NOVEMBER 11 • 2021 | 53

— Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah 
and Jonah — actually pray 
to die rather than continue. 
Nor was this true only in the 
distant past. Abraham Lincoln 
suffered deep bouts of depres-
sion. So did Churchill, who 
called it his “black dog.
” 
Gandhi and Martin Luther 
King both attempted suicide 
in adolescence and experi-
enced depressive illness in 
adult life. The same was true 
of many great creative artists, 
among them Michelangelo, 
Beethoven and Van Gogh.
Is it greatness that leads 
to moments of despair, or 
moments of despair that 
lead to greatness? Is it that 
those who lead internalize 
the stresses and tensions of 
their time? Or is it that those 
who are used to stress in their 
emotional lives find release 
in leading exceptional lives? 
There is no convincing answer 
to this in the literature thus 
far. 
But Jacob was a more emo-
tionally volatile individual 
than either Abraham, who 
was often serene even in the 
face of great trials, or Isaac 
who was more than usually 
withdrawn. Jacob feared; 
Jacob loved; Jacob spent more 
of his time in exile than the 
other patriarchs. But Jacob 
endured and persisted. Of all 
the figures in Genesis, he is the 
great survivor.
The ability to survive and to 
recover is part of what it takes 
to be a leader. It is the will-
ingness to live a life of risks 
that makes such individuals 
different from others. So said 
Theodor Roosevelt in one 
of the greatest speeches ever 
made on the subject: “It is 
not the critic who counts; not 
the man who points out how 
the strong man stumbles, or 

where the doer of deeds could 
have done them better. 
“The credit belongs to the 
man who is actually in the 
arena, whose face is marred 
by dust and sweat and blood; 
who strives valiantly; who 
errs, who comes short again 
and again, because there is 
no effort without error and 
shortcoming; but who does 
actually strive to do the deeds; 
who knows great enthusiasms, 
great devotions; who spends 
himself in a worthy cause; 
who at the best knows in 
the end the triumph of high 
achievement, and who at the 
worst, if he fails, at least fails 
while daring greatly, so that 
his place shall never be with 
those cold and timid souls 
who neither know victory nor 
defeat.
” 
Jacob endured the rivalry 
of Esau, the resentment of 
Laban, the tension between 
his wives and children, the 
early death of his beloved 
Rachel and the loss, for 22 
years, of his favorite son 
Joseph. He said to Pharaoh, 
“Few and hard have been the 
years of my life” (Gen. 47:9). 
Yet on the way he “encoun-
tered” angels, and whether 
they were wrestling with him 
or climbing the ladder to 
heaven, they lit the night with 
the aura of transcendence.
To try, to fall, to fear and yet 
to keep going: that is what it 
takes to be a leader. 
That was Jacob, the man 
who at the lowest ebbs of his 
life had his greatest visions of 
heaven. 

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 

served as the chief rabbi of the 

United Hebrew Congregations of the 

Commonwealth, 1991-2013. His teach-

ings have been made available to 

all at rabbisacks.org. This essay was 

written in 2013.

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

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24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
Your Plan?.....
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We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
Your Plan?.....
Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
Your Plan?.....
Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

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Southfield, MI 48034
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Happy 
50th Birthday, 
Andrew !

Love, 
Terri, Rachel, Kierra and Charlie Thav 
& Jamie, Nikki, Jaden, Noah, 
Stevie and Eddie Ryke

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

What Is

Your Plan?.....

Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation 

and Administration. Administering 

estates where everyone is on the same 

page. Protecting you from self-dealing 

parties appointed by will, trust or the 

court. Protecting you from family 

members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

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