Belzer Chassidus – History, Rescue and Rebirth

With typical modesty, the saintly tzaddik Grand Rabbi Aharon of Belz said, “Every survivor must have been accompanied by malachim (angels) on every side.” If every survivor was saved by angels, the Rebbe was surely escorted by entire companies of angels.

Even in an era of holy people, he was revered as someone not of this mundane world. His survival involved miracle after miracle, sacrifice after sacrifice, heroism after heroism. It is no exaggeration to say that the impoverished Jewish world needed him, so Heaven intervened whenever necessary to pluck him from the inferno and bring him to Eretz Yisrael, where he could inspire his followers to lay the foundations for the rebirth of Torah and chassidus.

This book is a traiblazing effort. Yosef Israel is a British journalist who has exhaustively researched every aspect of the Rebbe’s escape under the very noses of the Nazis, to whom the Wunderrabbiner of Belz was a prime public enemy. Much has been written about his rescue, but nowhere have all the pieces been gathered together as carefully and accurately as in this book.

The story is an adventure. It is an exercise in supreme faith. It is a lesson in the dedication of ordinary Jews to spiritual survival in a jungle of hatred, oppression, torture, and murder. It is an uplifting tale of faith and Divine Providence.

The Belzer Rav lived not for himself, but for his Maker and his people. Whether in hiding in Bochnia, disguised as an officer on a desperate flight from Poland to Hungary, on the journey to the Holy Land, or in infusing a broken, orphaned remnant with the faith and strength to persevere, he was one of the greatest spiritual figures of the century.

This story of his miraculous rescue will elevate everyone who has the privilege of reading it.