Selected Insights from Rav Shimon Schwab zi"a, P. 1

הרב אביעד נייגר
1 ביולי
זמן קריאה 8 דקות

Le'maan Achai Ve're'ai, From all the numerous Gedolei Torah and prominent figures who emerged from Germany in the last century, Rav Shimon Schwab surely stands out as a truly exceptional persona. He succeeded in blending within himself the best of the authentic Hirschian legacy together with the wellsprings of Mussar and the spirit of the Lithuanian Yeshiva world. He filled simultaneously many disparate roles: a talmid chochom, prominent Rov, and Av Beis Din; a ba'al mussar and tzaddik; an educator, lecturer and author; and a public figure in Agudas Yisroel of America who achieved much for the cause of Torah ideals.

Born in Frankfort to the Schwab family, a respectable family who were dedicated to the legacy of Rav Hirsch, Rav Shimon travelled to learn in the Yeshiva of Mir, where he absorbed the derech hamussar of Rav Yerucham Levovitz and other Gedolei Yisroel in the Lithuanian Yeshivos. Two of his brothers also went to Yeshivos in Lithuania – Rav Moshe Schwab, who became Mashgiach in Gateshead, and Rav Mordechai Schwab, the well-known tzaddik and Mashgiach in Monsey.

At the age of 21, he spent a Shabbos in Radin, where he closely observed the Chofetz Chaim, and repeated over the rest of his life many valuable pearls of wisdom which he succeeded in gathering over that one Shabbos. Upon his return to Germany, Rav Shimon took a position as Rav even before he married. His last activity in Germany was a valiant attempt to start a Yeshiva, which was closed the next day by the Nazis. Seeing the rapidly deteriorating situation, Rav Shimon and his family left for America, where he was to be a powerful force on the American scene. Originally he settled in Baltimore, where he served as a Rav for 21 years. In 1958 he took the position of assistant Rabbi of the German-Jewish community Kehal Adas Yeshurun of Washington Heights, and served at the position – originally as assistant Rabbi and later as Rabbi – until his passing.[1]

A linguistic master, Rav Shimon articulated himself beautifully and sometimes poetically, in Lashon Hakodesh, Yiddish, German and English. He wrote valuable literary contributions throughout his lifetime. As a young Rav in Baltimore he was already engaged in writing. Upon the advice of Rav Elchonon Wasserman (see Ma'ayan Beis Hashoeva, Parshas Bo), he published in 5704 Beis Hasho'eva, a collection of Torah from Chazal about the coming of Moshiach, although Rav Elchonon himself was killed by the Nazis before Rav Shimon succeeded in sending him the manuscript. In 5711, he published Shemesh Marpeh, a selection of Rav Hirsch's insights translated from the original German. Fifty years later (5754), as a prominent Rav of Kehal Adas Yeshurun of Washington Heights, he published his sefer Ma'ayan Beis Hasho'eva on the Torah, with warm haskomos from Rav Shach and Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach[2]. Three volumes appeared in English of his essays (Selected Essays and Selected Writings) and public lectures (Selected Speeches). There appeared also – in English and later in lashon hakodesh – a Haggoda shel Pesach.

One unique treasure which Rav Shimon bequeathed is his shiurim in Nevi'im and Kesuvim. Over the course of 37 years, Rav Shimon gave regular shiurim to his kehilla in Washington Heights, covering most of the Nevi'im and Kesuvim, and well as most of the Siddur. After his passing, his son Rabbi Moshe Schwab transcribed from Rav Shimon's shiurim several monumental works which are unchallenged masterpieces – Rav Shwab on Prayer (which was also translated into lashon hakodesh under the name Iyun Tefilla), Rav Shwab on Yeshayahu, Rav Schwab on Sefer Iyov, and Rav Schwab on Ezra and Nechemia. These works are unparalleled in the Torah world for their combination of pirush of the pesukim – solidly based on Chazal and the Meforshim – with deriving insightful and practical limmudim.

Many volumes could be filled in descriptions of Rav Shimon's remarkable life and activities; the levels of self-perfection he reached (which he so carefully hid from his surroundings[3]), his dedication to spreading Torah and Yiras Shomayim, his mastery of so many areas of Torah, and many more points. This essay, however, is limited to a modest collection of insights, in we have attempted to bring together some of Rav Shimon's uniquely clear Torah perspectives.

TORAH AND DERECH ERETZ

As a genuine mevakesh ha'emes, Rav Shimon was already at a young age searching for the Torah perspective even on concepts that were extremely accepted in the community from which he came. Specifically, he invested tremendous amounts of energy in understanding the correct Torah attitude to secular education (in Rav Hirsch's term, Torah and Derech Eretz). In his quest to understand the position of the Yeshiva world, he sent letters to prominent Roshei Yeshivos in Lithuania. It was known of replies he received from Rav Elchonon Wasserman and Rav Boruch Ber, but recently two more letters sent in reply to him were published – one from the famous "Rogetchover Gaon" and one from Rav Avrohom Yitzchok Bloch, Rosh Yeshiva of Telz.[4] These towering Gedolei Yisroel, seeing his genuine desire to reach the emes, sent him lengthy letters despite him being at the time a young man.

Rav Shimon later recounted that his Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Laizer Yudel Finkel, recommended that he not attempt campaigning amongst the German kehillos against "Torah and Derech Eretz", as it would be impossible to change the accepted mindset. He also met the Imrei Emes of Ger, who cautioned him to be careful not to in any way lessen the kavod of Rav Hirsch, who he described as "a tzaddik and a living sefer mussar" (Rav Schwab on Chumash, page 350). Even so, at the beginnings of the Nazi troubles, when many German Jews were pondering their fate, Rav Schwab published a book in German where he argued that Rav Hirsch's approach of "Torah and Derech Eretz" was a horo'as sho'oh and was not meant to be an ideal Torah lifestyle. Rav Shimon revisited the topic numerous times over the years in various essays and speeches, and was never weary of reassessing his positions and addressing the topic from afresh.

According to Rav Mordechai Schwab, brother of Rav Shimon and a towering Torah figure in his own right, Rav Hirsch himself told his talmidim that they would not fully understand his goals in "Torah and Derech Eretz" but the future generations would. He would reference the possuk, "V'dor revi'i yoshuvu heina", the fourth generation will return here. Rav Mordechai interpreted this to mean that Rav Hirsch intended the ideology of "Torah and Derech Eretz" to address the need of that time, but his plan was that ultimately the situation would improve and that by the fourth generation – the generation of Rav Mordechai himself – it would be possible to "return here", to progress to the ideal of "only Torah" (Rav Mordechai Schwab: A Tzaddik in Monsey, page 18-19).

"AUSTRITT"

But while Rav Shimon had reservations about "Torah and Derech Eretz", the other prominent feature of Rav Hirsch's ideology – austritt, the obligation to separate from sharing an organizational infrastructure with non-Torah Jews – he accepted wholeheartedly, and it shaped much of his positions throughout his public activities. He spoke and wrote about the impossibility for a Torah-true Jew to participate in organizations or federations together with Reform or secular Zionist representatives.

Rav Shimon was deeply disturbed by the attempts of the modern Orthodox to claim Rav Hirsch as "one of them". In his words in an essay on Rav Hirsch (The Living Hirschian Legacy, page 73):

"… However, what it happening today makes me weep, literally. Of late, Hirsch has become the property of the left-of-centre "Modern Orthodox" movement, consisting of those who are Mizrachi-oriented. They have changed the image of Hirsch from that of a vigorous fighter for Toras Emes into that of a docile, dove-like apologizer for a watered-down version of convenient Judaism."

Rav Shimon deplored this attempt to remake Rav Hirsch's image, as it entirely distorted the truth. In his words (ibid):

"… This can, in effect, be called a summary of Hirsch's own life's work: a description of his own role as a warrior in defence of HaShem. … One thing remains clear: There can be no comprise with minus. Rather, one must seek a complete separation from those who deny the authenticity of the Torah. Certainly this principle applies today, not so much on the local scene as on the national and international scenes. One must therefore separate himself from such movements as secular Zionism, which promotes the concept that the Jews can be like any other nation. One must secede from any organization that includes such movements."

Rav Shimon returned to topic many times, including in his public addresses at Agudas Yisroel events. He regarded the various American "Jewish organizations" or "Jewish federations" which included the "different streams of Judaism" to be fundamentally heretical:

"There is no Orthodox Judaism. There is only Judaism. Reform and Conservative is non-Judaism, or anti-Judaism. Without the fundamental conviction that the whole Torah is Min Hashomayim, handed down to us from Sinai, there is no Judaism. There is nothing. Nothing but a stark lie and absolute darkness. Without Torah Min Hashomayim, life to a Jew makes no sense and has no value. Therefore, Torah Judaism can never be a branch, Heaven forbid. It is not a sub-division of a neutral "faith". The Reform or Conservative clergyman or clergywoman is not a colleague of the Orthodox rav, as if each one could just put his or her own ecclesiastical flavour into a nondescript soda water. The Torah-true kehilla, synagogue, and school must never be an equal among equals under the same umbrella organization that serves all branches. Any recognition that the Torah allows the existence of branches or that the Torah itself is merely a branch is already heresy. (Selected Writings, page 218)

This refusal to acknowledge any Jewish legitimacy of the non-Torah sects extended also to accepting funds from them. For example, according to Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman (Jewish Observer, Summer 1995, page 18), his Yeshiva in Washington Heights was one of the only institutions which refused to take funds from the "Jewish Federation", even funds which were from the American government and only were passing through the Federation. Rabbi Klugman testifies, "He once told this writer that he was convinced that the yeshivas in Eretz Yisroel would be able to produce many more gedolei Torah if they were not constrained to rely on Israeli government funding for their existence."

Selected Insights from Rav Shimon Schwab zi"a, P. 1 — Selected Insights from Rav **Shimon Schwab** zi"a, P. 1

Footnotes

[1] Interestingly, Rav Shimon twice (1946 and 1957) seriously contemplated taking a position in Sau Paulo, Brazil, and spent several weeks there – see Rav Schwab on Iyov, page 276.

[2] מתוך הסכמתו של הרב אליעזר מנחם שך: "ידיד נפשי היקר, הרב הגאון הגדול המפורסם ... המפורסמות אינם צריכים ראי', וידוע הוא יד"נ בהשפעתו הגדולה אשר מצודתו פרוסה על כל המדינה בתורה ויראה". מתוך הסכמתו של הרב שלמה זלמן אויערבאך: "מכובדי הדגול גדול מאד בתורה ויראה ... שיודע אני גודל יראתו וצדקתו וחכמתו".

Rav Shach's high regard for Rav Shimon can also be seen that he personally requested from Rav Shimon to mediate a dispute that had broken out in a Yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel, which Rav Shimon successfully did.

[3] As was quintessential to the old-style German-Jewish tzaddikim, Rav Shimon took great pains not to show outwardly his sublime level of yiras Shomayim, dveikus and ahavas HaShem. However, despite his efforts, those close to him did catch some glimpses. In a shiur (Rav Schwab on Iyov, p. 62), Rav Shimon mentioned matter-of-factly that he observed that if he was trying to talk to someone and was not immediately understood, inevitably he would discover something wrong with what he was trying to say; and if he was trying to write a letter and some ink smudged he would find that there was some better way of writing. These consistent displays of hashgocha he did not seem to think were unique to him.

Even more became revealed after his passing, when the family opened the many volumes of his personal diaries, which he had kept over 43 years. Although they were never made public, his son Rabbi Myer cites some remarkable passages (Rav Schwab on Chumash, p. 22-24) which give some idea of the tzaddik nistar that Rav Shimon truly was.

[4] תשובתו של רבי ברוך בער נדפס בברכת שמואל (קידושין סי' כ"ז) ותשובתו של רבי אלחנן וואסרמאן בקובץ שיעורים (ח"ב סי' מ"ז). תשובתו של הגאון בעל ה"צפנת פענח" מרוגוטשאב נדפס בשו"ת צפנת פענח החדשות, ח"א, מכתבים, א', ותשובתו של רבי א"י בלוך מטעלז נדפס בכתבי עת. היום ידוע גם ששלח השאלה לרא"י הכהן קוק.