Born in the Russian Empire, he was sent before World War II to the United States by his father, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, to improve the level of Jewish education there.
The school in Los Angeles included elementary, secondary, college, and post-graduate classes, with some students "from as far as Arizona and Colorado".
[2] Ten of the initial students at the college and post-graduate school were sent from Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, handpicked by Rabbi Gedalia Schorr.
[2] Among the keywords describing Wasserman's methodology are patience and simplicity:[6] "Whatever is within my ability to fulfill I do, and whatever I can’t accomplish I don’t worry about.
"[7] In 1970 he wrote an article for The Jewish Observer titled "Memorandum To: Concerned individuals From: Rabbi Simcha Wasserman Re: Reaching out"[8] in which he encourages more outreach "to the entire Jewish community," adding that "Unless the public is Torah educated, the Yeshiva contributor will soon be supplanted by the philanthropist whose list of priorities does not even include Yeshivos."