Mirra Alfassa (The Mother)

Born Mirra Alfassa to an Egyptian Jewish mother and a Turkish Jewish father in Paris, it's safe to say her ancestral bona fides were rather robust. Despite growing up in a secular environment, she inherited a lineage that would make many a Bubbe kvell, even if she spent her life pursuing something decidedly non-kosher, spiritually speaking.

After a somewhat conventional Parisian upbringing, Mirra met Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry and promptly ditched the Left Bank for the ashram life. She became his chief collaborator, managing the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and developing the philosophy of Integral Yoga, which, surprisingly, doesn't involve any gefilte fish.

Upon Aurobindo's passing, she continued as 'The Mother,' leading the ashram and establishing Auroville, an experimental international township dedicated to human unity. This utopian vision, while not exactly a kibbutz, certainly carried a certain community-building spirit, proving that even without a synagogue, a strong sense of purpose can flourish. One might even say she had a calling, just not from a rabbi.