Schwager
‘Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a giant in the law,’ area attorney says
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God chose to keep Ruth Bader Ginsburg around until the last possible moment.
That is how David E. Schwager, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and a local attorney, reflected on last week’s passing of the longtime U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
Ginsburg, who was appointed to the nation’s highest court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, died Friday of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87.
Schwager, like Ginsburg, is Jewish, and his many community roles have included past president of the Jewish Community Center of Wyoming Valley, Temple Israel of Wilkes-Barre, the S.J. Strauss Lodge of B’nai B’rith. Ginsburg’s death on the cusp of the Jewish New Year — Rosh Hashanah, which began at sundown on Friday — was a deeply poignant transition, he explained.
“During these days of awe, those of the Jewish faith believe that God decides at this time of the year, among other things, who will live and who will die during the upcoming Jewish calendar year,” Schwager said in a statement released this weekend about Ginsburg.
“Therefore, it is said in the Jewish tradition that, although last year it was determined that Justice Ginsburg would perish during the year 5780, because of her value to society, God chose to keep her around until the last possible moment.”
Ginsburg will be remembered for a lifetime dedicated to equality, justice and her profession, Schwager added, recalling how the court’s second female justice overcame prejudice in the early years of her career to find success of her own while bringing justice to millions.
“Though tiny, standing at 5’1,” Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a giant in the law,” Schwager said.
“She was a champion for justice for so many, regardless of race, gender or disability, and a powerful and steadfast defender of the rule of law,” he added.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg used her life’s work to lift others by passionately advocating for gender equality. She inspired generations of lawyers during her lifetime and she will remain an inspiration for generations to come,” Schwager said.
A longtime advocate for numerous community causes, Schwager, of Kingston, has been active with a range of civic and charitable organizations in the Wyoming Valley. He was named PBA president in May of this year.
“On behalf of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, I share with the Ginsburg family the condolences of Pennsylvania lawyers on the passing of a great woman, a great role model and a great jurist. We grieve on the occasion of this profound loss,” he said.