 He represented the third generation of family leadership in Telz, as his grandfather Rabbi Eliezer Gordon was also "Rosh yeshiva" in Telz.Bloch was educated by both his father and grandfather.Upon the death of Yosef Leib Bloch in 1929, it was widely assumed that his oldest son, Rabbi Zalman Bloch would succeed his father as "Rosh yeshiva" of Telz, as was the custom in many communities.