Esther Jungreis (April 27, 1936 – August 23, 2016, 19 Menachem Av, 5776) was a Jewish, Hungarian-born, American author, and public speaker. She was the founder of the international

Hineni Esther Jungreis (April 27, 1936 – August 23, 2016, 19 Menachem Av, 5776) was a Jewish, Hungarian-born, American author, and public speaker. She was the founder of the international Hineni organization in the United States. A Holocaust survivo ...

organization in the United States. A Holocaust survivor and rebbetzin, she worked to

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

secular Jews Secular Jew may refer to: * A general epithet for Jews who participate in modern secular society and are not stringently religious * Nonreligious Jews, including nonaffiliated, agnostics, etc. **Jewish atheism ** Cultural Judaism * ''Hiloni'', "se ...

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

Biography

Jungreis was born in

Szeged, Hungary Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

on April 27, 1936, to Avraham and Miriam Jungreis. Her two brothers, Jacob and Binyamin, both became rabbis.Esther Jungreis

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brookli ...

Her father was an Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and operated a '' shtiebel'' in the city, in the

Neolog Neologs ( hu, neológ irányzat, "Neolog faction") are one of the two large communal organizations among Hungarian Jews, Hungarian Jewry. Socially, the liberal and modernist Neologs had been more inclined toward integration into Hungarian society ...

(Reform) community.Rebbetzin Of The World: An interview with Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
/ref> Avraham Jungreis was deported with other Jews from Szeged in a cattle car bound for

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. However, a relative who worked for Rudolph Kastner's office arranged for the cattle car to be opened while passing through

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and the entire Jungreis family was transferred onto the so-called Kastner train, which after a journey of several weeks and a diversion to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, delivered its 1,670 passengers to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 1947, the family moved to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, where Jungreis reconnected with distant cousin Theodore (Meshulem HaLevi) Jungreis, a rabbi, and they married. The couple settled in

North Woodmere, New York North Woodmere is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, New York, located in far western Nassau County on the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Hempstead. History Prior to its development in the late 1950s, the land stret ...

, and founded the North Woodmere Jewish Center/Orthodox Congregation Ohr Torah. Together they raised four children. Jungreis founded the

organization on November 18, 1973, in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

Felt Forum The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden. It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madiso ...

. The organization aimed to promote Yiddishkeit in the United States. As the leader of this organization, she drew criticism for her outspoken stance against interfaith marriages. She was also critical of secularization, which she viewed as a form of assimilation. After her husband died in 1996, Jungreis continued with outreach and education. The Yartzeit of her husband was in

Shevat Shevat (Hebrew: שְׁבָט, Standard ''Šəvaṭ'', Tiberian ''Šeḇāṭ''; from Akkadian ''Šabātu'') is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calend ...

, 5756. Along with

Paysach Krohn Paysach J. Krohn (born January 29, 1945) is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, ''mohel'' (practitioner of ritual Jewish circumcision), author, and lecturer on topics related to ethics and spiritual growth. He is the author of the ''"Maggid"'' series of bo ...

, Jungreis served as a guest speaker at the annual

Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...

retreat hosted by The Gateways Organization. Jungreis died on August 23, 2016, aged 80, due to complications of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, and survived by four children — Yisroel Jungreis and Osher Jungreis, both rabbis, and Chaya Sara Gertzulin and Slava Chana Wolff. At the time of her death, she lived in

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Outreach work

Hineni

Hineni ( ) is an organization founded in May 1973 by Jungreis to encourage Jews to transition to

, a part of the movement known as

Ba'al Teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lif ...

. Jungreis addressed audiences throughout the 1970s and 80s, including an early program titled "You Are a Jew" at

on November 18, 1973. She spoke against trends of

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

and assimilation that she considered to be "spiritual genocide". The word 'Hineni' means 'Here I am' in a spiritual sense, a reference to what

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

says to God to indicate his readiness in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

22:1 The name chosen by Jungreis contrasts with the Hebrew word "Poe," which means present (as in attendance-taking). In 1989, the Hineni Heritage Center opened in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The Center houses a multi-media museum and offers classes in

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

studies, Shabbatons (weekends) and High Holy Days services. The Heneni Bill and Jill Roberts Outreach Center in Jerusalem offers guidance and counseling to youths at risk. Jungreis spoke in locations such as the Hollywood Palladium, the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Coliseum, and

Binyanei HaUmah The International Convention Center ( he, מרכז הקונגרסים הבינלאומי, ''Merkaz HaKongresim HaBeinLeumi''), commonly known as Binyenei HaUma ( he, בנייני האומה, lit. ''Buildings of the nation''), is a concert hall and ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. She also spoke for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and the Israel Defense Forces. In 1998, Hineni opened a

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

and

youth center A youth center or youth centre, often called youth club, is a place where young people can meet and participate in a variety of activities, for example table football, association football (US soccer, UK football), basketball, table tennis, vid ...

, offering social and support services for young people at risk, in addition to hosting an annual

Passover seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...

for the city's homeless residents.

Writings

Jungreis wrote fourJewish spiritual leader, Holocaust survivor Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis dies at 80
''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' books: ''Jewish Soul on Fire'' ( William Morrow & Company), ''The Committed Life: Principles of Good Living from Our Timeless Past'' (

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

, translated into Hebrew, Russian and Hungarian and in its eighth edition) and ''The Committed Marriage'' (HarperCollins). Her last book, published in 2006, was titled ''Life Is a Test''. For over 40 years, she wrote a column for '' The Jewish Press'' using the Torah as the source for solutions to everyday problems. Esther Jungreis with April Foley

Awards and recognition

Jungreis was named "Woman of the Year" by Hadassah, Jewish War Veterans,

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...

, Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations, the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

, and the Christian Amita Society. U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

appointed Jungreis to serve on the honorary delegation that accompanied him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008. The ''Ani Yehudi'' award was accepted posthumously by her daughter, Slovie Jungreis Wolf, on October 21, 2016.

References

External links

A Tribute To Rebbitzen Esther Jungreis
* ttp://www.ShemaYisrael.org.il/ Shema Yisrael website in honor of the Rebbetzinbr>Esther Jungreis Video Gallery
* ttp://www.ohrtorah.org/ Congregation Ohr Torah
Hineni

Hineni Youth Movement, Australia

Hineni Tel Aviv, Israel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jungreis, Esther 1936 births 2016 deaths American Orthodox Jews American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American religious leaders Holocaust survivors Hungarian Orthodox Jews Hungarian emigrants to the United States National Council of Jewish Women Orthodox Jewish outreach People from Szeged People from Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Rebbetzins Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Jews and Judaism in New York City Jews and Judaism in Jerusalem Jewish organizations established in 1973 People from North Woodmere, New York American women writers 21st-century American women