Aharon Rokeach

Who was Aharon Rokeach?

Aharon Rokeach was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until his death in 1957.

Rebbe Aharon inherited the mantle of leadership from his father, Yissachar Dov Rokeach, upon the latter's death in 1926. Known for his piety and mysticism, Rebbe Aharon was called the "Wonder Rabbi" by Jews and gentiles alike for the miracles they claimed he performed.

His reign as Rebbe saw the devastation of the Belz community, along with that of many other Hasidic sects in Galicia and elsewhere in Poland during the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, Rebbe Aharon was high on the list of Gestapo targets as a high-profile Rebbe. With the support and financial assistance of Belzer Hasidim in Israel, England and the United States, he and his half-brother, Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgoray, managed to escape from Poland into Hungary, then into Turkey, Lebanon, and finally into Israel in February 1944. After Rabbi Mordechai's sudden death in November 1949, Rebbe Aharon raised his half-brother's year-old son, Yissachar Dov, and groomed him to succeed him as Belzer Rebbe.