Making of a Godol: Rav Shimon Shkop stayed at YU in order to emulate Rav Yisroel Salanter

In researching the issue of what the Seridei Aish meant that Mussar was a frum Haskala - Rav Triebetz pointed out a passage in his father-in-laws sefer Making of a Godol. This passage indicates that there was more to the frum haskala then personal spiritual growth and yiras shamayim. page 1100-1101

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In fact, R' Shimon shunned the advice of both R' Chaim-Ozer Grodzensky and the Chafetz-Chaim to resign from his 5689 [1929] post as Rosh Yeshiva of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary [RIETS] in New York because he was sure R' Yisrael would have ordered him to keep it. He left the position after half a year only because of family reasons.'" It should be added that when R' Shimon had decided to stay in America, he also did not consider the feelings of his talmidim in Europe, who were heartbroken when they heard that their master would remain in the United States; see Shkop Book  which records R' Yisrael-Zev Gustman's recollection, to wit, "I remember that there were bahurim who sat down on the ground and cried when they heard that R' Shimon was not planning to return to Grodno." R' Shimon obviously intended to emulate what R' Yisrael Salanter did in the last third of his life - that is, to leave the established Torah environment of Russia and function in Western Europe (and relegate visiting Russia to sporadic occasions only). The Salanter had gone to German communities and Paris because, according to Etkes Book o, "he was essentially drawn (there) by the challenge of restoring traditional values and modes of behavior"P. Katz Iq is more dramatic when it writes, "R' Yisrael had a greater design: he was not satisfied with his accom-plishments in Russia. His aspirations encompassed distant worlds and his eyes wandered vast stretches to strengthen Fear of G-d everywhere, and to inject the spirit of Musar, in which he saw the salvation of Judaism, into all corners of the House of Israel. His first glance fell on nearby Germany, where Reform ruled in all its force and swept away every vestige of Judaism. Assimilation was spreading with gigantic steps and soon no remnant of the House of Israel would remain. R' Yisrael moved to Germany and undertook to halt this deterioration and strew the Dew of Resurrection on Judaism [there]." R' Shimon, too, was drawn to the spiritual challenge that America posed in the interwar years . Also cf. The CCL which asserts about the Chafetz-Chaim that "in a certain sense, (he) considered R' Yisrael his mentor and guide in life" - as R' Epstein asserted in regard to R' Shimon Shkop. (R' Mordkhai Karlinsky, who studied under R' Shimon in Yeshivath Rabbenu Yitzhaq Elhanan, related  that R' Shkop, his rosh yeshiva at the time, told him when he left to return to Europe that he considered America the future home of Torah and would gladly have taken a post in another yeshiva had there been one available - at that time, Yeshiva Torah Vodaath consisted of only an elementary level. This is consistent with R' Zelig Epstein's statement that R' Shkop was following a Salanterian stance in remaining in America.