GILAD SCHWARTZ BIO
Our son, Gilad Hillel Schwartz, was a beautiful, caring, warm and kind human being. He was funny and intelligent, witty and charming, and his awesome smile made others feel comfortable around him. There was music coursing through Gilad's soul, and he had a gift for playing guitar. He passed from this world at the age of 19, when he was on the cusp of adulthood, on the brink of beginning his life. He was about to pursue his passions, discover his identity and follow a chosen ambition.
Gilad was an amateur, aspiring intellectual, and loved the pursuit of knowledge, of chachmah and of the essence of ideas, whether it was literature or philosophy, Torah or music or physics. He would have been successful had he been to able continue along any of these paths. Moreover, Gilad desperately wanted to live long enough to fall in love, get married and have children.
We chose to send Gilad to Camp Stone, in order to have a summer experience apart from his hometown buddies. Camp is the ultimate escape from the world of school and parents, from homework and chores, from boredom and the monotony of life. Stone was the place Gilad went to be happy, to hang out and chill with his friends. It was where he learned about Israel and Jewish History without the drudgery of formal learning. He met kids from all over the country as well as Israel, and some of the friendships he developed were extraordinary. There were many who supported him through his illness and more than a few traveled from far in order to say goodbye.
Gilad's life may have been tragically cut short by cancer, but we want to continue his legacy. He has no children to carry on his remarkable personality, his tenacity and drive, his interests and passions. We are hoping, instead, that the kids at Camp Stone could be his surrogate children, and continue in his footsteps to hear the music of life, to live and breathe the freedom of a childhood summer within Camp Stone's special Torah and Zionistic atmosphere.
Camp Stone has retained the original mission of Bnei Akiva that I remember as a counselor. Torah V'avodah is the Zionist mission that is infused to the kids every moment during shiurim, hikes, peulot, colorwar, and Shabbat. Camp Stone was a place that Gilad loved, or as Yehuda Rothner says, a place where Gilad felt whole. Music spoke to Gilad, and when he jammed, it was obvious that it gave him a kick and buzz, and often became his escape. Since Gilad was creative and musical we felt it would be appropriate to dedicate the Song and Dance Studio at Camp Stone in his memory.