Tag: Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

"The idea of bringing people back to Yiddishkeit was inside me from my childhood days."

Refuah Shelaima to Esther Bat Miriam.

Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, founder and president of Hineni, the Jewish outreach organization, addressed an overflow crowd recently at Congregation Shaarei Tefila in Los Angeles.

I was on a city bus as it stopped for a young boy frantically waving his arms, fearful the bus might not stop for him on this snowy February afternoon. As the boy, wearing a thin jacket, boarded the bus, he searched his pockets for bus fare, found nothing, and told the bus driver he had left his money at home. “Could you please let me ride this bus?” he asked. “I promise to give you the money tomorrow. It’s so freezing outside, and it’s such a long walk home.” The bus driver refused, ordering the boy to leave the bus immediately.

Dear Rebbetzin Jungreis: I am not Orthodox, nor am I actively involved in Jewish life. My background is Reform. My family attends High Holiday services; we are not kosher, but my parents have a seder on Passover - though we don't strictly observe the law of not eating bread during the entire holiday. My parents would never consider bringing really non-kosher food like ham or bacon into the house, though they do eat everything in restaurants. They are devoted to the land of Israel and they raised us with good Jewish values, and I visited Israel with our Temple youth group.

Having been raised in a home where Yiddish was spoken as often as English, I can say with some confidence that I understand mamaloshen quite well. But I have to admit that the first time a friend, "Chaya" in a tentative, hushed voice, stated that a mutual acquaintance had "yene machlah," I was confused. I knew that she unfortunately had cancer, so why was "Chaya" saying in Yiddish, THAT illness? Why the reluctance to use the actual medical term for the disease. Why not just say it - like when someone has a stroke or a heart attack.

Following in their mother's footsteps, Rabbis Yisroel and Osher Anshel Jungreis just published their first book (ArtScroll), Torah for Your Table, a collection of essays on the weekly parshah. Hineni founder and longtime Jewish Press columnist Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis compiled the essays, which were originally delivered as lectures at Hineni's Torah classes.

Many a parent would like to see their child follow in their footsteps. Sometimes it is a very hard act to follow, but in the case of Slovie Jungreis-Wolff it is a nachas to all of us to see her following the path of her world-renowned mother, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis.

Hineni, the renowned Torah outreach organization, has announced that the latest best selling book of its founder and president, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis is now available in an audio CD version.