Why So Many of the Greatest Leaders in Jewish History Began Life as Jewish Outsiders

I have often wondered why some of the greatest leaders in Jewish history grew up without traditional Jewish educations. They began life as Jewish outsiders. The greatest Israelite prophet of all—Moses—grew up in the Egyptian palace, presumably learning the arts of political leadership necessary to rule a people. The greatest Zionist of all—Theodor Herzl—grew up in the world of the Germanic gymnasium, where the habits of the aristocratic heart took shape, including living always with honor. The great sage, Rabbi Akiva, was an uneducated shepherd until middle age, whose remarkable wife stood by him for decades as he became a master teacher of Torah. Ze’ev Jabotinsky—the warrior founder of the Jewish state and Zionist youth movement—grew up immersed in high Russian and Western culture.

And Roger Hertog, the chairman emeritus of the Tikvah Fund, whom we honored last week with our Herzl Prize—well, he grew up in a small apartment in the Bronx. From unlikely beginnings, great Jewish leaders emerge. Or as we say in Hallel, the liturgy of Jewish celebration: “The stone the builders rejected has become the main cornerstone.” For Tikvah, for the Jewish people, for American conservatism—and for me: Roger Hertog is the main cornerstone.

My first meeting with Mr. Hertog was in 2006, alongside the influential American intellectual Yuval Levin. Mr. Hertog was already a legendary figure—certainly to two young men in their twenties, reared in the modern conservative movement. Seeing Roger was like visiting the godfather. He let each of us talk, fumbling anxiously to explain our backgrounds and our ambitions. And then he cut to the chase: there was an organization called Tikvah, and he was looking to expand its activities in the United States and Israel. Tikvah’s purpose was to advance Jewish ideas, educate future Jewish and Zionist leaders, and create a new Jewish conservatism modeled on other conservative institutions like the American Enterprise Institute, the Manhattan Institute, and the Public Interest. He was looking for someone to help lead this effort. If this prospect intrigued us, we should follow up. Simple. Direct. Inspiring.