Rav Gershenfeld
This hesped was written soon after the passing of HaRav Schwab and we published it at the time. We thought it worthwhile to republish it now.
The King of Israel and a talmid chochom are both drowning. Only one can be saved— whose life takes precedence? The Talmud states that we must save the talmid chochom because "we have no other talmid chochom like this one." Although there are other great talmidei chachomim, each individual talmid chochom is irreplaceable because his particular mesorah, personality and wisdom enable him to express unique aspects of Hashem's Torah (Horayos 13a, Netziv).
One month ago a talmid chochom was taken from our midst. HaRav Shimon Schwab synthesized many diverse strands of Torah. He was educated in the spirit of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, a talmid of Mir and Telshe in Europe, rav of K'hal Adas Yeshurun, a noted darshan and a leader of American Orthodoxy. It is not my purpose to explore each of these strands or to write a comprehensive biography, but rather to focus on HaRav Schwab's unique personal greatness. To be "maspid" means to accentuate the loss, the emptiness, "we have no other talmid chochom like this one."
Haderech Hayashar
Rav Schwab's actions and words constantly expressed ehrlichkite — yashrus. To appreciate him, we must understand the complexity and breadth of this often invoked, but rarely analyzed term. Reb Yehuda HaNasi stated : "What is the derech hayashar that a man should choose for himself? All that beautifies the doer [in the eyes of Hashem] and beautifies him to his fellow-man (Pirkei Avos 2:1)." Yashrus requires that one respect two countervailing obligations: faithfulness to Hashem and faithfulness to one's fellow-man. Rav Schwab's greatness lay in his ability to balance these two and to give each their proper due.
Rav Schwab credited his mashgiach, HaRav Yeruchom of the Mir Yeshiva in Europe, with broadening his vision of yashrus. In this context he related the following episode:
"I had borrowed money from the Mashgiach to purchase tickets to go home for Pesach. When I returned and repaid my debt, I thanked him for the loan. `How dare you thank me for a loan?' he chastised me. `Aren't you aware that it is ribbis devorim? Apparently, in your scheme of things, courtesy overrules halacha!'
"The following year, I again borrowed my fare, and when I returned it afterwards, I did so in silence. `Where's your gratitude?' the Mashgiach demanded. `Rebbi!' I protested. `Last year you took me to task for thanking you and this year you scold me for not thanking you. What am I supposed to do?'
"`Of course you shouldn't say anything, but your feelings of gratitude should so overwhelm you that you should have difficulty suppressing the words. I see no such struggle!'" (Selected Writings, p. 286-287).
Yashrus — Tiferes Lo Min Haadam
I met Rav Schwab for the first time on the day of my marriage to his granddaughter. Needless to say, the thought of meeting such an august figure caused me some trepidation. Initially even his warm smile and sparkling eyes failed to calm me. But his first words set me at ease. He explained that he had been a rav for forty years, been mesader kiddushin at hundreds of weddings, and that he always tried to calm the groom. Today, however, he was marrying off his first grandchild and he was nervous. Would I do him a chesed and help him relax by listening to him recount his life story?
He told me his personal history with warmth, verve and humor. Rav Schwab expressed his philosophy of life and the ideals he expected the family to attain. His mussar entered my life on the wings of love. He closed the conversation by telling me that some wisdom does exist among the goyim. He noted that in English they speak of fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law, but by grandfathers and grandmothers it's considered inappropriate to add the appellation `in-law.'
"We grandparents don't need any `laws,'" he said. "We just love you, you're a grandson." He opened his heart and captured mine. I keenly sensed his yashrus; he was a rav and a grandfather simultaneously.
Rav Schwab's animated behavior during our first meeting revealed another aspect of his yashrus. In conversing with Rav Schwab, broad vistas of Torah came to life: commentaries on Chumash, insights into gedolim and poetic reflections on nature. Some tzadikim, aware of the evils of speaking loshon hora, exhibit a tightness of speech. Rav Schwab, however, strove for the balance that yashrus requires by carefully avoiding loshon hora while simultaneously engaging in lively conversation, thus encouraging and strengthening those around him. He had observed this remarkable balance in the Chofetz Chaim and sought to emulate it (Selected Speeches, p. 84-85).
A yoshor recognizes obligations to beautify Torah and to create a kiddush Hashem where most do not. Rav Schwab believed that tiferes lo min ha'adam obligated him to speak a fluent, elegant English with which he could reach the hearts and minds of the American community. He labored to develop grammatical skills, a broad vocabulary and perfect diction . He enjoyed recounting the difficult hours he spent by the radio, mimicking Roosevelt's and Churchill's speeches. His successful efforts enabled him to bring Torah from Sinai via the great yeshivas of Telshe and Mir to an American audience unfamiliar with the depths of Torah and unable to understand Yiddish. His verbal skills allowed him to inspire twenty thousand Daf Yomi participants at the siyum haShas and to relate to sophisticated baalei teshuva fresh from university.
His eloquent speech was not an isolated instance of his sensitivity to beautify G-d in the eyes of man. This striving for yashrus permeated his entire being, expressing itself in his warm smile, dignity of dress, punctuality and general interest in scientific knowledge.
Yashrus In Business
Rav Schwab emphasized that yashrus in business is a fundamental Torah value. He would remind us that the Talmud (Shabbos 30a) states that Hashem's first question after 120 years will be: "'Did you conduct your business with `emunah?' Were you yoshor? Emunah," he would continue, "has two aspects. Man must be faithful and honest in business to his fellow-man; at the same time, he must be full of faith in G-d as his Sustainer and Deliverer" (Ma'ayan Beis Hashoeva, Shemos 31:2). He advised us to conduct our affairs in preparation for this first question.
America's worship of wealth can pervert that simple straightness. Rav Schwab maintained a sharp eye for such perversions and battled against them. As a young rabbi, he was once asked to officiate at the funeral of a wealthy man. The deceased's relatives told Rav Schwab that the man was a shomer Torah umitzvos and an ish tam veyoshor. But he was cautioned not to overemphasize the last word, "yoshor," because he was a businessman (Selected Speeches, p. 63). Rav Schwab responded that by definition, a line that is not yoshor is crooked.
His life's work was to bring Torah into the marketplace. He said his dream was "to see the day when there will be a new edition of Webster's Dictionary that will read: `to Jew: to be scrupulously honest, to be decent.' That would be a kiddush Hashem" (Selected Speeches, p. 233).
He would often quote Rav Breuer's classic epigram: "What we need is a generation that is not only glatt kosher, but one that is glatt yoshor" (Selected Writings, p. 322).
In this spirit he cautioned people to be as careful with a stringent opinion in Choshen Mishpat (e.g., 248:2) as with a stringent opinion in Orach Chaim (Selected Speeches, p. 69). Similarly, he advised that one's sefer Shemiras Haloshon be as well used as one's Mishnah Berurah (Selected Writings, p. 273).
Tiferes — Beautiful Perfection
When Rav Yehuda HaNasi defines yashrus (Avos 2:1) he informs us that to be straight one must strive for perfection — "tiferes to the doer and tiferes to his fellow man." Rav Schwab strove for tiferes in all his endeavors. Anything "batlanish," in learning or even in dress, was disdained.
His appreciation for perfection penetrated his entire being because he had seen its importance powerfully demonstrated in his own life. He would recount that his attempts to build yeshivas in Germany had aroused the ire of Nazi youth groups. Unable to build Torah and express his opinions, he decided to leave. It was during the Depression and emigration was almost impossible. His only hope was finding a rabbinical position in America. Only one congregation in Baltimore expressed interest.
One day he received a telegram from them. The telegram informed him that he had been "unanimously elected rabbi of the Shearis Israel Synagogue." His English was weak and he was unfamiliar with the word "unanimously." He knew, however, that "un" meant "not" so the meaning of the telegram appeared painfully clear. His last avenue of escape seemed to be closed.
Later, he remembered how his rebbeim had always demanded perfection and exactitude from him when learning Torah. If you don't understand one word in Rashi you may not understand the whole Rashi. He went to his dictionary to look up the word "unanimously." Only then did he realize that Hashem had prepared a means of escape. He became a rav in Baltimore and was spared the ravages of the Holocaust.
Yashrus — To Love Reproof
In Tomid (28a) Reb Yehuda HaNasi presents a different definition of yashrus than his classic formulation in Pirkei Avos. He states: "What is the derech yeshora that a man should choose? He should love [to give] reproof because when reproof is in the world, nachas ruach is in the world."
The Maharal (Nesiv Tochacha 1) explains that love of reproof expresses a deeper dimension of yashrus than that expressed in Pirkei Avos. Avos requires one to work on himself; the gemora requires that one's connection to yashrus be so vital that he creates yashrus in society at large.
Rav Schwab constantly struggled to reform his environment. He arrived in Baltimore a young, poor foreigner, unable to speak English, but nonetheless he fearlessly fought to instill Torah ideals in his congregation. He ensured that the right to vote on shul matters be limited to the shomer Shabbos members of his congregation, even though this precipitated a loss of many members and put a great financial strain upon the new rav and his congregation. He worked vigorously for the fledgling Aguda organization in America and helped organize its second national convention in Baltimore.
He valued his ability to avoid flattery and to always speak the truth. Intricate pilpulim were not his style. Whether the topic was exorbitant weddings, misuse of government funds, the evils of television or shirking our responsibility to mekarev rechokim, the mussar was stated explicitly. The message was clear: evil is evil and it must be confronted.
He maintained an active correspondence with leading roshei yeshivos and mashgichim in Eretz Yisroel, prodding, rebuking and suggesting areas of growth and improvement in the Yeshiva world. These letters had great impact and helped shape the Torah world in which we live.
The Talmud's definition of yashrus — "loving reproof" — requires more than courage; one must also "love" the person he is reproving (Mishlei 24:25, Metzudas David, Emes LeYaakov). Rav Schwab loved people, and his reproof flowed from this pure source. He constantly quoted the Yerushalmi: "Whenever you feel like hating, remember you are supposed to love, and lovers do not hate" (Selected Speeches, p. 72).
"We must treat our opponents," he said, "with compassion as we would treat someone who has lost his sense of direction. Always rather be sad than mad" (Selected Speeches, p. 77). To reprove Klal Yisroel out of sensitivity to kiddush Hashem requires special greatness. To love Jews with all their faults also requires special skill and training. Rav Schwab's greatness was his yashrus — he fulfilled his obligations to Hashem and to man with strength and refinement.
I experienced this love and concern for yashrus in relation to my own writing. He requested to see every essay I wrote. He critiqued everything — content, organization, style, proper transliteration — but at the end he always exuded exhilaration: "Ah, now, that's good!" Though he was a busy man, he was concerned that Torah should be expressed with yashrus.
At Rav Schwab's eulogy in Jerusalem, I discovered that this was not a sensitivity he developed in his later years. Rav Aharon Feldman recounted that Rav Schwab exhibited similar concern and care forty years earlier. Rav Schwab heard that Rav Feldman, then an eighteen year old yeshiva bochur, was preparing to send a letter defending Orthodoxy to the editor of the local newspaper. Rav Schwab called Rav Feldman and spent an hour with him lovingly correcting and discussing each word. Torah had to be expressed properly.
A final facet of "loving reproof" relates to accepting reproof with love. It is difficult to personally acquire yashrus, and even more difficult to change your community; but it is most difficult to accept external reproof to make yourself truly straight. One of Rav Schwab's major contributions to American Jewry was introducing them to the greatness of the Torah leaders of prewar Europe. His exacting application of their directives to him, and his often expressed gratitude for their sage advice, inspired many to emulate his ways of seeking and accepting da'as Torah.
He praised the Ponovezher Rav for telling him to leave Germany and learn in the great Lithuanian yeshivas. He credited the Gerrer Rebbe with saving his life. The Rebbe admonished Rav Schwab, then a young rav in Germany, to delete certain sections from his first sefer as being inappropriate for the broad community and to be more careful to respect the "Frankfurter Tzaddik" (Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch). Rav Schwab said that those directives enabled him to mesh his Lithuanian training with his Hirschian upbringing. This advice ultimately saved his life because Congregation Shearis Israel in Baltimore (who brought him out from Germany) had been searching for a Hirschian Rav to lead their community.
The Chofetz Chaim's famous reproof that Rav Schwab should respond with alacrity the next time someone calls: "Mi la'Hashem eilai" inspired him to action even in the most difficult times. It took great strength to heed the advice and reproof of these gedolim. His acceptance and love of tochachoh testify to his abiding desire to achieve yashrus. He taught Americans emunas chachomim.
Machzik Be'emunah Yeseira
The gemara in Tomid continues with a final opinion expressing a more essential perspective on yashrus: we must "machzik be'emunah yeseira — strengthen ourselves with overflowing faithfulness." To be straight requires not only personal balance (Avos 2:1) and the strength to overcome crookedness in society at large (the first opinion in Tomid 28a), but also obligates us to be firmly rooted in the starting point of the straight path — emunah in Hashem.
For a line to be straight every segment of the line must relate back to its source. In contrast, crookedness exists when a new segment is added that is not a direct extension of the earlier segments. True yashrus requires emunah yeseira; without a strong anchor in the reishis the stormy seas of this world will gain control and toss us to and fro; we will drift without direction or purpose.
Rav Schwab's first Hebrew work, Beis Hashoeva, was written to strengthen emunah in Torah's prophecies and the coming of moshiach during the difficult Nazi oppressions (Ma'ayan Beis Hashoeva, Shemos 12:42). Clear, unequivocal emunah in the light of such catastrophes was surely emunah yeseira.
He felt that his emphasis on pure and complete emunah was an application of Chabakuk's advice: tzaddik be'emunoso yichye (Makkos 24a). As the generations become smaller, greater focus is needed on the underlying principle that sustains the whole Torah — emunah. He advised that when raising children, although learning mishnayos is important, learning Mesillas Yeshorim is more important. He disdained new chumros since he felt that Klal Yisroel had to direct its efforts to the fundamental issues of emunah and bitochon.
In truth, to many his own emunah seemed yeseira. He criticized Orthodox Rabbis who joined coalitions with Reform Rabbis, who gave honors to non religious Zionist leaders or who curried favor with politicians. Others would find halachic leniencies or extenuating circumstances, but Rav Schwab believed emunah issues were too vital to allow for deviations. Emunah yeseira is the only protection for Torah in this troubled world.
He often noted that a major principle of Hirschian thought was the Austritt principle: no association is permitted with apikorsus (Selected Speeches, p. 219). His firmness in this respect was unwavering.
To Proclaim That Hashem Is Yoshor
When Rav Schwab met his first great-grandchild, he was filled with gratitude to Hashem for the zchus to see a fourth generation. He then said, "Why does Hashem grant man the gift of healthy, vigorous old age? Dovid Hamelech teaches that: `They will still be fruitful in old age, vigorous and fresh will they be to proclaim that Hashem is yoshor. He is my rock in Whom there is no crookedness (Tehillim 92).' Old age is a gift that enables man to appreciate the broader strokes of G-d's yashrus that are often lost in our narrow youthful visions of time. The wicked may bloom for a short period like grass, but in time we see G-d's justice and they are destroyed."
Rav Schwab spent his last years immersed in this obligation of seeing Hashem's yashrus. He enjoyed sharing his new insights and discoveries. For example, when the Communist government of the Soviet Union fell, he rejoiced in witnessing G-d's yashrus — atheism could not live more than the limited life of a man, seventy years.
Another time he remarked that after many years of pondering why the Mir Yeshiva had escaped the destruction of the Holocaust, he felt he had discovered the answer. HaRav Leizer Yudel Finkel, the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, brought Rav Yeruchom into the Mir. He gave Rav Yeruchom his full support and soon Rav Yeruchom became the dominant personality in the yeshiva. Rav Leizer Yudel had diminished his personal honor and power for Hashem's glory and the good of his students. Such lishma could not be destroyed! Hashem performed miracles to preserve the Yeshiva intact and to allow it to flourish. Rav Schwab's insight tells us much about his vision of yashrus.
Why must man pursue yashrus? Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Mesillas Yeshorim, Introduction) establishes that man's obligation to strive for yashrus is rooted in Hashem's essence. Yashrus is Hashem's most essential attribute. Thus the mitzvah of walking in Hashem's ways (Devorim 10:12) requires man to strive for yashrus.
Rav Schwab's dedication to perceiving Hashem's yashrus led him to achieve personal yashrus. Yashrus extends from the most lofty spheres of Hashem's attributes to the most prosaic obligations of honesty in business. It is the characteristic that unites all reality. When Hashem named us Yisroel (yoshor keil) — straight to G-d — He informed us of both our task and our reward. Be ehrlich, be yoshor, for that is the path that leads to Hashem.
A Life To Uplift And Inspire
One night Rav Schwab said to me that he thought that modern gedolim essays should be refocused. Rav Schwab said that he always began such biographies with great excitement, but invariably felt a certain uneasiness settle in when he read on about, "Such and so godol who knew all of Tanach by five and was thoroughly versed in Shas by ten."
"Baruch Hashem," he continued, "I realize that I am an old man and can see that I have accomplished quite a few good deeds in my life. But what about the younger person who feels so inferior to the godol that he despairs of ever providing true nachas ruach to HaKodosh Boruch Hu? Perhaps we should write biographies of great men (he named a few) who became leaders of Klal Yisroel even though they were am ha'aratzim at their bar mitzvah."
In Rav Schwab's last major address, he provided us with a direction for future growth by defining a good Jew: "He is an honest to goodness ehrlicher Yid who is painstaking in his devotion bein odom laMokom uvein odom lechavero." If we face our daily challenges with Rav Schwab's vision of ehrlichkite and yashrus, we can mekadesh sheim Shomayim and bring nachas ruach to HaKodosh Boruch Hu.
When I think of Rav Schwab's life of yashrus, it inspires my soul and elicits the ultimate praise — "that was an ehrlicher yid."
Rav Gershenfeld is rosh yeshiva of Machon Yaakov in Yerushalayim, and a grandson of HaRav Schwab, zt'l.
