Belz Rebbe Hospitalized: Thousands Pray for Recovery

Thousands of Hasidic followers gathered early Sunday morning at the Belz community center in Jerusalem expecting to recite the first Selichos prayers of the season with their leader, but were left waiting for nearly five hours before learning that the Belzer Rebbe had been admitted to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for medical examinations.

The crowd assembled in the main study hall in the pre-dawn hours, anticipating the traditional prayer service led by the Rebbe. As the wait stretched on without explanation, tension mounted among the thousands in attendance. Eventually, after approximately five hours, the community decided to proceed with the prayers in the Rebbe's absence. His son and designated successor, Rabbi Aharon Mordechai Rokeach, led the service in his father's place.

Later in the morning, official word came that the Rebbe had been taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem,

Once news spread of the hospitalization, the thousands who remained in the study hall began reciting chapters of Psalms for the complete recovery of the Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov ben Miriam.

The timing is sensitive for the Belz Hasidic community, coming just weeks before the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Days earlier, the community had announced a historic change in arrangements for the upcoming holiday prayers: the Rebbe will be seated on a specially constructed elevated platform near the ark, rather than in his customary location. The modification is intended to reduce crowding and pushing during the High Holiday services, when tens of thousands of followers are expected to fill the main hall.

Last week, Belz hosted a special Selichos gathering that drew thousands of young participants from the Zohar youth organization. That event, attended by the Belzer Rebbe alongside Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and prominent rabbi David Grossman, was described as historic and generated considerable excitement in Hasidic circles.

Members of the Belz community continue to monitor their leader's medical condition closely. Followers have been called upon to intensify their prayers and Tehilim for the health and wellbeing of the head of their dynasty.