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Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II)
Encyclopedia
Yissachar Dov Rokeach (born 1948) is the fifth and present Rebbe
of the Hasidic
dynasty of Belz
. He is the son of Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgoray
, the grandson of the third Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach
, and the nephew of the fourth Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach
, who raised him. He has led Belz since 1966.
. Both remarried in Israel; Rabbi Mordechai's second wife was Miriam, the daughter of Rabbi Hershel Glick of Satmar. Only Rabbi Mordechai had a child, Yissachar Dov. A year after Yissachar Dov's birth, his father died suddenly. The boy was raised by his uncle, Rebbe Aharon, and was groomed to be the next Rebbe in the dynasty.
When Rebbe Aharon died in 1957, Yissachar Dov was only nine years old. For the next nine years, Belz was effectively without an active rebbe, as Yissachor Dov, then called the "Yanuka" (Child) by his followers, was educated by a small circle of trusted advisors. Yissachar Dov celebrated his bar mitzvah on 25 January 1961 (8 Shevat
5721) in the Tel Aviv beit medrash
of Rebbe Aharon, where he sat by himself at the dais, greeting a few hundred guests.
In 1965, Yissachar Dov married Sarah Hager, daughter of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, the Vizhnitz
er rebbe, and moved to Bnei Brak to be close to his new father-in-law. Two years later, he returned to Jerusalem to assume leadership of the Belz dynasty. Standing at the gravesite of his uncle, the previous Belzer Rav, Yissachar Dov received his first kvitel
from the Yavrover Rav, a descendant of the Belzer and Ropshitzer
Rebbes, as is customary in Belz. He has led the dynasty ever since.
He and his wife have one son, Aharon Mordechai Rokeach
, born in 1975. Aharon Mordechai married the daughter of the Makova Rebbe in August 1993, and has six sons and three daughters.
and Israel
, the post-war years saw the court of Belz's membership undergo a radical change, consisting largely of former members of other communities, or Haredim
who had previously not belonged officially to any Hasidic group.
One of Rabbi Yissachar Dov's most important tasks was to take this diverse collection of followers and mold them into a unified community. He focused on building up Belz institutions, which were largely non-existent at the death of the previous Rebbe. As Belz slowly established an economic base, it began expanding its network of schools in Western Europe
, America
and Israel
, as well as its yeshiva
s and its own Jerusalem enclave, Kiryat Belz. It also created its own newspaper, HaMachaneh HaCharedi, of which former MK
Yisrael Eichler is a former editor.
and Vizhnitz
), as well as the Misnagdic
communities, particularly Degel HaTorah
. He quickly became known as a political moderate and pragmatist, eventually even breaking what had earlier been something of a taboo
: accepting funding and subsidies from the Israeli government.
Prior to the split, Belz had been the only non-Eidah member that accepted and supported the authority of the Badatz, the Edah's rabbinical court, whose authority touched all matters of everyday Haredi life, including kashrut
certification
. Early in the year, Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss
, the head of the Edah HaChareidis, issued a decree forbidding followers from sending their children to schools funded by state money. This represented a serious threat to Belz's moderate approach, which benefited greatly from state assistance.
In response, Rabbi Yissachar Dov decided to cut his community off from the Edah HaCharedis and establish his own system of religious services, including kashrut certification. While Belz maintained that it was only interested in certifying food for its own community, the move was met with rancor by the Edah HaCharedis, particularly the Satmar
Hasidim, who were both outraged at Rabbi Yissachar Dov's defiance and concerned about Belz as potential economic competition.
This led to a large delegitimization campaign against Rabbi Yissachar Dov. Later in the year, when he visited the United States, he was assigned a security detail by the FBI in response to multiple death threat
s. The conflict in Israel, initially confined to insulting posters, gradually escalated to a series of particularly offensive pranks and, ultimately, physically violent clashes between followers. Neither Rabbi Yissachar Dov nor Rabbi Weiss were ever involved in any of these activities, which are largely considered to have been the work of radical activists within both camps. Despite the opposition, Belz persevered, and tempers gradually cooled. While Belz and the Edah HaCharedis remain distant and implicitly hostile towards each other, the feud has, for all intents and purposes, ended.
work) during his annual Simchat Torah
speech. He said,
The Belzer Rebbe's speech is the latest in a growing trend of encouraging haredi men who would be more suited to work than study (or whose families are particularly financially needy) to join the workforce. (See Tal Law
.) Rabbi Yissachar Dov's comments were noteworthy for their point that Orthodox Jews
do not need to abandon their studies entirely in order to earn a living.
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
of the Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
dynasty of Belz
Belz (Hasidic dynasty)
Belz is a Hasidic dynasty named for the town of Belz in Western Ukraine, near the Polish border. The town has existed since at least the 10th century, with the Jewish community being established during the 14th century. The town became home to Hasidic Judaism in the early 19th century...
. He is the son of Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgoray
Mordechai Rokeach
Mordechai Rokeach , 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 of the third Belzer Rebbe, Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach...
, the grandson of the third Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach
Yissachar Dov Rokeach (I)
Yissachar Dov Rokeach , , was the third Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He was the second son of Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach , 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 Belz, Poland...
, and the nephew of the fourth Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach
Aharon Rokeach
Aharon Rokeach was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until his death in 1957....
, who raised him. He has led Belz since 1966.
Early life and marriage
Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgoray and his half-brother (through his father), Rebbe Aharon, escaped Europe in a daring escape attempt and arrived in Palestine in 1944. Both lost their wives and families (Mordechai had a wife and daughter) to the NazisNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. Both remarried in Israel; Rabbi Mordechai's second wife was Miriam, the daughter of Rabbi Hershel Glick of Satmar. Only Rabbi Mordechai had a child, Yissachar Dov. A year after Yissachar Dov's birth, his father died suddenly. The boy was raised by his uncle, Rebbe Aharon, and was groomed to be the next Rebbe in the dynasty.
When Rebbe Aharon died in 1957, Yissachar Dov was only nine years old. For the next nine years, Belz was effectively without an active rebbe, as Yissachor Dov, then called the "Yanuka" (Child) by his followers, was educated by a small circle of trusted advisors. Yissachar Dov celebrated his bar mitzvah on 25 January 1961 (8 Shevat
Shevat
Shevat is the fifth month of the civil year and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 30 days...
5721) in the Tel Aviv beit medrash
Beth midrash
Beth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....
of Rebbe Aharon, where he sat by himself at the dais, greeting a few hundred guests.
In 1965, Yissachar Dov married Sarah Hager, daughter of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, the Vizhnitz
Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Vizhnitz is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Menachem Mendel Hager. Vizhnitz is the Yiddish name of Vyzhnytsia, a village in present-day Ukraine.Followers of the rebbes of Vizhnitz are called Vizhnitzer chasidim....
er rebbe, and moved to Bnei Brak to be close to his new father-in-law. Two years later, he returned to Jerusalem to assume leadership of the Belz dynasty. Standing at the gravesite of his uncle, the previous Belzer Rav, Yissachar Dov received his first kvitel
Kvitel
Kvitel refers to a practice developed by Hasidic Judaism in which a Hasid writes a note with a petitionary prayer and gives it to a Rebbe in order to receive the latter's blessing...
from the Yavrover Rav, a descendant of the Belzer and Ropshitzer
Ropshitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Ropshitz is the name of a Hasidic dynasty, or rabbinical family and group who are descendants of Rabbi Naftali Zvi of Ropshitz . Ropshitz is the name of a town in southern Poland known in Polish as Ropczyce....
Rebbes, as is customary in Belz. He has led the dynasty ever since.
He and his wife have one son, Aharon Mordechai Rokeach
Aharon Mordechai Rokeach
Aharon Mordechai Rokeach is the only child and heir of the current Rebbe of Belz, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach...
, born in 1975. Aharon Mordechai married the daughter of the Makova Rebbe in August 1993, and has six sons and three daughters.
The re-invention of Belz
The majority of Belz Hasidim were killed in the Holocaust. Although some managed to immigrate to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the post-war years saw the court of Belz's membership undergo a radical change, consisting largely of former members of other communities, or Haredim
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
who had previously not belonged officially to any Hasidic group.
One of Rabbi Yissachar Dov's most important tasks was to take this diverse collection of followers and mold them into a unified community. He focused on building up Belz institutions, which were largely non-existent at the death of the previous Rebbe. As Belz slowly established an economic base, it began expanding its network of schools in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, as well as its yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s and its own Jerusalem enclave, Kiryat Belz. It also created its own newspaper, HaMachaneh HaCharedi, of which former MK
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
Yisrael Eichler is a former editor.
An independent Rebbe
Rabbi Yissachar Dov has long had a reputation for being a maverick in the Israeli haredi community. The early years following his appointment as Rebbe saw him carefully forging alliances with other Hasidic courts (such as GerGer (Hasidic dynasty)
Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
and Vizhnitz
Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Vizhnitz is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Menachem Mendel Hager. Vizhnitz is the Yiddish name of Vyzhnytsia, a village in present-day Ukraine.Followers of the rebbes of Vizhnitz are called Vizhnitzer chasidim....
), as well as the Misnagdic
Misnagdim
Misnagdim or Mitnagdim is a Hebrew word meaning "opponents". It is the plural of misnaged or mitnaged. Most prominent among the Misnagdim was Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman , commonly known as the Vilna Gaon or the Gra...
communities, particularly Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.-Ideology:...
. He quickly became known as a political moderate and pragmatist, eventually even breaking what had earlier been something of a taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
: accepting funding and subsidies from the Israeli government.
Feud with the Edah HaChareidis
As Belz began to establish itself as an independent and successful group, it began to attract some negative attention, particularly after Rabbi Yissachar Dov's decision to accept money from the state. One group, the Edah HaChareidis, a coalition of several movements known for its strictness and traditionalism even among haredim, took particular offense at the "renegades'" disregard of what had earlier been a largely unchallenged status quo. This was compounded by Rabbi Yissachar Dov's willingness to participate in Israeli politics by encouraging his followers to vote, and sending emissaries to join haredi political parties. These disagreements turned from mere hostilities into a full-blown feud following Rabbi Yissachar Dov's announcement in 1980 that Belz was going to split from the Edah HaCharedis.Prior to the split, Belz had been the only non-Eidah member that accepted and supported the authority of the Badatz, the Edah's rabbinical court, whose authority touched all matters of everyday Haredi life, including kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
certification
Mashgiach
In Judaism, a Mashgiach is a person who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment.A mashgiah may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, food manufacturers, hotels, caterers, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives...
. Early in the year, Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss
Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss
Dayan Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss , also known as the Minchas Yitzchak, was a prominent Dayan, Halachic authority and Talmudic scholar...
, the head of the Edah HaChareidis, issued a decree forbidding followers from sending their children to schools funded by state money. This represented a serious threat to Belz's moderate approach, which benefited greatly from state assistance.
In response, Rabbi Yissachar Dov decided to cut his community off from the Edah HaCharedis and establish his own system of religious services, including kashrut certification. While Belz maintained that it was only interested in certifying food for its own community, the move was met with rancor by the Edah HaCharedis, particularly the Satmar
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
Hasidim, who were both outraged at Rabbi Yissachar Dov's defiance and concerned about Belz as potential economic competition.
This led to a large delegitimization campaign against Rabbi Yissachar Dov. Later in the year, when he visited the United States, he was assigned a security detail by the FBI in response to multiple death threat
Death threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s. The conflict in Israel, initially confined to insulting posters, gradually escalated to a series of particularly offensive pranks and, ultimately, physically violent clashes between followers. Neither Rabbi Yissachar Dov nor Rabbi Weiss were ever involved in any of these activities, which are largely considered to have been the work of radical activists within both camps. Despite the opposition, Belz persevered, and tempers gradually cooled. While Belz and the Edah HaCharedis remain distant and implicitly hostile towards each other, the feud has, for all intents and purposes, ended.
2005 "work" speech
In 2005 Rabbi Yissachar Dov strongly encouraged his male followers to learn professions (specifically in white-collarWhite-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
work) during his annual Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...
speech. He said,
Long-term students in yeshivas who are talented and have the economic means are fortunate, but students who year after year see that their studies are not going well, whether because of their skills or their economic situation, must learn a profession that earns a living. I'm not talking about getting rich but earning a living, so that one does not fall into debt. ... One can prepare for this in the yeshiva and devote a few hours a week in the evening to studying a profession.
The Belzer Rebbe's speech is the latest in a growing trend of encouraging haredi men who would be more suited to work than study (or whose families are particularly financially needy) to join the workforce. (See Tal Law
Tal Law
The Tal committee was an Israeli public committee appointed on August 22, 1999 by then prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak, which was headed by the retired judge Tzvi Tal and dealt with the special exemption from mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces given to Israeli...
.) Rabbi Yissachar Dov's comments were noteworthy for their point that Orthodox Jews
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
do not need to abandon their studies entirely in order to earn a living.
Quotes
Every Jew must firmly believe that inside him there resides a pure soul. Regardless of what his situation may be, even if he has strayed from the right path, the inner essence of his soul — which is a portion of God — remains pure and unsullied. ... From this tiny center of the soul that has not been tainted by evil, the transgressor derives the strength to do teshuvah (repentance), make amends for all his failings, and soar to the loftiest spiritual heights. (1991)
Everyone knows that the Arabs residing in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) — descendants of IshmaelIshmaelIshmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
— have only one aim: to drive the Jewish people out of Eretz Yisrael and to annihilate them. Now, when the Jewish people conduct themselves in the proper manner, the Arabs most certainly will have no power to harm them. To the contrary, the Arabs themselves will vanish from the scene. But even when Jews do not behave quite as they should, then the Holy One, Blessed be He, compares His nation with the nations of the world. And when viewed together, He finds that the Jewish people are the acme of perfection. ... For the Jewish people, when measured against the nations of the world, are absolutely flawless. In this merit, the Jewish people will defeat their enemies and crush them. (1990)
Rebbes of Belz
- Rabbi Sholom Rokeach (1779–1855)
- Rabbi Yehoshua RokeachYehoshua RokeachYehoshua Rokeach was the second rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He combined Torah scholarship with practical common sense to guide thousands of Hasidim and to fight the Haskalah movement that was making inroads in Jewish communities in Poland during the nineteenth century...
(1825–1894) - Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach (I)Yissachar Dov Rokeach (I)Yissachar Dov Rokeach , , was the third Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He was the second son of Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach , 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 Belz, Poland...
(1854–1926) - Rabbi Aharon RokeachAharon RokeachAharon Rokeach was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until his death in 1957....
(1877–1957) - Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II) (b. 1948)
See also
- Agudat IsraelAgudat IsraelAgudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
- BelzBelzBelz , a small city in the Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, is located between the Solokiya river and the Rzeczyca stream....
(town in Poland/Ukraine) - Belz Great SynagogueBelz Great SynagogueThe Belz Great Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Israel. It was built by the Belz Hasidic community with financial help from its supporters and admirers around the world.-Planning:...
(the largest synagogue in Jerusalem)
Sources
- Samuel C. Heilman (1999). Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry. University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-22112-5
- Ehud Sprinzak (1999). Brother Against Brother: Violence and Extremism in Israeli Politics from Altalena to the Rabin Assassination. Free Press, ISBN 0-684-85344-2