Throughout history, there have been those who are more attuned to what the moment demands. Whether they came from politics, religion, or the arts, or whether they were just people who happened to be at the right place at the right time, they recognized a need and acted in turn. Below are 18 groundbreaking figures whose actions reverberated across space and time, leaving a mark much greater than they could have imagined. Whether you follow in their footsteps or pave your own path, remember that any one of us can be on this list.
Moses. Biblical leader, who heeded the call to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Abraham. Biblical patriarch, who heeded the call even before knowing what would be asked of him.
Esther. Jewish queen of Persia, who heeded the call to save her people from annihilation.
Nachshon ben Aminadav. Biblical figure, who heeded the call even when others were afraid to do so.
Theodor Herzl. Founder of modern Zionism, who heeded the call to create a Jewish homeland.
Henrietta Szold. Founder of Hadassah who heeded the call to help build the Jewish homeland and rescue Jewish children from Nazi Europe.
Janusz Korczak. Jewish-Polish educator who heeded the call to care for and stand by Jewish orphans.
Raoul Wallenberg. Swedish diplomat who heeded the call to save tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
Rosa Parks. American civil rights activist who heeded the call to challenge segregation on public transportation.
Natan Sharansky. Soviet Jewish dissident who heeded the call to defy the Soviet regime despite imprisonment and persecution.
Harriet Tubman. Abolitionist, who heeded the call to lead slaves to freedom.
Susan B. Anthony. American women’s rights leader who heeded the call to fight for women’s right to vote.
Dolores Huerta. Labor organizer, who heeded the call to fight for farmworkers’ rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr. American civil rights leader, who heeded the call to non-violently confront racial injustice.
Elie Wiesel. Holocaust survivor and writer, who heeded the call to bear witness and warn against indifference to suffering.
Hannah Szenes. Jewish poet and paratrooper, who heeded the call to save Jews from the Nazis.
Golda Meir. Fearless Zionist pioneer and first female prime minister of Israel.
Sophie Scholl. German student and member of the White Rose resistance, who heeded the call to speak out against the Nazis.
