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Spirituality

Unshakable

Faith

SHIRT REVITAL BILIK

Special to the Jewish News

I

Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

Shiri Revital Bilik of Commerce Township is a sopho-

more in the Residential College program at the
University of Michigan. The political science major
grew up in Israel.

n an appearance both inspiring and con-
troversial, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis,
author and leader of the Jewish reawak-
ening movement Hineni (meaning "I am
here"), brought her mission to rekindle the
flames of Judaism to Ann Arbor.
Sponsored by the Lubavitch outreach organi-
zation Chabad, Jungreis spoke March 12 at the
University of Michigan's Rackham
Amphitheater.
In her talk titled "Take Charge of Your
Life: Principles of Survival From Our
Unshakable Faith," the rebbetzin called on the
crowd of students and community members
to rediscover their Judaism.
"In order for us to take charge of our lives,"
she said, "it is essential that we understand what
it means to be a Jew."
Jungreis, a survivor of the Bergen-Belsen con-
centration camp in Germany, arrived in this
country in 1947. She founded the New York-
based Hineni movement in 1973, she says, after
becoming disenchanted by the apathy she
sensed in contemporary Jews.
The movement, which has chapters
throughout the world, offers programs and
educational services for people who want to
further their understanding of Judaism.
Jungreis also publishes a weekly column in
the New York-based Jewish Press and broad-
casts a weekly television program on the
National Jewish Television network.
According to Jungreis, whose family
includes a long line of rabbis, being Jewish
means recognizing some identifying qualities
that set the Jewish people apart. "Is there such

Rebbetzin
makes a plea
for Jewish
awakening.

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