Rav Schwab and The Life Insurance of Kiddush Levanah

Rav Schwab and The Life Insurance of Kiddush Levanah (Part 1)

One berachah that Rav Schwab was very careful about was Kiddush Levanah. The Be'er Heiteiv (602, 4) quotes the Or Chadash who said that he heard that from the time a person is mekadesh the levanah he needn't fear that he will die that month. Rav Schwab, therefore, considered Kiddush Levanah as life insurance.

Even though some opinions say that in Tishrei one should wait till after Yom Kippur and in Av until after Tisha B'Av, Rav Schwab never waited. Similarly, although the Rema rules (Orach Chaim 426, 2) that if motzei Shabbos is before the tenth of the month, one should rather wait until then, Rav Schwab would not do so. (Some differ with the Rema). Thus, as soon as he saw the new moon when it was big enough, he would immediately recite the berachah — he did not wait for a minyan or even for three people to join him.

Rav Schwab and The Life Insurance of Kiddush Levanah (Part 2)

One winter night, he happened to attend a family simcha in Philadelphia in the early part of a month. As his son walked him to the car, the moon was nowhere to be seen. At the time, Rav Schwab was already plagued by arthritis, so his son carefully placed pillows for support so that he would not be jolted about during the ride back to New York. As they were finally set to start out, Rav Schwab sighted the new moon, and exclaimed, "Ah, the levanah!"

Immediately he bounded out of his seat, held on to the roof of the car and started saying Kiddush Levanah. When he finished, he turned to his son and asked him if he had already said it. When the reply was negative, Rav Schwab insisted that his son do likewise.

Finally, Rav Schwab was back in proper position and they set out on the trip. As they approached the toll booths at the entrance to the George Washington Bridge the car struck a patch of black ice and began to skid out of control. His son feared that the car would crash but it suddenly stopped just in front of the toll booth. Rav Schwab commented, "Didn't I tell you to make Kiddush Levanah?"

When he was forced to be transported in a wheelchair his attendants knew about his Kiddush Levanah habit and when they saw the new moon would ask him, "Rabbi, do you want to bless the new moon?"

If Kiddush Levanah is such a big segulah how did the mal'ach hamovess finally catch up with the Rav? One can see from many Gemara's (e.g. Mo'ed Koton 28a, Shabbos 30b) that when a person's time comes the Mal'ach Hamovess will win out in the end.

With Rav Schwab and his segulah it happened in the following way: On Sunday, the fifth day of Adar I, Rav Schwab was struck with a heart attack. Thus he was taken to Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. He hadn't yet sighted the new moon. Immediately after the heart attack he was placed in the intensive care unit. On Tuesday he was told that if in the next twenty-four hours his condition would stabilize he would be moved to a nice, large private

Rav Schwab and The Life Insurance of Kiddush Levanah (Part 3)

room. He asked the staff which side of the hospital it would face. When he was told it faced the west side, he insisted that he wants a room with an eastern exposure, because he reckoned that would enable him to make Kiddush Levanah.

However, it was not to turn out that way. The very next day after lunch, the Rav again felt pain in his arm, a sign of another heart attack. Thus, Rav Schwab was told he had to wait still another two days.

His move kept being postponed until it was the thirteenth of Adar. Rav Schwab woke up in his room in the late afternoon. He asked his children what time it was. When they told him, he said, "Ah in one hour will be the night of Purim Koton and I'll be able to say Kiddush Levanah."

Once again, HaKodosh Boruch Hu confounded his plans. About six twenty, he had still another heart attack. This time they started saying Vidui and Shema. Each time they would say "Hashem Hu HaElokim" his pulse would shoot up. With the seventh "Hashem Hu HaElokim," his neshomoh departed from this world, missing Kiddush Levanah but leaving the segulah intact. (Taken from an article written by Rav Yosef Fleischman)