Last Monday evening the TABC family received the bitter news of the passing of Moshe Trinz ‘96. Moshe is the son of Marcia and Bob Trinz, husband of Yael Trinz, father of Zahava and Eliana and brother of Yosef Trinz ‘98 and Bracha Aspir. The loss to the family is devastating, to say the least. The years of dealing with the terrible illness Moshe faced were overwhelming.
Nonetheless, it behooves us to take a moment and appreciate the extraordinary person Moshe zt”l was. At the levaya, Moshe’s father accurately described Moshe as a tzadik and a yashar. Anyone who knew Moshe recognized this as an obvious fact.
Moshe was a consummate mentsch. He was unfailingly polite from the time he was a boy, was respectful and honest to everyone without fail. Already in high school at TABC Moshe made a great impression on his classmates and teachers alike. He was a person of extraordinary dignity and kindness. He stayed late at work as a mortgage analyst without pay to ensure that everything was squared away at the end of the day. Moshe made an extraordinary Kiddush Hashem. To have such a respectful, polite, honest and reliable employee proudly wear his kippah at work reflected so well on Hashem and the Jewish nation.
Even when battling his extraordinarily difficult illness Moshe remained an incredible mentsch. Moshe’s father related at the funeral how very soon after Moshe lost his ability to articulate, a physician (who was not even Moshe’s regular doctor) visited Moshe. Moshe held the doctor’s hand for a few minutes after he completed his examination, finally stammering out “Thank you for coming to see me.” Just as in the stories related about Rav Moshe Feinstein, Moshe took the time to thank every technician who came to assist him.
The one best to judge anyone is his spouse. Yael arose to speak and recounted how Moshe was an exemplary husband who was hands-on with the children and household chores. He was a warm and affectionate husband and father. Yael recounted how Moshe even asked for criticism, explaining that he could not improve if he was not made aware of his mistakes. Yael concluded that Moshe was the greatest person she ever met.
A person’s character is tested by how he conducts himself during an emotionally stressful time. I witnessed how Moshe retained his great dignity and very high standards of conduct even at a most trying time in his life.
As Rav Rothwachs noted at the levaya, Moshe was a great man and it was a privilege to have seen such a person. I suggest that the best way we can honor this great man is to take some time this Shabbat and devote deep thought as to how we can raise ourselves a notch in our personal comportment. Moshe Trinz taught us and continues to teach us that people of such great behavior are not relegated to people who lived during the time of the Tanach or Gemara. Rather, each one of us is capable of great interpersonal and spiritual achievement even when the surrounding culture is increasingly boorish and self-centered. As Moshe’s father noted, Moshe lived his life correctly and showed each one of us how to live our lives correctly.
By Rabbi Haim Jachter
Rabbi Haim Jachter is the spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck. He also serves as a rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County and a dayan on the Beth Din of Elizabeth.
