Mordechai Rokeach

Mordechai Rokeach (1902 – 17 November 1949), also known as Mordechai of Bilgoray, was a scion of the Belzer Hasidic dynasty and the right-hand man to his half-brother, Rebbe Aharon of Belz, the fourth Belzer Rebbe. He was the son (by the second marriage) of the third Belzer Rebbe, Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach. His only son, Yissachar Dov Rokeach, is the fifth and current Belzer Rebbe.

From 1927 until the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Mordechai served as Rav of the town of Biłgoraj, becoming known as the Bilgorayer Rav. During World War II, he famously accompanied his brother, Rebbe Aharon, on a daring escape out of Nazi-occupied Europe. The two reached Israel in February 1944, the only surviving members of their families, and threw themselves into rebuilding the ranks of Belzer Hasidut which had been decimated by the Holocaust.

Biography Rabbi Mordechai was one of seven children born to Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the third Belzer Rebbe, in his second marriage to Chaya Devorah, daughter of Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Pecsenik of Berezna. From his first wife, the Belzer Rebbe fathered two children, Aharon and Chana Rochel. Aharon was 22 years old at the time of Mordechai's birth.

Rebbe Yissachar Dov closely supervised Mordechai's Torah education, learning with him for three hours nightly. Reb Mottele, as he was popularly called, became known for his diligence in Torah study, his breadth of knowledge and his skills as an orator. He got along well with people, a trait that would serve him later on as a town Rav and as a spokesman for Belz Hasidut in Israel. He was also quite humble.

He married Sheva, the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Aharon Rabinowitz, the Kobriner Rav. His eldest daughter, Alte Bas Zion, died in 1931 at the age of 3; his second daughter, Rivka Miriam, was murdered by the Nazis together with his wife in Kobrin after he had fled with the Rebbe.

As Israeli public opinion warmed to the horrors in Europe, the Belzer Rebbe called on the Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter, to join him in proclaiming a World Fast and Day of Prayer on 23 March 1944 (28 Adar). The event, coming on the heels of the German invasion of Hungary, was attended by thousands. Rabbi Mordechai spoke for a full 90 minutes. He was also heavily involved in helping war survivors obtain government benefits, housing and employment, and arranging weddings on their behalf.

Remarriage

Having lost their entire families in the Holocaust, both Rebbe Aharon and Rabbi Mordechai remarried in Israel. Rabbi Mordechai remarried in 1947 to Miriam, Their only child, Yissachar Dov, was born on 19 January 1948. Rebbe Aharon also remarried in 1947, but his second marriage did not produce children.

Belz historian Rabbi Mordechai served as a link between the Belz community of old and the new community that his brother was establishing in Israel through his recording of every custom and practice that he had seen done in Belz. He was originally commissioned to write down these notes by his father, the third Belzer Rebbe. In the early years in Israel, Rebbe Aharon urged him to continue. At that time, paper was scarce, so Rabbi Mordechai recorded his memories on scraps of paper, envelopes and wedding invitations.

These scraps were discovered in the home of his widow in late 2009, causing his son and current Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov, to change his levush (wardrobe) in the middle of Hanukkah. The Rebbe appeared in the Belzer shul wearing a spodik instead of the usual kolpik, as his father's papers had revealed that Belzer Rebbes wore the kolpik for traveling and the spodik at home, not the other way around (as had been done in the Rebbe's court until then).

Final days In the summer of 1949, Rebbe Aharon sent his brother on a mission to strengthen and encourage survivors and the nascent Belzer communities in Europe. Rabbi Mordechai traveled to Paris, Zurich and Antwerp to convey the Rebbe's personal message. He impressed many with his Torah knowledge and powers of oration. He would often share divrei Torah that he had heard from his father, the previous Belzer Rebbe, and kept a notebook of all the divrei Torah he remembered. After his death, his rebbetzin wanted to keep the notebook for herself. One of his relatives sat in her house for an entire day to copy the whole notebook so that his brother, Rebbe Aharon, could also benefit from his father's divrei Torah.

At the end of the summer, Rabbi Mordechai told his companions that his father had appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to return home immediately. He returned to Israel before Yom Kippur and fell ill during the Sukkot holiday. He underwent major surgery on 17 November and did not survive. He died on 17 November 1949 (25 Cheshvan 5710), and was buried in Tiberias in a funeral attended by thousands.

His only son, Yissachar Dov, was raised by Rebbe Aharon. After Rebbe Aharon's death in 1957, the boy was educated by a small circle of trusted advisors. He became the fifth Belzer Rebbe in 1966. Rebbe Yissachar Dov named his only son, Aharon Mordechai Rokeach, born in 1975, after his uncle and his father.