Jungreis - The Committed Life: Principles for Good Living from Our Timeless Past

Dedicated in loving memory to my husband,

Rabbi Meshulem HaLevi Jungreis.

May the memory of the righteous be for a blessing.

The Hebrew name Meshulem means complete, and that
name personified everything that my husband was.

Contents

T he idea for this book was born on a tour bus in Israel. Since the inception of Hineni, the organization I founded for spiritual outreach twenty-seven years ago, I have been privileged to lead a group to the Holy Land almost every summer. Those of you who are familiar with group tours know that much of the day is spent traveling on buses from place to place. I was anxious to maximize every moment of the trip for our people, so in addition to pointing out the sights from the bus, I related storiesstories about life, and stories that demonstrate how the wisdom of our past can impact on our lives today. After several days of storytelling, two of my dear friends, Susan Friedman and Sheila Lambert, urged me to recount these stories in a book.

Whatever is meant to be happens, and no sooner did I return to the States then I received a call from Freya Manston, one of the finest literary agents in New York. She had read about my work and was convinced that I had another book in me. The sequence of events was striking. Freya loved the stories. Reading them makes me feel like Im talking to my grandmother, who was a most wonderful, wise, and kind lady, she said. Freya made many fine suggestions and brought the book to the attention of Diane Reverand, the very gifted and sensitive editor in chief at Cliff Street/HarperCollins. It was Diane who advised that the stories be categorized under the chapter headings that are found in this book. It was Diane who, after reading the manuscript, felt that the most appropriate title would be The Committed Life. For that, and for her many other insightful suggestions, I thank her, as I do Freya, Susan, and Sheila.

I would also like to thank my dearest friend Barbara Janov, executive director of Hineni, who has been at my side since the very genesis of Hineni, and who untiringly stayed up with me late into the nights feeding these stories into the computer. I feel it only proper at this time to express my heartfelt appreciation to the leadership and membership of our Hineni organization Many people have helped make this incredible outreach organization possible, and I humbly thank all of them and ask for their kind understanding if I do not mention them by name. There are, however, a few families that I must cite for they have enabled me to create and maintain Hineni over the years. I list them in alphabetical order: Pat and Jimmy Cayne, Sheila and Jeffrey Levine, Selma Meyerson Milgrim, the Pilevsky family, Jill and Bill Roberts, Elinor Wohl, Ronne and Joe Wohl, and a man who has always wished to remain anonymous but who has been a most wonderful and trusted friend throughout the years. He surely knows who he is. I would also like to express my appreciation to the editors of the Jewish Press, Rabbi Shalom and Irene Klass, for their long years of friendship and support.

On a personal note, I thank my dear and revered parents. My father, Rabbi Abraham HaLevi Jungreis, Ztl (of blessed memory), was called to the Heavenly Courts eight years ago, but his spirit and inspiration surely guided the writing of this book. My dear mother, may she live and be well, Rebbetzin Miriam Jungreis, has given and continues to give me much comfort and strength. My eternal love and commitment go to my partner in life, my husband, Rabbi Meshulem HaLevi Jungreis, to whose loving memory I dedicate this book. Last, but not least, I thank my beautiful, precious children, who are my blessing, who have sustained me throughout the good as well as the difficult days of my life, and who are my dedicated partners in my outreach work in Hineni. May G-d be with them always: Chaya Sora and Rabbi Shlomo Gertzulin, Rabbi Yisroel and Rivke Jungreis, Slovi and Mendy Wolff, Rabbi Osher and Yaffa Jungreis, and all their children, my beloved grandchildren, who are following in their ancestors footsteps and who are the greatest joy of my existence.

Above all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Almighty G-d for His many mercies, for having enabled me to write this book, which I hope and pray will reach the hearts of all His children. May He find me worthy of serving Him in truth and honor. HINENI, HERE I AM!

T he Talmud teaches that when a woman conceives, an angel takes the unborn soul to G-d, and G-d entrusts it with a unique mission and decides whether that soul will become a male or a female, healthy or sickly, tall or short, bright or dull, beautiful or homely, rich or poor. Then the angel takes the soul on a grand tour of Paradise and Gehenom (Hell), revealing the rewards and punishments that await when the soul returns to its abode after death.

Everything is predestined except whether we are going to be good or bad, or whether we will fulfill our mission or notthat is the only choice that is left to us. How wisely we will choose will depend upon our reverence for G-d. In the end, that is all that counts. Tragically, that is one area of which most of us have no understanding. We grope in darkness trying to make some sense out of our lives. Ours is a generation that lacks moral underpinnings. There are no values to hold onto, no role models to look up to. Movie stars, sports heros, and government leaders from presidents to royalty have become the new fallen idols of our age.

Our homes lack stability and serenity. Divorce and dysfunctional families have become the norm, and our schools are, at best, gateways to economic opportunity, preparing our children for careers and jobs but not for life.

Our world is an angry world, high on bitterness and entitlement and low on kindness and generosity. People are hurting because their souls are empty. They ask, What is my life all about? Why am I here? What is my mission? But no answers are forthcoming. Ours is a generation that has been described by the prophet Amos: And days shall come upon you, saith the L-rd, and I shall send a hunger into the land. Not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but a hunger for the word of G-d.

For the past forty years I have been privileged to address audiences throughout the world. I have discovered that whether I spoke to the soldiers of the U.S. Armed Forces at Fort Hood, Texas, or to students at Oxford University, or to audiences at Madison Square Garden, the Johannesburg Coliseum, or Binyanei HaOuma in Jerusalem, or to people in small communities like Wichita, Kansas, or Coventry, England, it made little differencethis spiritual hunger was prevalent everywhere. This quest transcends all social and cultural differences. Although we cannot recall our tour of Paradise and Gehenom, there is a hidden corner in our souls that does remember, that urges us to do good and not bad, that seeks kindness and not vengeance, that yearns for love and not hatred, that desires to fulfill our G-d-entrusted mission.

I was speaking in London, and the evening was especially meaningful because the entire program had been arranged and sponsored by young people. The large auditorium was packed to the rafters. People were lining the walls. It was hot and uncomfortable, but nobody seemed to mind. There was a special energy in the room that embodied this quest. I stayed long into the night, answering questionsquestions that came from the inner recesses of the heart, questions that spoke of disenchantment and pain, questions on how to live a more committed life.