Rav Yehoshua Roke'ach of Belz

Early years

Rav Yehoshua Roke'ach of Belz zy"a, known as Yehoshua'le and as the Mittler Rav, was the youngest of the five sons of Rav Sholom Roke'ach, the Sar Sholom, founder of the Belz dynasty. His eldest brother was Rav Elazar. His father was his main teacher. He married a granddaughter of the Oheiv Yisroel, the Apter Rav, and they had five sons and four daughters.

Taking the leadership

It was unusual in those early generations of Chassidus for a son to succeed his father as Rebbe, since the leader was usually a close talmid. For the last two years of his life, the Sar Sholom spent several hours every day speaking with his youngest son, urging him to take his place.

After the Sar Sholom passed away in 1855, Rav Yehoshua would not step ahead of his four older brothers. For two years Belz had no leader, and many chassidim drifted to other Rebbeim. Then, on Rosh Hashanah 1857, he entered the central shul of Belz for davening and sat down in the Rebbe's chair by the eastern wall, in fulfillment of his father's wishes. He led Belz until his passing.

Torah and leadership

Under his leadership the yoshvim program of Belz grew greatly. Married men spent their days immersed in learning and davening in the central shul, with meals and lodging provided by local businessmen, and some stayed for months at a time without going home.

The Rebbe guided his chassidim with deep Torah knowledge and with common sense. It is told that every Yom Kippur afternoon he walked through the aisles of the shul, studying the faces of the worshippers. People wondered why, until the day he saw a man about to faint from the fast, took a piece of cake from his pocket and fed it to him at once.

He stood firm against the Haskalah (the so-called Enlightenment), which sought to bring modernity and compromise into Torah communities, and he often defended the Torah way of life before the leaders of the Shomer Yisroel organization. One of them once argued that it was wrong to be extreme, whether on the side of Chassidus or on the side of assimilation, and asked what was wrong with the middle path. The Rebbe replied, "Who walks at the side of the road? People. And who goes in the middle? Horses."

In 1878 he helped found Machzikei HaDas, together with a newspaper of the same name, to strengthen Torah Jewry against these pressures. Machzikei HaDas was perhaps the first Orthodox Jewish organization to take part in government politics, and both it and the newspaper still exist in the Belz community.

Teachings and seforim

Some of his discourses were published as Ohel Yehoshua, a supplement to Dover Sholom, the teachings of his father.

Later years and passing

In 1894 the Rebbe travelled to Vienna to see a specialist and undergo an operation. The operation was considered a success, but shortly afterwards, on the journey back to Belz, he passed away on the train at the age of 69. He was succeeded by his second son, Rav Yissochor Dov.