Yissachar Dov Rokeach (1854 – 29 October 1926)''A World That Was'', ''Hamodia'' Magazine, 12 November 2009, p. 15. was the third

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

of the

Belz Belz (, ; ; ) is a small city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine, located near the border with Poland between the Solokiya River (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administration of Belz urban hromada, one of ...

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

dynasty. He was the second son of Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach (the second Rebbe of Belz), and served as the third Belzer Rebbe from his father's death in 1894 until his own death in 1926.

Personal life

Yissachar Dov was born in the town of

, Galicia. His grandfather, Rabbi Sholom Rokeach, the founder of the Belz dynasty, named him after his own father-in-law, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Ramraz, the ''

av beit din The ''av beit din'' (), abbreviated ( ''avad''), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was consid ...

'' of

Sokal Sokal (, ) is a city located on the Bug River in Sheptytskyi Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sokal urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population is approximately History The first written ...

. Yissachar Dov married Basha Ruchama, the daughter of Rabbi Yeshaya Zushe Twersky of Chernobyl and granddaughter of Rabbi Aaron Twersky of Chernobyl. They had two children:

Aharon Rokeach Aharon Rokeach (; 19 December 1880Israel, Yosef (2005). "Rescuing the Rebbe of Belz". NY:Mesorah Publications, Ltd. . – 18 August 1957) was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until he died in 1957. ...

, who would assume the mantle of leadership of the Belz Hasidim after his father's death, and Chana Rochel, who married Pinchos Twerski of Ustila. After his first wife died, Yissachar Dov remarried Chaya Devora, daughter of Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Pytshnik of Berezna. Together they had six children, including

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 secon ...

, who would later be known as Mordechai of Bilgoray and would accompany his half-brother Aharon as they, alone of all their family, escaped from

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-controlled Eastern Europe and arrived in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in February 1944.

Rabbinical career

Following his father's death in 1894, Yissachar Dov acceded to the positions of Rav of the town of Belz and spiritual leader of the Belzer Hasidim. He also stood at the helm of the Machzikei Hadas movement set up by his father. He was an acknowledged leader of Galician Jewry and was renowned as a miracle worker, attracting thousands who sought his blessing. He created the ''yoshvim'' program in Belz which encouraged married and unmarried men to spend all day learning Torah in local '' shtieblach''. These scholars were supported by local businessmen. Rabbi Yissachar Dov strongly opposed

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, which he saw as a threat to Jewish continuity.

World War I

During World War I, the Russian army invaded and destroyed the town of Belz, which was under Austrian control. Rabbi Yissachar Dov fled to Hungary with many of his Hasidim. After the war, he lived for approximately two years in Oleszyce, in the home of a chassid named Yisrael Vogel. He returned to Belz to re-establish his court on Tuesday, 2 Shevat 5684 (January 8, 1924), at which time the town was under Polish rule. He died on Friday night, 29 October 1926 (22

Cheshvan Marcheshvan (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ; from Akkadian language, Akkadian , literally, 'eighth month'), generally shortened to Cheshvan (, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, S ...

5687), and was buried next to his father in the Belz Jewish cemetery.

Rebbes of Belz

# Rabbi Sholom Rokeach (1779–1855) # Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach (1825–1894) # Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach (1854–October, 1926) # Rabbi

(1880–1957) # Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach (b. January, 1948)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokeach, Yissachar Dov (I) 1854 births 1926 deaths Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Polish Hasidic rabbis Hasidic rabbis in Europe Rebbes of Belz Miracle workers