About Rabbi Schwartz

To know him was to love him. Rabbi Dovid Schwartz was a beloved teacher, scholar and talmid chacham. Over the course of his life, he impacted so many people with his warmth, wit, and wisdom.  

In each of the diverse roles Rabbi Schwartz filled, his depth of thought, balanced by his easygoing personality and good humor, made him a uniquely beloved and valued figure, leaving an impact on everyone he met.

A dedicated talmid and devotee of sefarin such as the Pachad Yitzchak, Rav Izadok Hakohen, the Torah of Beis Izhbitz and other similar works, he drew from the deep waters of Chassidus and machshova with distinctive ability to bring their teachings into his own life, as well as into the lives of others.

Rabbi Schwartz was born in 1957 and spent his formative years in Los Angeles. His parents, Reb Meilech, z" and Mrs. Lydia Schwartz, a" were both Holocaust survivors from Poland.

Young Dovid attended Yeshivas Or Elchanan, then under the leadership of Harav Simcha Wasserman. At the end of his high school years, he traveled to New York to attend Yeshivah Rabbi Chaim Berlin. The move would have a profound effect on his life.

He was privileged to know Harav Yitzchok Hutner, at" whose works were a particular favorite of Rabbi Schwartz.

The many years he spent within the walls of that hallowed institution served to nurture his innate affinity for siftei machshavah and the profound thoughts they contain.

Additionally, Rabbi Schwartz spent a year in Eretz Visrael, where he studied in Yeshivas Mir under Harav Chaim Shmuelevitz,

In 1984, he married Sima Stein, with whom he built a beautiful family, six sons, and one daughter.

Rabbi Schwartz was a member of Kollel Gur Aryeh for several years before accepting a position as a Rebbi in the Fasman Yeshivah High School, a division of Beis Hamedrash LaTorah, in Skokie, Illinois, later moving on to Yeshivah Tiferes, Torah in Staten Island.

For more than 20 years, Rabbi Schwartz dedicated himself to outreach work, first teaching at Beer. Hagolah Institute, a school geared to immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, and later teaching Torah at the Jewish Heritage Center of Queens and Long Island. His unique ability to impart sophisticated concepts in Yiddishkeit to students who largely lacked formal yeshivah background made him a particularly effective force. His eloquence, wit, calm personality, and genuine caring for his fellow Jew made him all the more successful in encouraging many to strive for greater heights in avodas Hashem.

For many years, he wrote and distributed a weekly pamphlet, written in English, "From the Waters of the Shiloach," based on the teachings of the sefarim of Bais Izhbitz. Combining his talent for writing as well as for explaining sophisticated concepts, these publications served as a valuable elucidation of some of the most radical and complex works in the catalogue of Chassidus. His unique skill with the written word and strong grasp of world affairs also made Rabbi Schwartz a greatly valued and beloved member of the staff of Hamodia for many years.

In 2011, Rabbi Schwartz began to serve as the Rav of Congregation Sard, a historic shul on Coney Island Avenue, displaying great dedication to its small and diverse kehillah. He delivered several regular shiurim in both halachah and Aggadah. Each Shabbos morning, at Kiddush, Rabbi Schwartz would offer divrei Torah and lead niggunim, imparting an authentic "Kiddishe taam" to the weekly event."

Rabbi Schwartz is remembered as a loving husband  father, grandfather, teacher and friend, his warmth genuine love for his fellow jew and great passion for Torah is his legacy.