Yeeshai Gross, founder of two production companies — Multipleoutlet and Ergo Entertainment —  is a 58-year-old New York native who produces Broadway shows, short films and documentaries. As an Orthodox Jewish person himself, Gross gravitates towards projects that speak to his community, such as Holocaust education productions like “The Witness Project” and the Emmy-nominated documentary “Paper Clips.” On Nov. 17, Gross shared with The Justice what it means to give back, discussing his previous projects and the Public Service Announcements he produced for the Jewish crisis organization “Amudim.”

GROSS: I would go to camp and I would watch shows being put on. I was more fascinated by the backstage goings-on than I was with what was going on onstage. What really sparked my interest was … the chaos backstage of getting everything ready, and then crossing that line of what the audience sees, [which is] a completely polished, beautiful, shiny, thing that is not what’s necessarily happening behind that wall. That was unbelievable

GROSS: I would go to camp and I would watch shows being put on. I was more fascinated by the backstage goings-on than I was with what was going on onstage. What really sparked my interest was … the chaos backstage of getting everything ready, and then crossing that line of what the audience sees, [which is] a completely polished, beautiful, shiny, thing that is not what’s necessarily happening behind that wall. That was unbelievable.

Now I want to ask you about your Orthodox Jewish background. You make PSAs for Amudim that focus on sensitive topics like sexual abuse, addiction and mental illness. What about your community inspires you to give back in this way?

GROSS: A number of years ago, as I started getting older, I came to the conclusion that I would like to do work on projects that are more important to me and my community. I started getting involved in Jewish nonprofits, and trying to use whatever skills or talents I had in order to help them. And a lot of these Jewish nonprofits were dealing with very difficult topics, topics that have been taboo over the years. And I started saying, “How can we work on this from a theatrical point of view, instead of just using statistics? How can I use what I know in order to help these organizations?” I wanted to leave things behind that were important to me, to my children, to my grandchildren. And that became something that was quite important to me.

How long did it take for you to see the impact of these films in the community?

GROSS: Early on, I started seeing a tremendous impact within the Jewish community. We started seeing people get help as a direct result of the videos we put out … A tremendous measure for us was how it was being shared in the non-Jewish world. They were sharing the PSAs [for] the same reason that we were putting them out, saying this kind of stuff is in every single community. When we started seeing thousands of shares by churches and mosques and things like that, we realized that this was a good thing that we were doing for the world and for the communities at large.

These PSAs, such as “This Is Not Us,” “A Life Worth Living” and “Happy Birthday Dad,” tackle difficult topics all from an Orthodox Jewish lens, yet your outreach wasn’t hindered by that. What about these films do you think appeal to other communities?

GROSS: The first instinct on any of these topics is for the community to say, “This is not us. It doesn’t happen here.” So that’s why it’s being shown, that these were made through the lens of Orthodox Judaism saying, “Yes. It does happen here.” And I think that’s what was picked up by, you know, other religions. It was like, “It happens everywhere.” A lot of these pieces are designed for people who think they’re the only ones in their community going through something like this, who feel tremendously alone. We want to show them that not only are there other people to help them, but there are tons of other people going through it. There is a comfort in that, in knowing “It’s not just me, there is a place for help, and there is hope.”

Are these PSAs based on true stories?

GROSS: They’re all based on a mix of things … I made a PSA called “This Is Not Us” because I kept hearing from psychologists and professionals that the number one thing that people say is, “This is just not us.” We don’t actually say it, but it’s pretty clear that it’s [about] sexual abuse. And the words on that, they’re basically all excuses: half excuses of why not to deal with it, and half denials. It was designed to show that these people in high positions are not necessarily evil, but it’s what they believe. They believe that it can’t be, that you can’t have a teacher who everybody loves and yet is abusing students. And the answer is, unfortunately, it can be.

It seems like you’re drawn to difficult topics, especially with your work in Holocaust education. Are you related to survivors?

GROSS: My grandparents were both Holocaust survivors, and were both big talkers on that experience … it became something that was instilled in me, this concept of educating people.

“Paper Clips” followed students in Whitwell, Tennessee as they gathered six million paper clips to honor the Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust. “The Witness Project” features students working with Holocaust survivors to share their stories. What attracted you to these productions?

GROSS: One thing about “Paper Clips” that attracted me was where it was taking place and who it was taking place with. The fact that it was in Middle America, Whitwell, Tennessee, with Christian Fundamentalists teaching students about the Holocaust … that to me was worth 1,000 times what it is to teach grandchildren of survivors about the Holocaust. “The Witness Project” is Holocaust survivors working with teenage students, telling their stories to them, developing really nice close relationships with them. Elie Wiesel, his famous quote is, “When you hear a story from a survivor, you become a witness yourself.” That’s where this whole concept comes from. It’s mixed with Jewish kids and non-Jewish students. Many of the Jewish students only know a little about the Holocaust. That same thing that attracted me to “Paper Clips” attracted me to this. To understand what could potentially come of [hate] is ridiculously important. I think it’s even more important now than ever.