Jungreis was born[2] in Szeged, Hungary on April 27, 1936,[3] to Avraham and Miriam Jungreis. Her two brothers, Jacob and Binyamin, both became rabbis.[4] Her father was an Orthodox rabbi and operated a shtiebel in the city,[5] in the Neolog (Reform) community.[6] Avraham Jungreis was deported with other Jews from Szeged in a cattle car bound for Auschwitz. However, a relative who worked for Rudolph Kastner's office arranged for the cattle car to be opened while passing through Budapest and the entire Jungreis family was transferred onto the so-called Kastner train,[7] 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.[8]
In 1947, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Jungreis reconnected with distant cousin Theodore (Meshulem HaLevi) Jungreis, a rabbi, and they married.[9] The couple settled in North Woodmere, New York,[10] and founded the North Woodmere Jewish Center/Orthodox Congregation Ohr Torah. Together they raised four children.[8]
Jungreis founded the Hineni organization on November 18, 1973, in Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum. The organization aimed to promote Yiddishkeit in the United States.[11] 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.[11]
Jungreis died on August 23, 2016, aged 80, due to complications of pneumonia,[9][16][17] and survived by four children — Yisroel Jungreis and Osher Jungreis, both rabbis, and Chaya Sara Gertzulin and Slava Chana Wolff.[8][4] At the time of her death, she lived in Lawrence.[18]
Hineni (Hebrew: הִנֵּֽנִי, lit. 'here I am' [hiˈneni]) is an organization founded in May 1973 by Jungreis to encourage Jews to transition to Orthodox Judaism, a part of the movement known as Ba'al Teshuva. Jungreis addressed audiences throughout the 1970s and 80s, including an early program titled "You Are a Jew" at Madison Square Garden on November 18, 1973.[19] She spoke against trends of secularization 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 says to God to indicate his readiness in Genesis 22:1.[20][21] The name chosen by Jungreis contrasts with the Hebrew word "Poe," which means present (as in attendance-taking).[22][23]
In 1989, the Hineni Heritage Center opened in New York City. The Center houses a multi-media museum and offers classes in Torah 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.[21]
Jungreis wrote four[17] books: Jewish Soul on Fire (William Morrow & Company), The Committed Life: Principles of Good Living from Our Timeless Past (HarperCollins, translated into Hebrew, Russian and Hungarian and in its eighth edition) and The Committed Marriage (HarperCollins).[24] Her last book, published in 2006, was titled Life Is a Test.[25][26]
For over 40 years, she wrote a column for The Jewish Press using the Torah as the source for solutions to everyday problems.[24]
Esther Jungreis (left) with April Foley, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. Budapest, September 15, 2008.
U.S. President George W. Bush 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.[28]
The Ani Yehudi award was accepted posthumously by her daughter, Slovie Jungreis Wolf, on October 21, 2016.[29]
