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EULOGY FOR TRUDY MOSES 2008
delivered by Rabbi Henry Jay Karp
Hebrew Cemetery
Rock Island, Illinois
October 12, 2008
EULOGY FOR TRUDY MOSES
In the book of ECCLESIASTES it is written:
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace;
This is a time for us to mourn; a time for us to weep; a time for us to say farewell to our dear friend, Trudy Moses.
One also could say that this text from ECCLESIASTES teaches us that timing is everything. So it was for Trudy. For there is a belief that there can be no better time of year for a Jew to die than on Yom Kippur. After all, it is on Yom Kippur that our souls are in their purest state and most ready to return to God. So even as we mourn Trudy’s passing, we should find comfort in knowing that since she died on Yom Kippur, her soul does not just travel but speeds it way toward God and toward a reunion with her beloved Gene.
Trudy was born in Hamburg, Germany on a rather special date, December 12, 1912 - 12-12-12 - a fact that really tickled her. As many may remember, while she lived her in the Quad Cities, she had a vanity license plate that read “TRU 1212.”
It was in 1932 when she first met the love of her life, Eugene Moses. They both were students in a medical school in Freiburg. Gene belonged a student Zionist organization, as did one of Trudy’s girlfriends. It was that girlfriend who introduced them. Sadly, just a few months after they met, the Nazis assumed power in Germany, and their lives began to change dramatically. The Nazis did not permit Trudy to complete her medical education. Gene, on the other hand was quite fortunate to have done so before the Nazis imposed their ban on Jews attending such schools. While Gene was interning in Hamburg, at the last Jewish hospital to remain open in Nazi Germany, both of them watched with dismay and growing anguish as the Jews of Germany were increasingly stripped of their rights and their very place in German society.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Trudy and Gene made plans to leave their homeland. In 1936 they got married and the immediately left. From Germany, they went to Denmark, and from Denmark that they came to the United States. At first, they lived in Chicago, where Gene finished his residency. Then they moved to the Rock Island where they built a new life and a family.
Trudy and Gene’s experiences in fleeing Germany would color their attitudes and perspectives for the rest of their lives. They never forgot what it meant to be persecuted nor what it meant to be a refugee, nor for that matter, what it meant to be a Jew. Both were deeply dedicated to social justice. Having suffered themselves from the cruel hand of prejudice, they could not tolerate seeing others being persecuted. For example, several years ago, when Jews were slowly being released from what was then the Soviet Union, Temple Emanuel resettled one such family in our community. I remember so well how Trudy and Gene made a special effort to join me and others in meeting this family at the airport, in order to welcome them to our community. When I thanked Trudy for showing up, she said to me, “When we came to America, no one was there to greet us. So we wanted to make sure that when these people arrived, there would be others to greet them.”
In many ways, the Moses’ were extremely fortunate. For not only were they able to escape Europe before it was too late, but in the end, they were able to get both of their families out as well; as Trudy would later say, “The in-laws and the out-laws.” But even though they never spent a day in a ghetto or a concentration camp, they, too, were victims and survivors of the Holocaust. For while the Nazis never had the opportunity to take their lives or punish their bodies, still the Nazis destroyed their entire way of life, everything they grew up with. One day they were proud German citizens and the next, they found themselves to be aliens; hated aliens, detested by the very same people with whom they grew up; their childhood schoolmates and playmates, friends and neighbors. As a member of the Quad Cities Interfaith Yom HaShoah Committee, I can testify that it was very important to Trudy that the members our committee, and our community, understand that she, and all German Jews like her, who were fortunate enough to escape the Nazis before it was too late, but still had their lives completely uprooted, were indeed victims of the Holocaust, and as such deserved proper recognition during our annual memorial observance. She taught us that lesson well. We came to understand what she was saying and embraced its truth fully. In fact, it is not something that we on the Yom HaShoah Committee ever really talk about in public, but often when we discuss our need to recognize those particular victims, we have a nickname for them. We call them “The Trudys”. Indeed, Trudy was a great teacher for us, and for all the Quad Cities.
Speaking of Trudy as a teacher, there are those in our community for whom she literally was a teacher; a religious school teacher. There are many who clearly remember their days in religious school with Mrs. Moses. As you can imagine, she was a demanding teacher who kept a tight rein on her students. There was no monkey business in Mrs. Moses’ class! While she may not have been the easiest going teacher in our school, still in the end, she truly instilled in her students an appreciation of and commitment to Judaism. It is more than mere coincidence that the current president and vice president of Temple Emanuel were both students of Trudy.
Teaching religious school was but one manifestation of Trudy’s enormous commitment to Judaism. She was one of the most active and devoted members of our Jewish community. She was intensely involved in the work of Hadassah. She served on the board of the Jewish Federation, and for quite some time was the editor of their newsletter. She also served on the board and many committees at Temple Emanuel, including the Adult Education and Ritual Committees. For many, many years, she also was in charge of our library. It was especially fitting that she ran our library, for she had a profound love of books. At times, it seemed that she knew every new book on Judaism which was published, and had read most of them before many of us even knew that they were on the market.
Aside from serving on various committees and boards, and performing a variety of tasks for our Jewish organizations, Trudy still found time to actually practice her Judaism. She was a regular at Shabbat services and there wasn’t an adult education program that she missed. In fact, during one of her extended illnesses, she had us relocate the Temple’s Wednesday morning book study group from our usual meeting spot in the Temple library to here dining room. But even though parking was a challenge, she made up for it by baking great treats for our gatherings. Indeed Trudy had an insatiable thirst for Jewish learning - and learning in general.
Now to know Trudy was to know that not only did she possess a great fund of knowledge but she also held a great many opinions, and held them strongly. You always knew where Trudy stood, for she had no qualms about telling you. For example, several years ago, when Trudy was still able to attend Shabbat services regularly, it was a time when many families were bringing their children to services as well. Among those families were the Garfields and the Thompsons. Now you have to understand that Trudy loved both those families and they loved her. But these families were different families with different approaches concerning their children in the sanctuary. The Garfield children would come to services dressed in tee shirts and blue jeans while the Thompson children would come to services dressed as though they had just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine. Well one day, Trudy cornered Phyllis Garfield and let her know, in no uncertain terms - as only Trudy could - how inappropriately her children were dressed when at services. Phyllis, not one to be cowered by Trudy, promptly told her that she would rather have her children come in tee shirts and blue jeans than not come at all. Well, while that was a good and valid argument, it wasn’t about to change Trudy’s mind. Finally, in frustration, Phyllis turned to Trudy and said, “Well, would you prefer it if my children came dressed like the Thompson children?” Without batting an eyelash, Trudy quickly responded, “Oh no! They’re too dressed up!” Yes, Trudy was a woman with a mind of her own.
While Trudy, with her single-mindedness could, at times, drive you to distraction, the plain fact was that most of the time, her opinions were not only strong but also right on the mark. She may have been fussy about how children dressed in the synagogue, but she surely knew what was important, and especially important for Jews; study, worship, community, and a unwavering attachment to the State of Israel - which she and Gene visited no less than six times.
But as devoted as Trudy was to the Jewish people and the Jewish religion, she was all the more devoted to her family. She and Gene shared 56 wonderful years together. They traveled together, both around the world and around the nation. They shared their gusto of golf. And most important of all, they shared their complete devotion to each other, to their children, Mark and Edith, and to their grandchildren, Daniel and Jonathan, Jered, Keren, and Chad. In fact, their grandchildren were most certainly the center of their universe. Except in Trudy’s case, for her grandchildren’s position at the center of her universe was usurped by her great grandchildren, Adam, Seth, Rachel, and Rivkah. How she looked forward to their visits. They were a source of light in her life, especially during this last year and a half, with her own health challenges and since Mark’s tragic passing.
Each and every one of us carries our own special memories of Trudy. She had the ability to touch so many lives in such positive and meaningful ways. She was truly one of those people who left their imprint upon this world; an imprint for the good in the lives of those who had the privilege of knowing her.
May we who knew and loved Trudy find comfort, consolation, and strength in these words of the poet, Hugh Robert Orr:
They are not dead who live
In the hearts they leave behind.
In those whom they have blessed
They live a life again,
And shall live through the years
Eternal life, and grow
Each day more beautiful
As time declares their good,
Forgets the rest, and proves
Their immortality
So may it be with Trudy Moses. May she continue to live and grow in our hearts as an abiding blessing for our lives.
AMEN
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