Yehoshua Rokeach

Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach (1825 – February 3, 1894), known as the Mitteler Ruv, was the second rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Belz. He opposed the Haskalah ("Enlightenment") movement that was making inroads in Jewish communities in Poland during the nineteenth century, and founded the Machzikei Hadas organization.

Family Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach was the youngest of five sons of Rabbi Sholom Rokeach (the Sar Shalom), founder of the Belz dynasty. His eldest brother was named Elazar.Padwa, Rabbi Akiva Osher. "Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach, the 'Mittler' Belzer Rav, zt"l, in honor of his 118th yahrtzeit, 23 Shevat". Hamodia Magazine, February 16, 2012, pp. 5-6. His father was his primary teacher.

Yehoshua married a granddaughter of the Apter RovShulem Hanstater, בעלזא - קפיטל ג ד (in Hebrew) p. 5 and had five sons and four daughters.

Leadership The notion of a son succeeding a father as Rebbe was uncommon at that point in the development of the Hasidic movement; usually the Rebbe was succeeded by a close disciple. He was the rebbe from 1857 to 1894.

Rokeach battled the Haskalah movement that sought to introduce modernity and compromise in the Torah community. He often defended the Torah way of life to the leaders of the Haskalah's Shomer Yisrael organization.

To strengthen Torah Jewry against the inroads of Haskalah, the Rebbe helped found the Machzikei Hadas organization in 1878 and the Machazikei Hadas newspaper, both of which still exist in the Belzer community.

Death

In 1894 Rokeach traveled to Vienna for an operationA Surgical Procedure - Mystic Stories - Chabad.org and died on the train returning to Belz, at the age of 69.

He was succeeded as rebbe by his second son, Yissachar Dov Rokeach.

Yehoshua Rokeach

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