Reb Moshe Schwab 
5678/1918 - 5739/1979
The Man and His Background
The year was 5694 (1934). Moshe Schwab, a boy of 16, boarded the train to Frankfurt to travel to the yeshivah in Kamenitz - a rarity in those days. Moshe was following his older brothers who had preceded him to the great yeshivos of Lithuania and Poland. His father, Leopold (Yehudah) Schwab, and his mother, Hannah, of the well-known Erlanger family, had inspired all their children with a great love for Torah, chessed, and truth.
After several days on the train, Moshe was met by his older brother, Mordechai, who was studying in Kamenitz. It was a horse-drawn wagon ride from the station to Kamenitz, and on the way the driver and the other passengers continually haggled in Yiddish over the fare. Moshe was taken aback by this rough-and-tumble exchange, and was tempted to turn back for genteel Frankfurt.
When they arrived at the yeshivah town, matters changed. At the private home where their meals were served, with a number of boys sitting around the long table, an accident occurred. Tea was being served, and Moshe took a seat and accidentally spilled his glass of boiling Russian tea over the pants of the boy next to him. The victim calmly rubbed his hands on his knee and asked the lady of the house, "Please, would you pour my friend another glass of tea?" Moshe was deeply impressed with this first "Sholom Aleichem" from the yeshivah community. The Kamenitzer Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz, was famous for more than his analytical depth in Talmudic study. He was also widely admired for his humility, and his total submissiveness toward his Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk,1 and these traits left their mark on his talmidim.
Baranovich and Mir
After a year, Moshe left for Baranovich, where he spent two and a half crucial years. The Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, made a lasting impression on the young man. The rapid pace of 60 blatt (folios) during the five-month winter semester did not compromise the stress on a derech halimud (methodology of Talmudic study). Reb Elchonon's approach remained a guiding force for Reb Moshe, as a student, and later as a rebbe.
As the yeshivah had no dormitory facilities, the boys stayed at a stanzye with a local family. Reb Moshe had the good fortune of eating at the home of the yeshivah's Mashgiach (supervisor and counselor), Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov Lubchansky, the son-in-law of the Alter from Novaradok. Reb Moshe became very close to his Mashgiach and was greatly influenced by his simplicity, deep yiras Shomayim, and profound goodness.
Reb Yisroel Yaakov continually moved his lips as he walked about the yeshivah beis midrash supervising the talmidim. Nobody had dared question the Mashgiach about his practice until one Purim, when Moshe did ask him what he was saying. After repeated questioning, the Mashgiach finally muttered "Bava Basra, Bava Basra." He had committed the huge tractate to memory and would review it as he paced the study hall.
Many boys left Baranovich to spend Ellul in Novaradok or Mir, two prominent Mussar yeshivos. Though a Novaradoker, Reb Yisroel Yaakov advised Moshe: "I know my derech is not accepted in the Mir, but you will be better off there." Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz was then Mashgiach in the Mir. The two months Moshe spent there - including the last Elul of Reb Yerucham's life - affected all the sichos (talks) he would later deliver. Indeed, Reb Yerucham's writings served as one of his major sources.
Wartime Decisions
In the meantime, Moshe's parents were forced to leave Germany and move to England. They left it to their youngest son to decide his own future. The moment of decision came on Simchas Torah. This was a day of great spiritual excitement in the Mirrer Yeshivah. Reb Yerucham would honor each talmid with an opportunity to hold the Sefer Torah. When Moshe had his turn, he held onto the Sefer Torah with all his strength and vowed that he would dedicate his entire life to learning Torah. This firm resolve was reinforced when a well-known talmid chacham in Baranovich revealed the contents of a dream he had dreamt on Simchas Torah:
An elderly man instructed him to tell Moshe Schwab, "Mashiv haruchniyus, he raises the spiritual, and morid hagashmiyus, lowers the material" - a play on the phrase from the tefillah added the day before Simchas Torah. The fellow ignored the dream but when it recurred he related it to Moshe upon his return from Mir. Moshe asked details about the elderly person but the man did not know him. He recognized him, however, from a photograph as Reb Moshe's grandfather, Avraham Erlanger of Lucern. Moshe sent a letter to his father describing the dream, and in the reply his father said: V'Aviv Shamar Es HaDavar - "His father watched the matter" (a quote describing Yaakov Avinu's hopes in regard to Yoseif's dream of grandeur).
In 5798-9 (1938) Reb Moshe returned to Kamenitz. As a German citizen, he was soon ordered to leave the country, so he joined his parents in England. He enrolled in "Rabbi Schneider's Yeshivah" in London, which was small at the time, but was receiving new boys daily. Reb Moshe and a friend undertook to raise the level of study at the yeshivah to that of the great Lithuanian yeshivos. They set up chaburos (discussion groups) to debate Gemara topics; and the heft'l (notebook) in which he had recorded Reb Baruch Ber's shiurim was circulated in the yeshivah. Reb Moshe also set up a TAT (student aid fund) for refugee students who were virtually penniless, collecting funds and purchasing clothing for needy students.
Internment and Release
With the outbreak of the war, Reb Moshe - a German national - was interned on the Isle of Man as an enemy alien. With other young Jews there, he set up a "yeshivah" with fixed sedorim (schedule of classes) and strong hasmadah (diligence). He personally delivered lectures based on shiurim of Reb Baruch Ber that he had heard. A Jewish newspaper arrived, reporting the passing of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski, but the boys, never having heard of him, ignored the news. When Reb Moshe later saw the paper, he convened a memorial meeting and delivered a hesped (eulogy) for Reb Chaim Ozer. He also decried the boys' ignorance, explaining the great significance of Reb Chaim Ozer's petirah (passing).
When Reb Moshe was permitted to leave, he returned to his parents in London, but soon afterwards they all left for the quiet of Letchworth. In 1942, Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, who was also in Letchworth, went to Gateshead to open a Kollel Harabonim, for married men. Reb Moshe, though still single, was invited to join.
The Move to Gateshead
During those years, boys released from concentration camps were coming to England. Over twenty fellows from Thereisenstadt were sent to a hostel in Gateshead, Kollel people attempted to help them in their emotional and spiritual rehabilitation, with little success. Then Reb Moshe tried his hand at befriending them, buying them cigarettes, chatting with them, until he gained their confidence. Many were of Chassidic background, and to recapture the warmth of the Friday nights they had been accustomed to, Moshe spent hours at a time singing zemiros and exchanging Torah thoughts with them. As a result, these young men regained the will to start life afresh and return to Yiddishkeit, forming a close attachment to Reb Moshe that lasted throughout his life. Today, the children and grandchildren of these refugee boys are studying in yeshivos and kollelim.
During his five years at the Gateshead Kollel, he became very close to Rabbi Dessler - attracted by the depth of his sichos and his entire way of life. The attachment was mutual, as is evident in a letter Rabbi Dessler wrote to Reb Moshe, asking him to find him a room for the night: "If you don't manage, I will stay with you and rest on your chair - as I would rather sit in a chair and talk with you than have a bed with many pillows." In 1942 he married Rachel Baddiell, the daughter of the late Dovid Baddiell,2 one of the founders of the Kehillah-Congregation of Gateshead. With a small group of like-minded individuals, the Baddiells had established a small community, open only to strictly Orthodox Jews. As a result, Gateshead is today one of the world's few non-Jewish cities whose Jewish inhabitants are strictly Orthodox. Gateshead is host to several outstanding institutions, including the yeshivah, kollel, and teachers' seminary.
While still a Kollel fellow, Reb Moshe was asked to teach Mussar to the talmidim of the Gateshead Yeshivah. At the outset Reb Moshe used a text, such as Mesillas Yeshorim but later he delivered shmuessen (discourses). He continued ad hoc lecturing until 1946, when he joined the yeshivah as full-time Mashgiach. He found it difficult to terminate his career as a Kollel fellow, and before taking this step he consulted three great men: Rabbi Dessler, Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky, and Rabbi Elya Lopian. Each in his own way encouraged him to assume the position.3
The Gateshead Challenge
When Reb Moshe came to the yeshivah in Gateshead, it had but fifty students. The Rosh Yeshivah was Rabbi Nachman David Landynski, and Rabbi Eliezer Kahn was Menahel Ruchani. The concept of staying in a yeshivah for many years was foreign to the boys (many from non-religious homes) and much more so to their parents, who were eager for their children to go to work. It was the task of the Roshei Yeshivah and the Mashgiach, Reb Moshe, to imbue the students with the Lithuanian Yeshivah tradition - the Kollel concept and the obligation to spread Torah among others. Having been brought up in Frankfurt where these concepts were generally unknown, Reb Moshe had first-hand familiarity with the students' problems, and he had a clear idea of his goal, which he had absorbed from his Rebbes.
Despite his youth, Reb Moshe was remarkably successful as a Mashgiach. The talmidim could feel that he was actually living through their problems. He would spend hours in conversation, sitting or strolling with a boy, until the boy was open with him. Invited to his home, the boys would be impressed by Reb Moshe's warm words and easy smile. More than one talmid said that he was closer to Reb Moshe than to his own father for he could confide freely in Reb Moshe. His interest in each bachur went beyond the spiritual to include his health and financial needs. One talmid recalls how, over 35 years ago, when he mentioned to Reb Moshe that he was engaged to be married, Reb Moshe asked him how he was going to manage. Realizing that he was in need of assistance, he offered help without waiting to be asked.
Reb Moshe's interest in his talmidim followed them after their yeshivah years. He knew where every talmid lived and what position he held. If they were in need of jobs or funds to start them off in their businesses, he would arrange loans for them - even for as long as ten years, if necessary. As a result, he was approached for loans as if he himself were wealthy, while he in turn approached his many friends and acquaintances with urgency as if he himself needed the monies. (It was said that people were reluctant to offer him a ride, for they knew it would cost them money.)
More than once he and his Rebbetzin arranged weddings for impoverished or orphaned couples, making sure that nothing was lacking that the conventional chassan and kallah would have; and by virtue of their warmth, they also provided the couple with "parents."
His telephone was constantly busy with calls from parents and young people seeking his advice in marriage-related matters.
A talmid was interested in marrying a certain young lady, but his father was opposed to the match, and the boy did not want to defy his father. Reb Moshe agreed with the boy's choice. Without notifying either of the principals, he traveled to London and on to Geneva where he spent the day with the boy's father; and then returned the same evening... As the journey each way took an entire night, Reb Moshe did not sleep on two consecutive nights. Nevertheless, he was back in yeshivah the next morning, following his normal schedule.
Reb Moshe's selfless dedication to others was already apparent in his youthful years.
When in London after his release from the Isle of Man, he realized that the wife and small baby of a friend still interned had just moved to Letchworth. The young family needed help, so Reb Moshe traveled back and forth several times on the eve of Yom Kippur (an hour's journey each way) to help them, until they were completely settled... occupying him until an hour before Yom Kippur.
Reb Moshe would try to maintain his every friendship and association - especially with those he had been mekarev (brought close to Judaism) by visiting or inviting them for a Chanukah evening or some other special occasion.
He carefully avoided any recognition for helping others. A communal endeavor in which he had been involved was written up in a newspaper. His family was disappointed not to see his name mentioned in the article, but he was delighted. "Wonderful! The less I am mentioned, the better it is!" He repeatedly instructed his family to refrain from discussing their accomplishments - to put them out of mind, so as not to become proud.
Always With a Smile - "Beseiver Panim Yafos"
As Mashgiach, Reb Moshe carried the problems of 300 boys on his shoulders. Yet, he was not a troubled, worried man, and even when sixty, he kept his youthful spirits. His encouraging smile, accompanying his unfailingly warm "Good morning" or "Gutt Shabbos," could convert a morose passerby into a new person.
The smile emanated from the depth of his heart, for one of Reb Moshe's life goals was to cultivate simchah (joy) as an integral part of his character. On Purim, Reb Moshe would urge the boys to sing "Ivdu es Hashem besimchah (Serve G-d with joy)," and entranced, would sing along for a great length of time: "One can't just sing a niggun (melody) for a couple of minutes. A person has to absorb himself in the niggun until he becomes nisorer (inspired) from it."
On the last day of his life (the doctor had told him that he did not have much longer), people streamed in to visit him. As soon as they opened the door, he greeted them with that smile, conveying to his visitors how much he appreciated their company. During his very last hours, when he had lost his sight, he heard a friend walk in and - told who it was - welcomed him with a smile.
He considered himself undeserving and whatever good fortune he did enjoy he considered G-d's unmitigated chessed. At his own chasunah, as at the weddings of all his children, he opened his speech with a quote from Psalms: "How can I repay unto G-d, all that I enjoy from Him!"
His Davening
Reb Moshe stressed that a person must strive to embody Dovid Hemelech's expression: "Va'ani tefillah - to be ah schtick tefillah."
"When davening to Hashem I feel like a big shnorrer - undeserving of his largesse, yet asking for more and more. But the passuk says, "Open your mouth and I will fulfill (your request)! The Torah permits us to ask for as much as we want... A person always has something to daven for. First he needs hatzlachah in his Torah studies ... in earning a livelihood; then in finding a mate, in having children, and success in bringing them up. He must ask G-d to grant them intelligence, success in their studies ... and for grandchildren. One is asking for things an entire lifetime, and that is what G-d wants. View yourself as undeserving, and appreciate G-d's limitless generosity.
"One should not only daven three times a day; even in the middle of the day one should ask Hashem for anything, as the need arises." Reb Moshe lived by this rule. Talking to a bachur and finding it difficult to influence him, Reb Moshe would pause to mumble a few words to himself, in tefillah - entreating G-d for His help... Beginning a sichah (talk) in the yeshivah, and sometimes even in the middle, he would say: "Please Ribbono Shel Olam grant me siyatta dishmaya (Divine assistance)!" - and then continue.
Several photographs of the Kosel and other holy places in Eretz Yisrael were slipped into his siddur, as an inspiration to his tefillos.
He lived with unflagging hope and bitachon (trust in G-d). During the Friday evening meal when his mother was extremely ill, his telephone rang as a signal that her condition was deteriorating. After bentching (Grace), Reb Moshe asked his son to join him in saying Tehillim. When he reached the 28th Psalm ("LeDavid Hashem Ori...) he repeated the final passage " ... Trust in G-d, Strengthen your heart and trust in G-d," time and again, with tears pouring down his cheeks. On Motzaei Shabbos, he learned that her condition had taken a turn for the better... She lived for another 18 months.
Ahavas Yisrael
When in Eretz Yisrael, he would try not to miss a morning at the Kosel. Anyone near him would hear his broken-hearted cries to G-d, to have mercy on Klal Yisrael... When standing at the Kosel, he said, he was ashamed to ask for his own personal needs.
En route on his many travels, he approached every likely candidate, to bring out the Jewish spark buried deep within.
On the street of a town near Gateshead, Reb Moshe spotted someone who looked Jewish. He engaged him in a conversation and they talked about life in earlier times. As they parted company, the stranger turned back in the direction from where he had come. When asked why, he replied, "I was on my way to a treifa shop, but after our conversation, I just can't go there."
Besides saving many families from disintegrating by counseling each party independently, he also conducted discussion groups for chassanim and young married men regarding the basics of shalom bayis (family harmony).
His love for others was genuine, yet disciplined, consistent with a frequent topic of his shmuessen, "Opposing Forces of Man": The Avos had devoted their lives to developing a specific character trait (i.e. Avraham - unlimited kindness), and yet were challenged to act in opposite ways (Avraham's test at the Akeidah - sacrificing his son). We, too, must become masters of our emotions, not prisoners of our natural tendencies or moods. Reb Moshe personified this principle; on the one hand, he expressed warm interest in every student, counseling each according to his specific needs and background. On the other hand, he would not hesitate to speak sharply when necessary:
At a rabbinical conference, a speaker made a statement... contrary to Chazal (a rabbinical statement). Reb Moshe pounded on the table and quoted the Chazal. He later explained that if someone contradicts a Chazal, you must protest; and if the statement was made publicly, then the protest must be a public one.
His Shmuessen
Reb Moshe would open his shmuessen (lectures) in the classical manner of addressing his words to himself, spoken aloud for others to hear. This was indeed the case for he would in fact be concentrating on improving himself along the lines of his projected shmuess, honoring Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin's requirement that no one may say Mussar unless he has reached the degree of perfection he demands from others. Thus, he was forever engaged in self-improvement.
His talks usually developed the theme of "This world is but a prozdor - a corridor for the next world, and man is only here to prepare."
A talmid recently remarked that every bachur was changed by hearing this theme expounded. Whether the fellow "remained in learning," or entered the business or professional world, he knew that either setting was but a prozdor: "Whatever we do has to be judged on a criterion of tachlis ruchni - a spiritual purpose; worldly affairs for their own sake have no value whatsoever."
Bitachon was another dominant theme in his talks and in other sessions. Every Shalosh Seudos (the third Sabbath meal), he sang "Becha batchu avoseinu" ("Our Fathers trusted in You") with special fervor; he said that such niggunim helped him overcome all tribulations, for they expressed unquestioning trust in G-d as the core of life.
Reb Moshe also lived with exemplary emunas chachamim - trust in Torah scholars - even in rabbonim much younger than himself, when he deemed their role crucial in any issue. He said that the rav of the town or a Rosh Yeshivah has siyatta dishmaya (Divine assistance) to determine the correct response for his situation. After consulting the local Rav on a matter, he invariably followed the Rav's decision without further question.
He called his lectures "unpopular speeches" because he knew that they flew in the face of all the interests and ambitions of a normal bachur. "It isn't easy to break a middah (character trait) and to think through how to improve oneself," he would say. "It's much easier to listen to uplifting inspirational sichos. But a person mustn't be afraid to face his shortcomings, and must not relent in his battle until he is able to overcome them. - There is no such thing as Ich ken nisht (I can't)."
Power of Persuasion
After convincing a bachur to reassess his priorities and to devote himself fully to Torah study, he would persuade the parents to allow their son to continue on in yeshivah for a half year more, postponing other plans, until the boy was strong enough in his convictions to gain his parents' full agreement on his own.
Reb Moshe's powers of persuasion grew out of strength of conviction. When yet a student in the yeshivah, one of his more gifted friends told him that he was leaving the yeshivah to go to work. Reb Moshe wished him "hatzlachah," and returned to his studies. In his room that evening, Reb Moshe recalled the ma'amar Chazal (dictum), "Whoever leaves You (G-d) leaves his life," and analyzed it: Here was my friend leaving his life-source, and I had spoken to him with equanimity! He rushed to his friend's room and with great fervor explained this ma'amar to him in all its ramifications... The friend was overwhelmed by Reb Moshe's words... and is now a greatly admired Rosh Yeshivah.
A talmid who today is an outstanding Torah scholar and lecturer recalls coming to the yeshivah hardly capable of studying a blatt Gemara on his own. On a stroll together - Reb Moshe's first move - Reb Moshe spoke to him about kollel... He said he remembered this chat all his years in yeshivah. On that fateful stroll he realized what was expected of him and what his goal should be. Reb Moshe did not talk to everyone that way the first time, but when he recognized unusual abilities in a person, he would even discuss the distant future.
His Daily Workload
How did Reb Moshe spend his day, carrying a vast spiritual and physical burden on his shoulders? First, he started early - he was up for a kvius (scheduled study session) at 5:30A.M., with a member of the Gateshead community, which he maintained for some twenty-five years. (He also had an evening kvius devoted to talmidim in need of special attention - bringing the bachur up to par.) He rarely missed delivering his morning shiur on Gemara; when he did, he would sadly say, "Today I didn't have the zechus (merit) to say the shiur."
His shiur sounded deceptively simple - few commentaries were quoted by name. But, following the methodology of Reb Elchonon Wasserman, their views and interpretations were skillfully woven into his explanation of the text... only later telling an inquisitive student: "This is Reb Chaim Brisker's approach to the Gemara." "That's the way Reb Boruch Ber understood p'shat."
Three times a week, Reb Moshe would deliver a shmuess, each time to a different class. In addition, he conducted a daily vaad - an intimate discussion group - focusing on a particular hashkafah topic.
When was he home? - between two P.M. in the afternoon (after the shiur) and two fifteen (when the vaadim would commence - after which would come private counseling sessions with the boys)... and eight-forty-five or nine o'clock P.M., when he returned home in the evening - but then he would start preparing the next day's shiur at nine-fifteen or so... His vast chessed work would begin at eleven o'clock at night - usually on the telephone - to be resumed at predawn, or before davening... While walking between home and the yeshivah, he would repeat tractates of Mishnah that he had committed to memory.
Would Reb Moshe ever have had an advance indication of the schedule on any particular day, he possibly would not have accepted a burden of such scope. His credo, however, was: "Never refuse to do a mitzvah that comes your way; when the opportunity arises, act on it immediately." He strongly believed that whenever a person acts lashem Shomayim - for the sake of Heaven - especially when he is responsible for the outcome, he is endowed by a siyatta dishmaya to manage it all.
Holding on to this Divine guidance called for vigilance. "The less one talks about what one is doing, the better, because as soon as one feels ga'avah (self-importance), he loses all his zechusim," he frequently said.
On the Road - For Chessed
Reb Moshe would spend several weeks a year traveling to England and the Continent raising funds. "The secret of raising funds," he would say, "is to be mispallel that the donor have the zechus to give. G-d has His ways of giving worthy institutions money, but not everyone with money has the zechus to support Torah."
A former talmid was in a kollel that had stopped accepting candidates because of financial problems. Reb Moshe argued that a person has siyatta dishmaya to achieve whatever he genuinely needs. The kollel policy of containment is ill-founded, he told the fellow.
When soliciting funds for the yeshivah, he saw it as his mission to also reach for the hearts of fellow Jews. Before going to London, for example, he would run through a computer printout of former talmidim, supporters, and other contacts, and prepare a list of people to visit - to discuss communal and personal problems, to see how former talmidim were faring, and how he could help them. He would visit people even for a small donation - drop in on an impoverished widow simply to let her know that she was not forgotten.
Reb Moshe was also careful not to compromise kavod HaTorah (the Torah's honor).
A disinterested party once slammed the door in his face. Reb Moshe went to a nearby telephone booth, called him up and explained that he had violated kavod HaTorah. He was collecting for a yeshivah and even if the fellow did not choose to contribute, he should not slam the door. The gentleman begged Reb Moshe for forgiveness, invited him to come back to the house, and gave him a generous donation.
When leaving for a fund-raising trip, his students would wish him success. He would counter, "You sit and learn diligently, and then I will be matzliach with the zechus of your Torah."
The last words he spoke before departing from this world were to his wife - that the money they had set aside to pay for airfare to Canada to spend Pesach with relatives should be sent to his brother in Bnei Brak as a contribution to the latter's Free Loan Fund.
Reb Moshe Schwab died as he lived: with thoughts of others on his lips... and his lips testifying to the deepest concerns of his heart.
1 It was said that when Reb Baruch Ber was aboard a train traveling through Brisk, he would stand up as kavod for his Rebbe [return to text]
2. When Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman met David Baddiell on a visit to Gateshead, he described him as "der kleiner Chofetz Chaim." Indeed, visiting Rabbonim would ask him for his berachos (personal blessings).
The strength of commitment of the founding Jews of Gateshead even impressed their non-Jewish neighbors, as is illustrated by a well-known story dealing with the bridge that joined Newcastle with Gateshead. Reb Dovid paid the gatekeeper a few coppers every Friday to allow Jews to use the tall bridge on Shabbos. One fellow, smoking a cigarette, expected to cross the bridge without paying, saying that Reb Dovid had paid for him. The gatekeeper said, "Mr. Baddiell only paid for Jews who observe the Sabbath, but you're smoking. He didn't pay for you." [return to text]
3. Rabbi Dessler used logical arguments, Rabbi Abramsky cited a Ramban, and Rabbi Lopian quoted mussar sources. [return to text]