Esther Jungreis was a Hungarian-born American religious leader. She was the founder of the international Hineni movement in the United States. A Holocaust survivor, she worked to bring Jews to Orthodox Judaism. A tiny, frail looking woman, she spoke forcefully against assimilation. Jungreis was born in Szeged, Hungary on April 27, 1936, to Avraham and Miriam Jungreis. Her two brothers, Jacob and Binyamin, both became rabbis. Her father, Abraham, was an Orthodox rabbi and operated a little shtiebel in the city, known for being home to one of the country's most prominent Neolog communities at the time. Abraham 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 to have the family transferred onto the so-called Kastner train as it passed through Budapest. As a result, after a journey of several weeks and a diversion to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, delivered its 1,670 passengers in Switzerland. In 1947, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Jungreis reconnected with distant cousin Theodore (Meshulem HaLevi) Jungreis, a rabbi, and they married. The couple settled in North Woodmere, New York, and founded the North Woodmere Jewish Center/Orthodox Congregation Ohr Torah. Together, they raised four children. 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." This led to the birth of the Hineni movement on November 18, 1973, in Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum. The movement aimed to promote authentic, traditional Yiddishkeit in the United States. As the leader of this movement, she drew criticism for her outspoken stance against interfaith marriages. She was also critical of secularization, which she viewed as a form of assimilation. The Hineni organization, the writings and worldwide lectures by the late Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis were her major accomplishments in Orthodox Judaism outreach. Hineni 'Here I am,' is an organization founded in May 1973 by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis to encourage Jews to transition to Orthodox Judaism, a prominent example of the movement known as Ba'al Teshuva. Jungreis addressed large crowds throughout the 70s and 80s. She spoke forcefully against trends of secularization and assimilation that she considered to be "spiritual genocide." 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. They also conduct a singles program. Many of the couples who met through this program attend Hineni's Young Marrieds Seminars and their children participate in Hineni Torah Tots, linking three, and in some cases four generations. At the Hineni Bill and Jill Roberts Outreach Center in Jerusalem, in addition to educational and social programs, guidance and counseling are offered to youth at risk. Hineni became a worldwide movement with centers all over the world. As a result, Jungreis spoke in locations such as the Hollywood Palladium, the Johannesburg Coliseum and Binyanei HaUmah in Jerusalem. She also spoke regularly for the United States Army and Navy, as well as for the Israel Defense Forces. In 1998, Hineni opened a soup kitchen and youth center in Jerusalem, offering social and support services for young people at risk, apart from hosting an annual Passover Seder for the city’s homeless residents. Jungreis wrote four books, including Jewish Soul on Fire; The Committed Life: Principles of Good Living from Our Timeless Past, and The Committed Marriage. Her last book, published in 2006, was Life Is a Test. For more than forty years, she wrote a column for The Jewish Press using the Torah as the source for solutions to everyday problems. Jungreis was named "Woman of the Year" by Hadassah, Jewish War Veterans, B'nai B'rith, Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations, the Knights of Pythias, and the Christian Amita Society. 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. The ANI YEHUDI award was accepted posthumously by her daughter, Slovie Jungreis Wolf, on October 21, 2016.

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