Sukkot with Bracha's Family - October 12-13

On Wednesday, October 12 Rafi and I woke up for the day and went straight to the shuk and the grocery store since we were in a food shortage. We wanted to prepare for the coming week because we knew it would be difficult to get out to the store during Sukkot due to our many plans and store closure days. The previous day I had made a meal plan for the week as well as a grocery list so we would be efficient during the pre-chag (holiday) madness. We bought our necessities: bread, milk, hummus, cheese, spaghetti noodles, onions, Shabbat wine, rice, couscous, penne noodles, peaches, apples, bananas, cucumber, garlic, dried apricots, white raisins, green onion, chicken breasts, and ground beef. We were then fully stocked! When we shop we always bring my tote bag, large bag, as well as plastic bags we have previously received and use them instead of getting new plastic bags every time. We returned home hungry so I made a tasty lunch consisting of spaghetti noodles with olive oil, seasonings, herbs, garlic, green and white onion, and sauteed chicken breast. Rafi loved it! So did I.

Next we packed our bags for the first night and day of Sukkot. We were spending the night at Bracha's and spending time with her and her family. We grabbed our bags and the ugat shokolad (chocolate cake) that Rafi and I had purchased to bring to dinner and left for the bus station. We discovered that so many other people were also trying to travel at this time to get to their Sukkot destinations before the buses stopped running for the holiday. The lines at security screening to enter the bus station were enormous. We got through all right after being patient. The bus ride seemed very quick since we had already taken the bus from Jerusalem to the Tel Aviv area a few times before that. Lilach, Bracha's daughter picked Rafi and I up from the bus stop. We drove to her house because Bracha had laid down for a nap and we did not want to disturb her.

When we arrived at Lilach's house, Rafi was sleepy too so Lilach offered him time to take a nap as well. While Rafi slept, I spent time with Lilach outside on her porch, talking about life and Hebrew words. We heard a rustlings of branches and a thud from a neighbor's yard. Lilach jumped up and went into the yard with me trailing behind. Under the tree I found my self standing under were many fruits laying in the grass, all smelling very frangrant and fruity. They were guavas. Lilach and I felt the fruits trying to find the one that had just fallen from the tree. We went back to her house with a few in hand. Lilach washed and cut them up, discarding the bad parts. We went back to the porch and dined on fresh guavas. Rafi woke up very soon after that (probably because he knew food was present) and also began munching on the guavas.

Lilach then drove us to Bracha's house where Rafi and I relaxed with coffee and cookies while talking with Bracha and Lilach. We were all waiting until it was time to start driving to Eti and Eldad's house for Sukkot dinner (Eldad is Bracha's son and Lilach's brother, Eti is his wife). We drove the short distance to their home and began the festivities of the evening. Eti and Eldad were happy to see us again (we had Rosh Hashanah dinner with them at Bracha's home) as well as their children. Eti's brothers were also at the dinner, as well as one brother's wife and children and the other brother's longtime girlfriend and her boys (they were older boys), and Lilach's sister and her family. It was a huge celebration with many people! Everyone was so nice and welcoming. Rafi and I had such a great time! We feel very comfortable with their family - it feels like a family away from home! The food was spectacular and plentiful. They had various meat skewers, steak, hamburger patties, hummus and tahina bowls, pita, salads, rice, potatoes, and desserts! Wow, so much food!

Before an during dinner, Rafi and I sat with Eti's brother's girlfriend and two of her sons (ages 16 and 22). The 22 year old, Sean Daniel, is a professional basketball player who plays for Cholon in Israel. We talked to him about a bunch of things, including basketball. He told us that he was going to be playing in a game for Cholon vs. Tel Aviv the very next evening and if we wanted to go, he could get tickets for us. Of course we wanted to go! How fun! We had been looking forward to seeing a sporting event of some kind. We got his phone number and told him that we would call him about tickets. It is so funny to us that we have met two professional basketball players during our travels. It also turns out, through our conversation with Sean, that he had played on the same Israel team as the other basketball player we met in Poland (they both played on Ramat Gan's team)! It sure is a small world!

After dinner we schmoozed and relaxed with the great company. Lihi, Eldad and Eti's daughter, gave us a tour of their house in Hebrew. It was very cute - she is a spunky girl. It got late so Rafi, Bracha, Lilach, and I piled into Bracha's car and drove back to her house. Lilach hung out for a bit while we settled and then left to her own house. Rafi and I got ready for bed and relaxed and read before sleep.
When we woke up the next morning and emerged from our room, we saw the dining room table set up for us, full of breakfast food. Bracha came in and told us to eat. We sat and ate a nice breakfast. Some of the things she had laid out for us were, a cucumber and tomato salat, yogurt, cheeses, olives, and pita. We relaxed around the house for a bit, talking with Bracha when she was in the room and watching TV for the rest of the time. Lilach called us and said that her and some of the other family were going to Tel Aviv in 45 minutes to get some ice cream on the beach. We agreed that it was a great idea! She picked us up when it was time to go and we drove to the beachy area where we would meet the rest of the family. Some of the family was on time, and other showed up a bit late, but we all got ice cream and we were all able to enjoy the sunny, beachy Sukkot day!

These pictures are all from Sukkot day with Bracha's family at the beach in Tel Aviv. This one here is a picture of the family. Lilach is taking the picture. From back left: Lilach's brother-in-law and her sister, me, Rafi, Eti (Eldad's wife), Lihi, Tomer, and Eldad (Lilach's brother). In front of Eldad in green is his nephew. The shorter boy is Nevo. In the front row is Eti's brother, his wife and more kids (it was hard to keep track of the kids).

The tentish thing on the beach seemed to me like a type of beachy sukkah!

The cousins sharing a great Sukkot day on the beach in Tel Aviv.

And now Rafi will write about the basketball game:

After the Chag ended, Lilach dropped us off at a bus stop to Jerusalem, so we could return in time to see the basketball game. Attending an Israeli sports event was something I mentioned wanting to do at least once while we were in Israel, so it was convenient that we were invited to one! Sean had mentioned that the basketball arena was near Malkah Mall, not too far from the Central Bus Station, so when the bus passed by the station we were a little bit worried. We were told that the game started at 8:15, and by that time it was already 7:30. So we got off at the nearest stop and decided the best option was to hail a cab.

After bargaining the price down from 65 to 50 Sheqels, we entered the cab, and I explained we were going to a basketball game in an arena near Malkah Mall. "There's a soccer stadium near Malkah, but no basketball arena," he said in Hebrew. We were nervous because there seemed to be a miscommunication of some sort, but the cabdriver was savvy enough to get us exactly where we needed to go without any further questions.

After waiting in line to collect the tickets that Sean generously left us, we made our way to enter the building. Since we had stayed overnight at Bracha's, we had our clothing, toiletries, books, and waterbottles all in a bag, which of course was checked by security at the entrance. My bag happened to have the waterbottle, which apparently is hazardous (maybe because people might throw them on the court?) and the guard said the best option was to hide the bottle in the bushes. Since we left a waterbottle in the Ramat Gan apartment, losing another would be a terrible catastrophe, so I made sure to hide it well. The guard let me reenter the line in the front, and after a quick bathroom break Chelsey and I went to find our seats.

Seating in this arena was lax, so after finding our section we went down to the best seats we could find, about 4 or 5 rows up from the court! These seats would cost upwards of $100 for an NBA game, maybe even more. Pregame entertainment included a women's dance team, as well as an Ethiopian men's acrobatic dance team. The match was between Holon and Tel Aviv, the latter being the heavy favorite. Also, this game represented the final of what I believe was supposed to be a preseason tournament, in which the winning team won a "cup." Looking through the program, I noticed a player on Tel Aviv by the name of Jordan Farmar, a player I was certain was in the NBA. Further research showed that he was a solid NBA player, one who played decent minutes and scored about 9.5 points a game. However, with the NBA lockout pending, Farmar decided the best option would be to play for Tel Aviv until the NBA resumed. Farmar was one of two Jewish players in the NBA, the other being the Israeli Omri Casspi.

Tel Aviv has always been the premier team in Israel, and Sean's mother attested to this fact by stating that she was certain Sean's team (Holon) was going to get crushed. I, on the otherhand, was clinging to the hope that it would at least be a close game, and that maybe Holon would win. The first quarter was close, but Tel Aviv started pulling away in the second and third quarters, eventually taking a 17 point lead early in the fourth quarter. However, Holon furiously came back, cutting the lead to 6 with only 2-3 minutes remaining. I said "now it's officially over" when Tel Aviv took a 10-point lead with just over one minute left, but Holon scored, forced a missed shot, scored again, forced an errant inbounds pass, and scored again, cutting the lead to 4 with 35 seconds on the clock. After a forced foul and a split pair of free-throws, Holon had the ball behind by 5. Sean, who had gotten about 15 minutes of playing time, ended up with the ball with the chance to cut the lead to 2 with a three-pointer, but unfortunately it rimmed off, and Tel Aviv sealed the deal with some free-throws.

Despite the loss, it was still an exciting and close game, and best of all - it was free! (except for the cab ride...)