Even if you never need to dig around in a forest to find something to eat for dinner, or figure out how to start a fire without matches, foraging is a useful skill to have. It’s also a great way for the family to spend a Sunday afternoon, says “Yossi the Forager,” who has a knack for uncovering the unexpected edible delights that Hashem has planted in His world.
I’m therefore not surprised to see that Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is filled with people: mothers strolling with baby carriages, joggers sprinting past, and families enjoying the day. I’d love to sit on a bench and just enjoy the sunshine, but I am here on a different mission. I have come to learn survival skills.
My teacher is Yossi Sirote, a musmach of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim as well as a guidance counselor. He also runs a kiruv program at Rutgers University called Abraham’s Tent. Talented and personable, Yossi could have pursued a challenging and satisfying career just in those areas. But he decided to follow his passion — and his passion is teaching people how to survive in the wilderness.
Yossi learned from the best. His survival skills (edible plants) teacher is a man named Wildman Steve Brill, the fellow who got arrested in 1986 for eating a dandelion in Central Park. He also learned wilderness survival skills at the Red Hawk Outdoor School in upstate New York. Today, he uses all that knowledge to educate others about the beauty of Hashem’s creations and to appreciate niflaos haBorei. He has worked extensively in Camp Mogen Avraham and currently spends his summers teaching in Camp Dora Golding.
I had imagined that Yossi would show up for our field trip dressed in army fatigues and a safari hat, so when he arrives at the park’s entrance I’m disappointed. He is dressed in a sport coat, slacks, and a white shirt, looking like he just finished teaching at Magen David Yeshivah, which in fact he did. It’s only when we begin chatting that I notice a rather odd behavior pattern. Yossi doesn’t look at me during our conversation. Instead, he is looking down at the ground.
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