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Video: Reconnecting with Lost Souls

Like most day camps, the staff at CGI of Silicon Valley went on trips on their Sundays off. However, the staff of this particular camp had an additional goal.

CGI of Silicon Valley is based in Sunnyvale, California. The camp is run under the auspices of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok and Dena Levin, and directed by Rabbi Ber and Esti Rosenblatt. To help supervise the hundred-plus campers that attend the camp over the summer, the directors brought down a total of nine staff members for the boys division.

On their Sundays off these staff members head to a few of the nearby tourist locations. However, besides seeing some of the Bay Area’s most popular spots, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Point Lobus, they also do Mivtzoim.

Over five Sundays, they put on tefillin with 14 Jews, ten of whom had never put on tefillin before. From lifeguards at the camp pool to a man on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, from teenagers to seniors, these staff members traversed the Bay Area finding Yidden.

Many of these individuals had interesting and varied pasts. One of the men came from a Navajo- Jewish background, while another was an acclaimed atheist, but when approached by a group of bochurim, these men stopped their touring to fulfill this millennia-old mitzvah.

Undeniably, the lesson is clear. As per the Rebbe’s directive, the staff members brought their tefillin with them on their leisure trips and got the opportunity to give ten Jews their first Tefillin experience!

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