Mordechai Rokeach
| Mordechai Rokeach | |
|---|---|
| Bilgorayer Rav | |
 |
|
| Full name | Mordechai Rokeach |
| Born | 1902 Belz, Poland, Russian Empire |
| Died | 17 November 1949 (aged 46–47) Israel |
| Buried | Tiberias, Israel |
| Father | Yissachar Dov Rokeach |
| Mother | Chaya Devorah Pecsenik |
| Wife 1 | Sheva Rabinowitz |
| Children 1 | Alte Bas Zion Rivka Miriam |
| Wife 2 | Miriam Glick |
| Children 2 | Yissachar Dov 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 second marriage) of the third Belzer Rebbe, Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach. His only son, Yissachar Dov Rokeach, is the fifth and current Belzer Rebbe.
From 1927 until the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Mordechai served as Rav of the town of Biłgoraj, becoming known as the Bilgorayer Rav. During World War II, he famously accompanied his brother, Rebbe Aharon, on a daring escape out of Nazi-occupied Europe. The two reached Israel in February 1944, the only surviving members of their families, and threw themselves into rebuilding the ranks of Belzer Hasidut which had been decimated by the Holocaust.
Rabbi Mordechai was one of seven children born to Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the third Belzer Rebbe, in his second marriage to Chaya Devorah, daughter of Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Pecsenik of Berezna. From his first wife, the Belzer Rebbe fathered two children, Aharon and Chana Rochel. Aharon was 22 years old at the time of Mordechai's birth.
Rebbe Yissachar Dov closely supervised Mordechai's Torah education, learning with him for three hours nightly. Reb Mottele, as he was popularly called, became known for his diligence in Torah study, his breadth of knowledge and his skills as an orator. He got along well with people, a trait that would serve him later on as a town Rav and as a spokesman for Belz Hasidut in Israel. He was also quite humble.
He married Sheva, the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Aharon Rabinowitz, the Kobriner Rav. His eldest daughter, Alte Bas Zion, died in 1931 at the age of 3; his second daughter, Rivka Miriam, was murdered by the Nazis together with his wife in Kobrin after he had fled with the Rebbe.
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