Eliazar Rabinovich

December 24, 1898 - June 27, 2002

The Eulogy by Rabbi Sheldon Lewis at the Memorial Services
Hills of Eternity Cemetery
June 30, 2002

We have been witnesses to a remarkable life. There is surely grief at his absence for so many who never before knew what it means to live without his presence. And yet, there is reason to celebrate his life which touched three centuries and which witnessed so many momentous events in history – written large into his own experience. When he was born in 1898, there were no automobiles or airplanes, no radio or gramophone. He saw remarkable progress in technology. And he saw empires come and go, revolutions, wars, the holocaust and the birth of the State of Israel.

In a time of the greatest upheaval in recorded history, his life brings us a message of hope and continuity despite great odds.

Eliazar Rabinovitch was born in Latvia into a poor family, the first of seven children. His father was a tailor, his mother a hat maker. He was well educated, learning to love to read. He went to Cheder, receiving the basis of his Jewish education. He also mastered 4 languages – Yiddish, his 1st language, Latvian, Russian and German. Recently, Eliazar was invited by a Lutheran pastor from Riga, now living in San Francisco, who came to meet the man who he believed to be the oldest living speaker of Latvian. He also took courses in accounting.

Eliazar remembered the Russian-Japanese War in 1906 as a small boy. When WW1 began he and his family were evacuated into Russia. On the way his youngest sister, Luba, was born on a train car. He was inducted into the Russian army where he worked as a bookkeeper, being the only one in his unit who could read, write and count.

After the war, he and his family returned to Latvia. Soon thereafter, Eliazar met the woman who would become his beloved wife in 1923, Haya Sarah Abramovitch. They would be blessed with 57 years of devoted marriage.

Together they opened a business, a small store, and worked very hard to make it a success. He never took a vacation, but Shabbos was Shabbos and it was an island of tranquility amidst the demands of a hard life. They brought four children into the world, Isaac, Reuven, Yakov and Riva.

Then in 1940, the Russians invaded Latvia. Soon thereafter WWII erupted and the family once again fled to the East, far into Russia to Kirov. Two brothers and one sister of Eliazar elected to remain in Latvia hoping for the best, but they perished at the hands of the Nazis. Eliazar never forgot the pain of losing his siblings.

Meanwhile, at over 40 years of age, he was inducted, once again, into the Russian army where he was trained as a battlefield medic. Among the wounded he tended was his own son. They were together in the same unit for over 2 years. Eliazar himself was wounded several times and recovered.

In 1945 he was reunited with his family back in Riga, now under the Russian regime. He soon found work in sports equipment warehouse.

During the years that followed, his children encountered the anti-Semitism rampant in Russian life – especially limits on educational opportunities. But they held onto their identity as Jews. The Rabinovitch’s home was a place where Shabbos and special days in the Jewish calendar were marked and celebrated.

In 1980, Haya Sarah passed from this world.

In 1991 the family emigrated to the U.S. with one son, Reuven, settling in Israel. At the age of 97, with his son as translator, Eliazar passed the required citizenship test after studying diligently, and he proudly became a U.S. citizen.

At Kol Emeth, we remember fondly how in December 1998, on the 86th anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah, Eliazar ascended the bima accompanied by Zelik Kovnator to say the blessings over the Torah and to chant his haftorah by memory because his eyesight failed him.

We also remember the joyous celebration of his 100th birthday at the Jewish Community Center

This week, having reached 103 and a half, he slipped away peacefully at the home of his daughter and son-in-law with whom he had always lived.

What was the key to his remarkable longevity? According to his family, he learned to be calm and rational at all times – even in the face of great difficulty and danger. He thought deeply before acting. He was accepting of the circumstances he faced.

In his own words recorded in an article for the San Jose Mercury News after his 101st birthday, he said “I have never hurt anybody. There is no place in my heart for anger or envy. I’ve been surrounded by people who loved me and respected me. I’ve eaten whatever I liked. It’s what’s in your heart and in your head that matters, not your stomach.”

May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.

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Life in pictures. Leizer's 100th birthday anniversary

Interview with San Jose Mercury News

Interview with Veteran newspaper (in Russian)