Esther Jungreis
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Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis is the founder of the international Hineni movement in America. A Holocaust survivor she has made it her life's mission to bring back Jews to Orthodox Judaism.
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[edit] Biography
Rebbetzin Jungreis spent her early childhood in Szeged, Hungary where her father was chief Orthodox rabbi. Her maiden name was also Jungreis (she married a distant cousin, Theodore Jungreis) - it was a common name in Hungary at the time with over 85 Orthodox rabbis with the surname in Hungary at the time. She can trace her roots, "a great rabbinical dynasty, to King David." [1] During WWII, her family was sent to the Bergin Belsin Concentration Camp and she and her father where two of the lucky survivors.
In 1947 they moved to Brooklyn, NY where she reconnected with distant cousin Theodore Jungreis. They married and since he was a rabbi, she was allowed to use the title Rebbetzin, a Yiddish term of respect and endearment for the wife of a rabbi.
Eventually, they settled in North Woodmere, New York where Rabbi Jungreis led the Orthodox Congregation Ohr Torah. Together they raised four children. Rabbi Jungreis has passed away, but Rebbetzin Jungreis continues with her work. Now she lives in Lawrence, NY. [2]
Due to her experiences as a Holocaust Survivor, she became "determined to devote her life to combating the spiritual holocaust that was occurring here in the United States." [3] This led to the birth of the Hineni Movement on November 18, 1973 in Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum.
Her outspoken stance against interfaith marriages, equating them with the Nazi Holocaust, has drawn criticism from moderate Jews and non-Jews alike. [1]
[edit] The Rebbetzin's Outreach Work
Hineni has since become a worldwide movement with centers all over the world. As a result, Rebbetzin Jungreis has spoken in locations such as the Hollywood Palladium, the Johannesburg Coliseum and Binyanei HaOuma in Jerusalem. She also speaks regularly for the United States Army and Navy as well as for the Israel Defense Forces. [4]
[edit] Writings
Rebbetzin Jungreis has written several books: Jewish Soul on Fire (William Morrow & Company - acclaimed one of the ten best Jewish books of the year by B'nai B'rith); The Committed Life: Principles of Good Living from Our Timeless Past (Harper Collins and translated into Hebrew, Russian and Hungarian and in its eighth edition) and The Committed Marriage (Harper Collins). For over forty years, she has written a column for The Jewish Press using the Torah as the source for solutions to everyday problems. Her latest book, published in 2006, is "Life Is A Test," another masterpiece.
[edit] Awards, Recognition
Among those that have recognized the Rebbetzin for her work has been "Hadassah, The Jewish War Veterans, B’nai Brith. Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations, Knights of Pythias, and the Christian Amita Society. She has been the keynote speaker at the joint convention of Reform and Conservative Rabbis in Palm Springs, and has spoken for the Rabbinical Council of America, O.R.T., Hadassah, U.J.A., Israel Bonds, Jewish War Veterans, the Shomrim Society of the Police Department, B’nai Brith, Young Israel, Mizrachi, National Council of Jewish Women, and the Orthodox Jewish Teachers Association. She has been accorded recognition by the State of Israel and invited to address members of the Israel Defense Forces and has received awards from every branch of the service. The Rebbetzin has also been named “Woman of the Year” by Hadassah, Jewish War Veterans, B’nai Brith, Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations, the Knights of Pythias, and the Christian Amita Society. [5]
