Hundreds of thousands of Belz Chasidim were in Jerusalem this week to celebrate the brit milah of the first grandson of the Belzer rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeah.
The ceremony Monday was packed with Jews eager to share in the joyous moment. Some 3,000 Belz Chasidim flew in from abroad, mostly from the United States, news reports said.
The Belz Chasidim, who flourished in Galicia, were nearly annihilated during World War II.
Among the Chasidic luminaries present were the two heads of Agudat Yisrael’s council of sages, the Gerer rebbe, Rabbi Pinhas Menahem Alter, and the Vishnitzer rebbe, Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager. one of the child’s great- grandfathers, who served as the sandek.
The boy’s father, Aharon Mordechai, performed the brit milah himself, while his mother, Sara Lea, was reported to have waited out the ceremony in her apartment.
Belz spokesman Yisrael Eichler described the ceremony as a long-awaited moment.
“The Nazis tried to wipe us out, but this shows that we live on and thrive,” he said.
The baby was named after the founder of the Belz dynasty, Shalom Rokeah.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
