Postscript – On February 1, 2024, Pearl passed away after 114 years 123 days of life since the day of her birth on the first day of Sukkot, the 15th day of Tishre, 5670 corresponding to Thursday, October 1, 1909. At the time of her death, Pearl was the 9th oldest living human being in the world, the 3rd oldest American, the oldest living Jew in the world, and the longest living Jew in recorded history. Zichrona livracha.

I celebrated with Pearl Berg’s family and friends today, October 1, 2023, Pearl’s 114th birthday. Pearl is now the 9th oldest living human being in the world – the 3rd oldest living American – the oldest living Californian – and the oldest living Jew in the world. The oldest living person is Maria Banyas of Spain at 116 years 201 days.

I have written about Pearl several times over the years. She is a long-time member of my congregation, Temple Israel of Hollywood in Los Angeles. She was born on October 1, 1909 in Indiana.

I first met Pearl 35 years ago when she was a spry 79 years-old. Pearl is still sharp, though clearly slowing down. Her sons Dr. Robert Berg of Washington, D.C. (age 86) and his older brother Dr. Allan Berg of Philadelphia (age 88), come to visit their mother regularly in her home in Los Feliz, an old Los Angeles neighborhood just east of the famed Hollywood sign and down the hill from the famed Hollywood Observatory.

Pearl is a marvel not only because of her extreme old age, but because she remains a positive and kind woman who welcomes graciously all visitors. In seeing her today, her eyes were closed but when I asked if she could hear me, she nodded affirmatively.

My connection with Pearl and her family precedes my birth. Pearl’s husband Mark (z’l) employed my mother in the early 1940s as an office worker in his Los Angeles scrap metal business when my mother was 25 years-old (born in 1917). When Mark died 35 years ago and I prepared my eulogy for him, my mother told me that Mark was the kindest of bosses. When she departed from his business to volunteer at an army base in San Luis Obispo, California during World War II, Mark gave her a going-away office party. She never forgot it. My mother died in 2015 at age of 98, and I thought she was old, but she was a youngster compared with Pearl. Actually, we’re all youngsters, regardless of our age when compared with Pearl.

Pearl’s parents were itinerant photographers, traveling in the winter months throughout the Midwest and South, going by train from city to city as they sought opportunities for work. In the summer months they worked in the North. From Indiana, they moved to Canton, Ohio after their second daughter Selma was born in 1913. Her family moved then to Pittsburgh where they joined the large Reform synagogue, Rodef Shalom, where Pearl was confirmed in 1926. An excellent student but with few professional opportunities for young women available except teaching, nursing, or secretarial work, Pearl enrolled at a secretarial school in Pittsburgh and easily got a job upon graduation.

When Pearl’s father’s used car business failed during the Great Depression, her family moved to Los Angeles. After a week in LA, Pearl met the love of her life, Mark, on a blind date. Mark was smitten at first sight, and that evening he told his mother that he met the girl he was going to marry. Pearl and Mark were married on November 15, 1931 in Boyle Heights at the home of the rabbi of the local shul.

Pearl and Mark Berg – the year of their wedding in 1931

Jewish life was always a priority in Pearl’s life. She and Mark joined Temple Israel of Hollywood in 1938 where they raised their sons Alan and Robert, each distinguished in their own right. She was an avid supporter of Hadassah over eight decades and a life-long supporter of the State of Israel.

When I offered a blessing for Pearl at her 110th birthday, I added the traditional “to 120!” She quipped: “Please God ‘NO!’”

Well, Pearl – the Eternal One seems to have other plans for you.

Happy Birthday and with love – to 120!

An edited version of the above is posted at the Times of Israel – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/pearl-berg-at-114-10th-oldest-living-person-in-the-world-and-oldest-living-jew/

For a list of the oldest recorded living humans in the world, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_living_people