This is one of the greatest losses Monsey has experienced in decades.
As a true talmid of Reb Moshe Zt”l, I feel we have lost a giant in Torah, a giant in chessed—true chessed. A ba’al middos like no other. He loved every Yid. He never, ever gave up on anyone, no matter their situation. He carried enormous burdens upon his shoulders, yet he never stopped.
Reb Moshe was a rebbi in YSV for many years. Then, following the directive of his father—himself a direct talmid of the Chofetz Chaim—he opened a Yeshiva. It wasn’t yet a cheder; it began with a 10th-grade class. Two years later, with his father’s guidance and bracha, he opened a cheder starting from 1st grade, where Reb Heshy Ort served as the first-grade rebbi.
He had countless reasons to say, “I can’t do this,” to give up. But he never let emotion or hardship stand in his way. Whenever he encountered challenges, he turned to his father, who would bless him and say, “Moshe, keep up the good work. You will be matzliach.” And he was—until his father’s petirah. From then on, he didn’t take a single step without thinking, What would my father Zatzal say?
Years later, I asked him, “Rebbi, how do you do this all alone? The burden, the pressure—how do you keep going?” He told me:
“First of all, I always imagine what my father Zatzal would advise me. And second, I remind myself that each child is a priceless diamond. Endless doros will come from each one. Every child is a special neshama. What could possibly be greater than that? Even though it’s hard, I’m in the best place in the world—raising doros of talmidei chachomim and yirei Shamayim.”
Reb Moshe never lived a single day for himself. His smile was contagious. His life’s mission was his talmidim. And when his own children grew up, he brought them into the yeshiva—his way, his father’s way.
He was a piece of kedusha, and he leaves behind a legacy that is almost unheard of in our generation.
“ומיתת צדיקים מכפרת. וכל ישראל יבכו את השריפה אשר שרף ה'”
To his extraordinary sons—especially Reb Avrohom Dovid, a true tzaddik and tremendous talmid chacham—may Hashem give you the strength to continue in the sacred derech of your father and grandfather: Torah, ahavas Yisroel, and boundless mesirus nefesh for every Yid, no matter the time of day or night.
Let Reb Moshe Zt”l—oy, it’s hard to even say those words—go to the Kisei HaKavod and be the same undeterred Reb Moshe who never gave up! Even in Shamayim, let him cry out “Dai L’Tzaros!”—Enough is enough!
He rarely raised his voice in this world, but his presence, his strength, and his unstoppable determination spoke louder than words. May his sweet powers in the next world storm the heavens and help bring the Geulah Sheleimah.
Reb Moshe, our Tzaddik—you are missed beyond words.
– Yossi
Rav Schwab was a builder of worlds.
Anyone with info on Shiva?