Aharon Rokeach

Aharon Rokeach (Hebrew: אהרן רוקח; 19 December 1880 – 18 August 1957) was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until he died in 1957. Rokeach inherited the mantle of leadership from his father, Yissachar Dov Rokeach, upon the latter's death in 1926. Known for his piety and mysticism, Rokeach was called the "Wonder Rabbi" by Jews and Gentiles alike for the miracles he purportedly 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 Mandatory Palestine, 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 Mandatory Palestine in February 1944. After Rabbi Mordechai's sudden death in November 1949, Rokeach raised his half-brother's year-old son, Yissachar Dov, and groomed him to succeed him as Belzer Rebbe.