Aharon Mordechai Rokeach

Aharon Mordechai Rokeach (b. 12 October 1975 – 7 Cheshvan 5736 on the Hebrew calendar) is the only child and heir of the current Rebbe of Belz, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II). Born in Jerusalem, Israel, he was named after his father's uncle, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, the fourth Belzer Rebbe, and his father's father, Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgorai.

Background

The birth of Aharon Mordechai to his parents, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach and Sarah Hager, daughter of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, was a cause for great celebration in the Belz Hasidut. The fourth Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon, had escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe with his half-brother (on his father's side), Mordechai of Bilgorai, leaving behind thousands of Hasidim who perished at the hands of the Nazis. After their arrival in Israel in 1944, both Rabbi Aharon and Mordechai remarried, but only Mordechai had a child, Yissachar Dov, in 1948. Mordechai died suddenly a year later; his son was raised and groomed to be the next Rebbe by his uncle, Rabbi Aharon, who died in 1957. The birth of a son to Yissachar Dov meant that the dynasty would continue to be passed down within the Rokeach family line.

Bar mitzvah

Unlike his father's bar mitzvah celebration on 25 January 1961 (8 Shevat 5721) in the Tel Aviv beit medrash of Rabbi Aharon, where Yissachar Dov, bereft of both father and uncle, sat alone at the dais greeting a few hundred guests, the bar mitzvah of Aharon Mordechai on 18 October 1988 (7 Cheshvan 5749) saw the boy sitting beside his father (the Belzer Rebbe) and grandfather (the Vizhnitzer Rebbe), greeting thousands of Hasidim and many Rebbes and Torah leaders in the half-finished Belz World Center in Jerusalem.

In August 1993, two months shy of his eighteenth birthday, Aharon Mordechai married the daughter of the Makova Rebbe. He and his wife have seven sons and three daughtersFact|date=March 2008.

Eldest son's bar mitzvah

Belzer Hasidut was witness to another grand celebration when Aharon Mordechai's eldest son, Sholom, named after the first Belzer Rebbe, the Sar Sholom, celebrated his bar mitzvah on 26 February 2008 (20 Adar I 5768). After the morning prayer service in the Belz World Center and refreshments prepared for 15,000 attendees, the men spent several hours engaged in Torah study and lectures, followed by the afternoon prayer service and a three-course seudat mitzvah.

Afterwards, the Belzer Rebbe conducted a "tish" in the presence of thousands of Hasidim and dozens of other Rebbes and Torah leaders. As the Belz World Center was not large enough for the crowd, a giant tent with bleachers was erected in the courtyard of the World Center. Festive meals and other events were held for the women in all five halls of the Jerusalem Convention Center.

References

*Eichler, Rabbi Yisrael. "The Belz Bar Mitzvah: Forging another link in the chain." "Hamodia" newspaper, March 6, 2008, pp. A17-A18.