Shimon Schwab
Encyclopedia
Shimon Schwab (December 30, 1908—February 13, 1995) was an Orthodox
rabbi
and communal leader in Germany
and the United States
. Educated in Frankfurt am Main and in the yeshivot
of Lithuania
, he was rabbi in Ichenhausen
, Bavaria
, after immigration to the United States in Baltimore
, and from 1958 until his death at Khal Adath Jeshurun in Washington Heights, Manhattan
. He was an ideologue of Agudath Israel of America
, specifically defending the Torah im Derech Eretz
approach to Jewish life. He wrote several popular works of Jewish thought.
. His family had been longstanding members of the Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft (IRG), the Orthodox Jewish community that had established its own independence from the Reform Judaism
-dominated general community. The IRG had been led until 1888 by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
and was then under the leadership of Rabbi Solomon Breuer
, Hirsch's son-in-law.
Shimon completed the Realschule, the local school that combined religious studies and general subjects in conformation with the Torah im Derech Eretz
ideology propagated by Rabbi Hirsch. After the Realschule he was a full time student for a number of years in the Torah Lehranstalt, the local yeshiva
founded by Rabbi Breuer.
located in Telšiai
, Lithuania
, where he studied Talmud
intensively for three years, and afterwards spent two years in the Mir yeshiva
. It was not very common for German-Jewish students to study in Eastern-European yeshivot, but two of Shimon's brothers (Moshe and Mordechai) would later follow the same path.
In 1930, he spent a weekend with Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan
(the Chafetz Chaim), then the leader of non-Hassidic
Eastern-European
Ashkenazi Jewry. The visit made a strong impression on him, and he would later often refer to the encounter in public speeches throughout his life.
After receiving semicha
(rabbinic ordination), Rabbi Schwab relocated to Germany, where he married Recha Froehlich of Gelsenkirchen
, and worked for two years as Rabbinatsassessor ("assistant rabbi") in Darmstadt
before accepting the post of community rabbi in Ichenhausen
, Bavaria
.
, Rabbi Schwab was involved in general rabbinic duties, but he also worked hard to establish a traditional yeshiva that would teach Mishnah
and Talmud
. He also published a booklet titled Heimkehr ins Judentum ("Coming Home to Judaism" published in 1934) exhorting his Jewish contemporaries to devote more time to in-depth Torah study
and abandon their fascination with modern culture and social progress.
The yeshiva started off, but immediately ran into trouble as threats were made by local Nazi
activists. In the end, the students were sent home after one day, and this incident probably inspired Rabbi Schwab to apply for a position overseas.
he got in touch with a community called Shearith Israel in Baltimore
. He travelled to the United States, and after a trial period the community elected him as a rabbi. The family was therefore able to apply for visas and escape the Holocaust
.
In Baltimore, Schwab as the rabbi of community Shearith Israel became a local leader of Orthodoxy
, hosting the annual conference of Agudath Israel
several years after his arrival. He was involved in the first Jewish day school for girls, Beis Yaakov, and traveled to San Francisco in the late 1940s to act as a lobbyist during the early activities of the United Nations
.
in the leadership of the German-Jewish community in Washington Heights
, located in upper Manhattan
in New York City
; see Khal Adath Jeshurun (Washington Heights, Manhattan). This community, widely regarded as the spiritual "continuation" of the pre-War Frankfurt kehilla ("community"), had been close to Rabbi Schwab's heart, and with Rabbi Breuer's increasing age and infirmity he took on many leadership roles until the latter's passing in 1980.
From then until 1993, he led the community alone. He was succeeded after his death by Rabbi Zechariah Gelley, the Sunderland
(England
) Rosh Yeshivah who had already joined the kehilla several years earlier as second Rav. He continued to lecture and teach, but his health deteriorated and he died at the age of 86 on Purim katan, 1995.
movement and the Eastern-European yeshiva world, initially identified strongly with the latter.
During the 1960s, however, it became apparent to him that the continued emphasis on religious studies and downplay of secular education would be harmful to the community as a whole. He thus wrote his pamphlet "These and Those", in which he champions the Torah im Derech Eretz approach as being equally valid. (The title of the pamphlet is a quote from the Talmud
- "These and those [Eilu va'Eilu] are the words of a Living God
", emphasizing that both approaches are divinely sanctioned.)
Other points often discussed in his work the independence of Orthodoxy and the perceived materialistic excesses and expenses of the modern world
, especially at weddings
. He did not shirk from difficult and potentially controversial questions, such as those concerning the Jewish view on the age of the universe
and problems in harmonising a 165-year gap
in traditional Jewish history
with scientifically accepted calculations.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and communal leader in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Educated in Frankfurt am Main and in the yeshivot
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, he was rabbi in Ichenhausen
Ichenhausen
Ichenhausen is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Günz, 9 km south of Günzburg....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, after immigration to the United States in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, and from 1958 until his death at Khal Adath Jeshurun in Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
. He was an ideologue of Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...
, specifically defending the Torah im Derech Eretz
Torah im Derech Eretz
Torah im Derech Eretz is a philosophy of Orthodox Judaism articulated by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch , which formalizes a relationship between traditionally observant Judaism and the modern world...
approach to Jewish life. He wrote several popular works of Jewish thought.
Early life in Frankfurt
Shimon Schwab was born and grew up in Frankfurt am Main, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His family had been longstanding members of the Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft (IRG), the Orthodox Jewish community that had established its own independence from the Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
-dominated general community. The IRG had been led until 1888 by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
and was then under the leadership of Rabbi Solomon Breuer
Solomon Breuer
Shlomo Zalman Breuer was a Rabbi, initially in Pápa, Hungary and from the early 1890s in Frankfurt as a successor of his father-in-law Samson Raphael Hirsch....
, Hirsch's son-in-law.
Shimon completed the Realschule, the local school that combined religious studies and general subjects in conformation with the Torah im Derech Eretz
Torah im Derech Eretz
Torah im Derech Eretz is a philosophy of Orthodox Judaism articulated by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch , which formalizes a relationship between traditionally observant Judaism and the modern world...
ideology propagated by Rabbi Hirsch. After the Realschule he was a full time student for a number of years in the Torah Lehranstalt, the local yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
founded by Rabbi Breuer.
Studies in Lithuania
In 1924, at age 16, Shimon enrolled in the yeshiva in Telshe yeshivaTelshe yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva was a famous Eastern European yeshiva founded in the Lithuanian town of Telšiai. After World War II the yeshiva relocated to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is currently known as the Rabbinical College of Telshe, It is one of the most prominent Haredi institutions of Torah...
located in Telšiai
Telšiai
Telšiai , is a city in Lithuania with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on Lake Mastis.-Names:...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, where he studied Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
intensively for three years, and afterwards spent two years in the Mir yeshiva
Mir yeshiva (Poland)
The Mir yeshiva , commonly known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, was a Haredi yeshiva located in the town of Mir, Russian Empire...
. It was not very common for German-Jewish students to study in Eastern-European yeshivot, but two of Shimon's brothers (Moshe and Mordechai) would later follow the same path.
In 1930, he spent a weekend with Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Poupko , known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life...
(the Chafetz Chaim), then the leader of non-Hassidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
Eastern-European
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
Ashkenazi Jewry. The visit made a strong impression on him, and he would later often refer to the encounter in public speeches throughout his life.
After receiving semicha
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
(rabbinic ordination), Rabbi Schwab relocated to Germany, where he married Recha Froehlich of Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, and worked for two years as Rabbinatsassessor ("assistant rabbi") in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
before accepting the post of community rabbi in Ichenhausen
Ichenhausen
Ichenhausen is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Günz, 9 km south of Günzburg....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
Work in Ichenhausen
In IchenhausenIchenhausen
Ichenhausen is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Günz, 9 km south of Günzburg....
, Rabbi Schwab was involved in general rabbinic duties, but he also worked hard to establish a traditional yeshiva that would teach Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. He also published a booklet titled Heimkehr ins Judentum ("Coming Home to Judaism" published in 1934) exhorting his Jewish contemporaries to devote more time to in-depth Torah study
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
and abandon their fascination with modern culture and social progress.
The yeshiva started off, but immediately ran into trouble as threats were made by local Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
activists. In the end, the students were sent home after one day, and this incident probably inspired Rabbi Schwab to apply for a position overseas.
Baltimore
Through the American Orthodox leader Rabbi Dr. Leo JungLeo Jung
Rabbi Leo Jung was one of the major architects of American Orthodox Judaism.-Background and education:...
he got in touch with a community called Shearith Israel in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. He travelled to the United States, and after a trial period the community elected him as a rabbi. The family was therefore able to apply for visas and escape the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
In Baltimore, Schwab as the rabbi of community Shearith Israel became a local leader of Orthodoxy
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
, hosting the annual conference of Agudath Israel
Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...
several years after his arrival. He was involved in the first Jewish day school for girls, Beis Yaakov, and traveled to San Francisco in the late 1940s to act as a lobbyist during the early activities of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Washington Heights
In 1958, Schwab was invited to join Rabbi Joseph BreuerJoseph Breuer
Joseph Breuer was a rabbi and community leader in Germany and the United States. He was a Rabbi of one of the large Jewish synagogues founded by German-Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi oppression that had settled in Washington Heights, New York....
in the leadership of the German-Jewish community in Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
, located in upper Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; see Khal Adath Jeshurun (Washington Heights, Manhattan). This community, widely regarded as the spiritual "continuation" of the pre-War Frankfurt kehilla ("community"), had been close to Rabbi Schwab's heart, and with Rabbi Breuer's increasing age and infirmity he took on many leadership roles until the latter's passing in 1980.
From then until 1993, he led the community alone. He was succeeded after his death by Rabbi Zechariah Gelley, the Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
(England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) Rosh Yeshivah who had already joined the kehilla several years earlier as second Rav. He continued to lecture and teach, but his health deteriorated and he died at the age of 86 on Purim katan, 1995.
Philosophy and ideas
Schwab, being a product of both the German Torah im Derech EretzTorah im Derech Eretz
Torah im Derech Eretz is a philosophy of Orthodox Judaism articulated by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch , which formalizes a relationship between traditionally observant Judaism and the modern world...
movement and the Eastern-European yeshiva world, initially identified strongly with the latter.
During the 1960s, however, it became apparent to him that the continued emphasis on religious studies and downplay of secular education would be harmful to the community as a whole. He thus wrote his pamphlet "These and Those", in which he champions the Torah im Derech Eretz approach as being equally valid. (The title of the pamphlet is a quote from the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
- "These and those [Eilu va'Eilu] are the words of a Living God
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
", emphasizing that both approaches are divinely sanctioned.)
Other points often discussed in his work the independence of Orthodoxy and the perceived materialistic excesses and expenses of the modern world
Modern World
Modern World or The Modern World may refer to:*Modernity, a popular academic term.*The modern era, the age in which people today now live.*Modern World, a song by Wolf Parade from their 2005 album Apologies to the Queen Mary....
, especially at weddings
Jewish view of marriage
In Judaism, marriage is viewed as a contractual bond commanded by God in which a man and a woman come together to create a relationship in which God is directly involved. Though procreation is not the sole purpose, a Jewish marriage is also expected to fulfill the commandment to have children. The...
. He did not shirk from difficult and potentially controversial questions, such as those concerning the Jewish view on the age of the universe
Age of the universe
The age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang posited by the most widely accepted scientific model of cosmology. The best current estimate of the age of the universe is 13.75 ± 0.13 billion years within the Lambda-CDM concordance model...
and problems in harmonising a 165-year gap
Missing years (Hebrew calendar)
The missing years in the Hebrew calendar refer to a discrepancy of some 165 years between the traditional Hebrew dating for the destruction of the First Temple and the modern secular dating for it that results if its traditional date 3338 AM is interpreted according to the standard Hebrew...
in traditional Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
with scientifically accepted calculations.
External links
- On the Breuer Kehilla, Rabbi Pinchas Frankel