Y-Alumni: Yosef Gillers
Who are you?
I’m originally from Newton, MA, and now we live in Englewood, NJ. My wife Sara is an RN, and our daughter Zeva is 2 years old. I went to Maimonides from K-12, then learned in Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in Yerushalayim. I earned my BA in Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010, with some concentration on Education and Glassblowing. I founded GrowTorah in 2014 and have been working on it ever since.
What are the big things you’re working on now?
Right now, I’m taking my organization, GrowTorah, from a successful project at a few schools, into phase 2. We build educational Torah garden programs for Jewish Day schools. Phase 2 will mean bringing GrowTorah to every Jewish Day school across North America! Our vision has every Jewish school featuring a GrowTorah garden, creating a space to learn about Torah, science, health, Jewish values and ethics, and more! We were just accepted into the OU’s Impact Accelerator program, earning seed money and valuable mentorship opportunities, so that will be a big step in the right direction.
What impact are you having on the world around you?
We’re inspiring thousands of kids to love Hashem through nature, and to use that love to then care for Hashem’s world through animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and Tzedakah. We feel that this is both an essential Jewish value and perspective on life, but doesn’t get much attention in today’s modern world. We’re looking to fix that.
We’re inspiring thousands of kids to love Hashem through nature, and to use that love to then care for Hashem’s world…
Are there things you learned from Yagilu that you use consistently?
Every setback we encounter, I always think of the 10-day hike I was leading back in 2008 or 2009, when it rained for 7 of those 10 days. Even just one day of rain on a hike can really dampen the enthusiasm of a group, and it takes a lot of effort and positive vibes to overcome that. If I could endure seven whole days of that, and lead my campers through with joy and fulfillment, than I can definitely endure a logistical setback.
What’s the most important thing you learned from Yagilu?
The importance of a debrief. Not only following a group activity, but for any learning moment. It is so crucial to reflect on what you learn from any experience, whether personal or group. But honestly, the most important life lessons that guide me day-to-day all came from my time working in Yagilu.
Honestly, the most important life lessons that guide me day-to-day all came from my time working in Yagilu.
What’s your favorite camp memory?
My first summer as a counselor, in 2006, we built a pretty cool project [one of the highlights of Yagilu 1 is the building projects. Campers have the opportunity to use the skills they’ve learned to design and build incredible projects among the trees of our forest campus. The creative opportunities are literally endless] with ‘couches’ 15 feet up in the air, a swing, and a sturdy ladder. I loved teaching my learning group up in the “living room” on the floating couches.
