Reines was born in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Jewish emigrants to the US from Russia and a paternal relative of the Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines, as the youngest of four children.
Reines was born in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Gussie (Cohen) and Israel Reines, Jewish emigrants to the US from Russia. He is a paternal relative of the Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines, and the youngest of four children.