While flipping through a recent issue of a well-known English Jewish weekly, my eye caught an article titled Live to Give: The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Guide to Achieving Emotional Wellbeing. I wouldn’t call myself a Lubavitch “disciple,” but the word “give” instantly struck a chord—and recalled another place I’d seen it used: the title of an essay by Anne Frank, dated March 12, 1944, from Tales from the Secret Annex.

That collection is often overshadowed by her iconic Diary, but it contains many overlooked “jewels” of insight—especially remarkable considering she was barely 15 when she wrote them. Her essay’s title draws from one of her grandmother’s favorite sayings, often quoted in the Frank family: “People who give will never be poor.”

Two lines from that essay continue to stay with me: “Everyone is born equal: we will all die and shed our earthly glory. Riches, power and fame last for only a few short years.” And “The world has plenty of room, riches, money and beauty. God has created enough for each and every one of us. Let us begin by dividing it more fairly!”

The Rebbe wrote, “You must get away from yourself and begin to think of others… The opportunities are many, and the need is great.”

On reflection, it strikes me that you couldn’t find two more different— yet equally towering—20th-century Jewish figures than Anne Frank and the Rebbe, connected by the same quiet command: Give.

John Goldsmith is president of the Basel, Switzerland-based Anne Frank Fonds set up by Anne’s father Otto Frank in 1963. to protect the legacy and rights of  Anne and the Frank family.