Poland in 1903 and survived being in the Auschwitz death camp during World War Two.

Mr Kristal survived Auschwitz death camp, where the Nazis killed more than a million people, mostly Jews

He was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest man in March this year.

Mr Kristal turned 113 on Thursday, according to the Gregorian calendar. He will mark his bar mitzvah in two weeks' time, coinciding with his birthday according to the Hebrew date.

Ms Kuperstoch told the BBC her father would perform the traditional bar mitzvah rituals, including putting on phylacteries (small boxes containing biblical verses worn on the head and arm) and saying blessings over the Torah (Jewish holy book).

What is a bar mitzvah?
* Jewish male coming-of-age ceremony, held when the boy turns 13 according to the Hebrew calendar
* Bar mitzvah boy is "called up" in synagogue to read in Hebrew either a portion or the entirety of a segment of the Torah
* After bar mitzvah, the boy is considered mature enough to assume religious obligations
* Can take place later in life under certain circumstances

Source: BBC