Rav Aharon Rokeach zt"l
הרב אהרן בן יששכר דוב רוקח זצ"ל
Av 21 , 5717
Known As: Belzer Rebbe
Father's Name: Yissocher Dov Rokeach
Rav Aharon Rokeach zt"l
Rav Aharon ben Rav Yissochor Dov Roke’ach, fourth generation Belzer Rebbe, from the greatest Tzaddikim of his time. His tzidkus and miracles are legendary. Many of the great Tzaddikim in Eretz Yisrael, from all segments, were very close to him. He lost his whole family to the Nazis y”s, (5717/1957). He escaped the Nazis and made aliyah in 1944, establishing his court in Tel Aviv. The current Belzer Rebbe is his nephew.
Stories of Rav Aharon Rokeach zt"l
Rav Dovid Shpitz a”h, a Belzer chassid, once related a story how as a bochur, he longed to go to the tzion of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizensk. But in Belz, the bochurim weren’t encouraged to make special trips to kivrei tzadikim, so he planned a stop in Lizensk on his way from his home in Vienna to Belz for Rosh Hashanah. He arrived in Lizensk on Erev Shabbos, and from there he traveled straight to Belz, arriving close to the beginning of Shabbos. He raced off to the beis medrash without saying a word to anyone.
Later, the gabbai, Reb Nachman Hersh, approached him and asked “Shalom aleichem, bochur, did you just come from Lizensk?”
Caught red handed the surprised Dovid asked how he knew? It turned out that earlier when he’d greeted the Belzer Rav, Rav Aharon, the Rebbe had commented, “This bochur shmekt fin Lizhensk - he smells of Lizensk!…”