ואהבת לרעך כמוך (קדושים יט:יח)

The Bilgoray Rav zlt’’l devoted himself like a father to war refugees who arrived broken-hearted and alone in Eretz Yisroel after WWII. The Bilgoray Rav helped marry off orphans, provided many with money, and generously assisted by setting them up with parnassah—livelihood.

A Belzer chassid, R Berel, arrived in Eretz Yisroel with his family, penniless. The government gave them temporary housing.  In the interim, they had a baby boy, but the poverty was so great that there wasn’t an extra penny to purchase milk for the newborn.

One day, the Bilgoray Rav met R’ Berel on the streets of Tel Aviv and greeted him with a friendly “Shalom Aleichem,” asking R’ Berel: “You appear worried, how can I help you?” R’ Berel shared his home’s dire situation, having no milk to nourish their newborn.  The Bilgoray Rav took out five English pounds (a large sum at the time) from his pocket and handed it to R’ Berel, telling him to purchase a wagon and start selling vegetables as an income with which to feed his family.

When R’ Berel had another baby boy, in appreciation, he named his son Aharon Mordechai after Maran Reb Aharon of Belz zt’’l and after the Bilgoray Rav zt’’l – Reb Mordechai Rokeach.